The biennial Taipei International Machine Tool Show, jointly organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry at the Taipei World Trade Center and Nangang Exhibition Center March 5-10, was the sector’s largest-ever trade show.
With over 1,000 domestic and international exhibitors occupying more than 5,000 booths and attracting 6,583 buyers from 94 countries, it was the second-largest machine tool event in Asia and one of the top five international shows.
The machine tool industry plays a crucial role in national economic development, as it produces items for almost all sectors of the economy. Taiwan, with a strong machine tool sector despite lacking a major automobile industry to support it, is an unusual case.
“The machine tool sector is the mother of all industries, but it requires considerable investment with a long payoff period,” TAITRA Chairman Wang Chih-kang said at the TIMTOS opening ceremony.
“Taiwan is the third-largest machine tool exporting country in the world, ranking second to only Germany and Japan, despite its small car industry. This achievement is no easy job,” Wang said, adding that the nation’s machine tool exports reached US$4.2 billion in 2012, up 5.9 percent year on year.
“As demand for machinery in developing countries continues to increase, I am very optimistic about the sector’s prospects,” he added.
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Many leading domestic companies, such as Fair Friend Enterprise Group, Far East Machinery Co. and Roundtop Machinery Industries Co. posted healthy results in 2012. It is perhaps no surprise that TAMI Chairman Hsu Hsiu-tsang said he feels very confident in Taiwan’s machine tool industry, announcing at TIMTOS that he predicted a 5 to 8 percent growth in exports for the sector in 2013.
According to TAMI’s statistics, machine tools are now the nation’s biggest machinery category. Around 75 percent of Taiwan’s machine tool production is exported, and major recipients include China, the EU, ASEAN nations and the U.S., which in total account for 75 percent of exports. Taiwan manufacturers’ competitive advantage comes from offering high quality products at much lower cost, with a much faster delivery time, averaging only three months.
Taiwan’s machine tool sector has also promoted the growth of other domestic industries, particularly information and communication technology as well as consumer electronics. By continuously boosting its technological level, the machine tool sector is able to provide the equipment needed by such industries as aerospace, bicycles, medical equipment and precision molding.
Many of Taiwan’s most innovative machine tools makers had a major presence at TIMTOS, with many new models on show for the first time. Ching Hung Machinery and Electric Industrial Co., Taiwan’s leading manufacturer of electronic discharge machines, was even graced by a visit from ROC President Ma Ying-jeou on March 5. The firm’s linear motor driven wire-cut EDM, which has enhanced precision, mechanical efficiency and energy savings of more than 20 percent compared with earlier models, was unveiled by company president Wang Wu-hsiung.
Luren Precision Co.’s manager Chang Kuang-rong introduced the firm’s vertical gear profile grinding machine, which melds high accuracy with a reasonable price. Luren, which specializes in the production of gear cutting tools and spin pumps, has also developed unique dialogue software to support the entire machining process.
Machtek Unix Inc. launched its latest heavy-duty computer numerical controlled lathe. “The model merges trendy streamlined design with excellent pragmatic functions for competitiveness in the international market,” a company representative said.
Taiwan’s machine tool industry has accumulated impressive capability in research and development, manufacturing and marketing. It is expected to continue to play a key role in the global supply chain. (SDH)