THTMA Elects New Chairman at 12th General Conference

New chairman believes cross-strait cooperation is urgently needed

The 12th general conference of Taiwan Hand Tool Manufacturers' Association (THTMA) was held September 9, 2010 in the hub of Taiwan's hand tool industry, Taichung, where members assembled to elect a chairman, with the procedure eventually yielding no surprise, making Jack Lin, president of the largest screwdriver maker in Taiwan—Yih Cheng Factory Co., Ltd.—the next incumbent.

The election was seen as the most important event of the year for Taiwan's hand tool industry, drawing hundreds of insiders to a conference room in the Hotel National Taichung. Chou Neng-chuan, deputy director general of the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and China Steel Corp. (Taiwan's largest steelmaker) chairman Tsou Jo-chi also attended to congratulate the chairman-elect.

Proper Election
Noteworthy is that the voting procedure fully complied with the rules of Taiwan's Civil Servant Election and Recall Act, which, Lin said, was the “most formal ever” in THTMA history.

Each voter, after being verified of eligibility to vote, was given only one ballot with candidates' names, and then led by a staffer to a booth in which a stamp was used to indicate choice. The stamped, secret ballot then had to be folded and put into the ballot box under supervision.

The THTMA chairman election has used this formal voting procedure the first time and is as fair as governmental elections, marking a groundbreaking move for the association. The THTMA is the first private trade association in Taiwan to adopt such a formal voting procedure, which will become standard practice for chairman elections in the future, said Lin.

In his victory speech, Lin laid out his plans to further leverage Taiwan's position in the global supply chain of hand tools and reinforce the association's influence to advance the development of the industry in the next three years.

Increase Cross-strait Communications
Stressing that one of his projects during the three-year tenure is to enhance cooperation and information exchange between the THTMA and its Chinese counterparts, such as the All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce and China National Hardware Association, Lin said that China will surely become one of Taiwan hand tool industry's major overseas markets. Taiwanese makers can't underestimate the rise of the China market, while cross-strait cooperation is urgently needed.

With the inking of the cross-strait ECFA (Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement), which includes over 500 Taiwan-made goods and services to be availed eventually duty-free status by 2012, in effect, Lin said that including Taiwan-made pliers, hammers, screwdrivers and wrenches in the ECFA will accelerate Taiwanese suppliers' entry into China's quickly growing market for hand tools, as well as price-competitiveness against ASEAN members.

In the future, he added, the THTMA will play a more active role to help Taiwanese makers go global, and coordinate resources and efforts between the government and the industry.

Significant Upturn
IDB deputy director general Chou said at the conference that Taiwan's hand tool industry is export-oriented, shipping abroad over 90% of annual output. “The industry has contributed considerably to Taiwan's export-dependent economy over the past few decades.”

Over 630 hand tool makers operate on the island, employing over 14,000 workers. Chou noted that the industry has grown very strongly and rapidly since the beginning of 2010, and is estimated to produce up to NT$80 billion of various tools this year. “Industry prospects remain rosy in the coming years, primarily because Taiwan's investment environment has become increasingly favorable to foreign and overseas Taiwanese companies after the signing of ECFA and with the global economic upturn.”

Considering that most Taiwanese makers are OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), Chou stressed that the government will work closer with the THTMA, promoting more integration of official, academic and industrial resources to help Taiwanese makers go upmarket. Citing Eclatorq Technology Co., Ltd. as example, a joint venture among 11 Taiwanese hand tool makers engaged mainly in ODM (original design manufacturing) of digital hand tools, he stated that the company's turning profitable this year is living proof that upgrading to ODM is the way to more sustainable development for traditional hand tool makers.

In Retrospect
With his tenure to end soon after the election, THTMA chairman M.C. Cheng, also owner of Honiton Industries Inc. and one of Taiwan's veteran makers of sockets, expressed special thanks at the conference to the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) for subsidizing the association some NT$39.79 million over the past three years, seeding considerably the industry's development.

BOFT officials also helped industry operators to explore overseas markets, playing a part to help members to tap 14 overseas markets, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia, Brazil, Egypt and the Middle East, enabling some makers to successfully penetrate these markets, said Cheng.

Cheng said that the THTMA also reached an agreement with China Steel to increase supply of steel plates and wire rods to member companies, promoted the formation of inter-company R&D alliances, and held training courses and seminars to help the members sharpen competitiveness in the global supply chain.

Keeping tenacious amid the global downturn, Cheng stressed, Taiwanese hand tool makers still turned out products valued NT$65 billion in 2009. “With the new chairman elected, the THTMA will continue to foster industrial development. We have good reason to remain optimistic about the future of the industry.”