2012 Taiwan Excellence Gold Award Winners Unveiled
2012/11/20 | By Quincy LiangFour of 10 Gold Award winners are 3C products
Most observers and insiders agree that, while eying Apple as real-world example, Taiwanese entrepreneurs, enterprises on the island and overseas have little option but to invest in innovation to upgrade global competitiveness, for relying on being OEM may have worked before but no longer. Emerging, hardship-habituated rivals in China and elsewhere can also fill OEM orders for thin margins to make survival difficult for Taiwanese firms, who must engage in ODM, OBM to evade being displaced by underselling competitors.
The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) in late-August 2012 announced the 10 winners of the prestigious Taiwan Excellence Gold Award at a ceremony in Taipei, hosted by the Board of Foreign Trade (BOFT) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and attended by industry leaders.
The Taiwan Excellence Award is the highest accolade for products that embody "innovalue"--value of innovation. Formerly the Symbol of Excellence (SOE), Taiwan Excellence was set up in 1992 to encourage Taiwanese industries to upgrade and incorporate “innovalue” in products; hence Taiwan Excellence winners are the most innovative, high quality, value-added products.
Winning products carry the Taiwan Excellence's distinctive, proprietary logo, which marks Taiwan-made items as world-class in innovation, design and manufacturing. The Bureau of Foreign Trade retains exclusive rights to this mark that is registered in over 77 countries by TAITRA. The Taiwan Excellence logo consisting of six interwoven arcs is inspired by the traditional Taiwanese cultural affinity for "completeness" or "wholeness."
20th Taiwan Excellence
A panel of international judges with expertise in the four key criteria – R&D, design, quality and marketing – decided on the gold award winners.
The contest received 1,145 (974 in 2011) submissions from 426 (381 in 2011) companies in Taiwan, with 441 products cited for excellence, and 29 (30 in 2011) items from 19 (25 in 2011) companies picked for the final and 10 eventually winning the Gold Awards, and the remaining Silver Awards.
This year saw decreasing domination by 3C (computer, communication, and consumer electronics) products, but winners from other sectors, with three bicycles and a wind-power generator system also winning over the judges.
Company: Asustek Computer Inc.
Product: Notebook PC
Product No.: UX21E/UX31E
The UX series ultra-thin notebooks have second-generation Core i7 mobile central processor, and is entirely built from aluminum to not only make it extremely lightweight, but also hardwearing and elegant. At just 17mm thin, the UX21 packs an Intel Core i7 processor and a Solid State Drive (SSD) for speedy operation, also offering 2 second reactivation with ASUS' Instant On technology and also USB 3.0 connectivity.
Product: Eee Pad (Tablet PC)
Product No.: Transformer Prime TF201
The latest ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF201 with ultra-thin and light design is easy to carry, with the latest NVIDIA 3 quad-core processor, TF201 supporting 3D videos and games with super smooth performance.
Product: Joybee GP2 mini projector
Product No.: GP2
The GP2 is a battery-powered mini projector designed for iPhone users who love to show off content to friends anytime and anywhere, e.g. photos, videos, music or apps.
Product: Jungle/Extraordinary Garden Screen
Product No.: JB00603/JB00114
The screen is composed of 64 white matte glazed porcelain tiles of different patterns, masterminded by designer Jean Boggio who integrates eastern ease and western baroque.
Product: Fully Rugged Notebook
Product No.: Getac X500
The X500 offers diverse interfaces, machine body function-proof design, and high-power wireless transmission capability, befitting military requirements and saving cost on unnecessary customization.
Product: TCR Advanced SL Race Bike
Product No.: TCR Advanced SL 0
The system integration concept improves overall performance via refining component details and evolution of frame engineering.
Product: Recirculation Divide Ballscrew
Product No.: RD Series
HIWIN RD Ballscrew is designed for EDM, CNC drilling and semi-conductor package equipment to save energy, eliminate waste oil and satisfy eco-protection requirements.
Product: Big Nine Big-wheel Mountain Bike
Product No.: Big Nine Series
MERIDA BIG NINE family includes a line of "big-wheeled" mountain bikes, with 29-inch bikes benefitting from increased traction, enhanced comfort and superb riding stability.
Company: Merida Industry Co., Ltd.
Product: Merida City E-Spressor E-Bike
Product No.: City E-Spresso
Company: Teco Electric & Machinery Co., Ltd.
Product: 2MW PMSG Wind Turbine
Product No.: TFC2MWN/TFC2MWC
2012 Taiwan Excellence Gold Award Winners | ||
Product | Model Number | Company |
Notebook PC | UX21E/UX31E | ASUSTeK Computer Inc. |
Eee Pad (Tablet PC) | Transformer Prime TF201 | Asustek Computer Inc. |
Joybee GP2 mini projector | GP2 | BenQ Corporation |
Jungle/Extraordinary Garden Screen | JB00603/JB00114 | Franz Corporation |
Fully Rugged Notebook | Getac X500 | Getac Technology Corp. |
TCR Advanced SL Race Bike | TCR Advanced SL 0 | Giant Manufacturing Co., Ltd. |
Recirculation Divide Ballscrew | RD Series | Hiwin Technology Corp. |
Big Nine big-wheel mountain bike | Big Nine Series | Merida Industry Co., Ltd. |
Merida City E-Spressor E-Bike | City E-Spresso | Merida Industry Co., Ltd. |
2MW PMSG Wind Turbine | TFC2MWN/TFC2MWC | Teco Electric & Machinery Co., Ltd. |
Source: TAITRA | ||