Taitronics Autumn 2005: A Feature Packed Show

The spotlight was on automotive electronics, green electronics and Internet protocol (IP) telecommunications technologies at the Taitronics Autumn 2005 trade show, which ran from Oct. 11 to 15.

According to Kevin Wei, executive director of the Exhibition Department of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), a co-organizer of the show, automotive electronics, green electronics and IP equipment are now fast-rising product segments throughout the world. "We arranged the show floor around these three themes to show off Taiwan's strength in these areas. We also arranged forums that look ahead to the future of the three industries over the next five to 10 years," he said at a pre-show press conference held on Oct. 5.

For the first time, the show's organizers invited suppliers of parts and finished systems to demonstrate their latest products at the annual event.

To help Taiwanese suppliers secure orders at the show, the organizers arranged more than 200 procurement meetings--the largest number of such meeting since the first show was held 31 years ago. TAITRA mobilized all of its overseas branches to convince potential buyers to visit the show and attend meetings with suppliers, according to Wei.

Big Turnout

A total of 22 industrial associations from Chile, Brazil, Australia, mainland China, the U.S., Paraguay, Guatemala and Kazakhstan and 252 overseas manufacturers organized delegations to visit the show. Some 5,000 buyers from 108 countries took part in the event. Among them were major carmakers and automotive-parts suppliers, including BMW, Delphi, Bosch, Fiat, TATA and Motorola Automotive. In addition to professional buyers, the show attracted an estimated 40,000 visitors, making the exhibition the largest electronics trade show in Asia.

These visitors saw the latest products the 1,300 exhibitors-including 125 foreign suppliers-show off at 2,919 booths on show ground. Most of all, these professional buyers are expected to give a big boost to Taiwan's electronics industry, whose exports increased only a moderate 1.3% in the first nine months of this year, to US$40.5 billion, year on year. By individual categories, the household appliance sector posted the highest growth pace, at 8.2%, whereas the information-technology and telecommunication sector presented the worst recession, at 20.9%.

Wen-yi Chen, executive vice president of the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA), pointed out that Taiwan's electronics industry has developed a complete supply chain and highly competitive industrial clusters. These flexible clusters have helped Taiwan's electronics industry nimbly adapt to volatile market conditions, as has the high ratio (75%) of small and medium businesses in the sector, he added.

Delivery efficiency is another advantage for Taiwanese electronics manufacturers. "Local manufacturers are trying to cut delivery time to 36 hours this year, down from two days last year. In 2003, 98% of domestic manufacturers were able to meet the two-day goal," Chen said.

These advantages have enabled Taiwan's electronics industry to maintain growth amid world economic stagnation, Chen noted.

Chen, whose association represents over 4,000 electronics and electrical equipment manufacturers in Taiwan, noted that the excellent research and development capability of local manufacturers has made Taiwan automotive products attractive to international buyers. "The show is a good chance for local manufacturers to demonstrate their capability in supplying various products, particularly environmentally friendly products," he noted.

Chen suggested that Taiwanese suppliers of electrical equipment and electronics devices should establish green-product supply chains in compliance with the European Union's RoHS and WEEE environment protection directives. "This chain should include product design, lead-free processing and product testing, as well as verification," Chen said.

The association's executive secretary, Hsing Hsu, pointed out that the procurement meetings for green products at the show were intended to introduce international buyers to the outstanding green products offered by Taiwanese suppliers. "The association has set up a green-product standard based on the RoHS and WEEE directives in order to help domestic manufacturers tap new business opportunities," he said.

Bright Prospects for Automotive Electronics

Taiwan's automotive electronics suppliers organized a group product exhibit at the show this year. The group exhibit, according to James Wang, Director of Intelligent Mobility Technology Division of the Industrial Technology Research Institute's Mechanical Industry Research Laboratories, comes at a time of growing consolidation and cooperation in this line. "This show also offers Taiwan's automotive electronics suppliers a forum to demonstrate their manufacturing strengths," Wang noted.

Citing an estimate by market researcher IC Insight, Wang said the electronic content of automobiles would surge to account for 40% of total vehicle value in 2010, up from this year's 15%. IC Insight has estimated that the world automotive electronics market will rise to US$166.4 billion in 2008.

The show's organizers arranged an automotive electronics forum on the sidelines of the show to facilitate deals between local suppliers and international buyers. Deputy Executive Director of TAITRA's Market Development Department, Simon Wang, pointed out that Taiwan has an excellent foundation from which to become a world center of automotive electronics manufacturing and design. The island just needs the orders and strong support of major automakers to help it take this step.

According to some local industry watchers, Taiwan is not only a world leading supplier of IT electronics, but also plays an increasingly important role in the world supply chain of automotive electronics. They note that many leading Taiwanese electronics manufacturers are setting their sights on the automotive electronics market, especially in the auto navigation, telematics, car chips and car entertainment system sectors.

Passive electronic components were another hot topic at this year's Taitronics. In recognition of Taiwan's well-developed passive electronic component industry, the Electronics Components, Assemblies, Equipment and Supplies Association (ECA) of the U.S. agreed with TEEMA to co-host the Capacitor and Resistor Technology Symposium (CARTS) in Taiwan as a sideline event during the show this year. Keynote speeches at the symposium addressed such topics as market trends and the impact of environmental protection issues on the industry.

Paumanok Publication, a well-known market research organization tracking passive electronics component market, also presented its latest studies and forecast for 2008 market at the show.

IP is Up

Speaking at the show, Matthew Chiang, president for Chain Leader Wireless, Inc.'s Asia Pacific business, stressed that the embryonic internet protocol (IP) telecommunications market presents a huge opportunity to Taiwanese suppliers eager to break into the telecommunications market, which has been dominated by western suppliers. "It is a brand new market with no established suppliers as of yet. So, this is a chance for us," he said. He added that the British government has already announced plans to make Britain's telecommunications IP compliant in 2009, which is expected to trigger a telecommunications revolution throughout Europe.

Chiang noted that Taiwan is already a power in information technology (IT) manufacturing, and emerging telecommunications applications are increasingly based on IT and Internet technology. He pointed out that the government's "Mobile Plan", which aims at upgrading Taiwan's broadband wireless environment, is conducive to the development of the island's IP telecommunication industry.

At the pre-show conference, 22 suppliers demonstrated their latest products, which will be in their booths when the show officially kicks off. The displays included a hard disk sharing case from Good Man Corp.; high power LED lamps for automotive use from Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd.; digital storage oscilloscopes from Acute Technology Inc.; resistors from Tzai Yuan Enterprise Co., Ltd.; portable security recorders from Yoko Technology Corp.; and analyzers of chemical substances regulated under the RoHS and WEEE directives from TechMax Technical Co., Ltd.

The organizers invited BBC's World Service and BusinessWeek to be its media partners for the international promotion of the show.

Next year, the organizers will hold Taitronics Bangkok 2006 in Thailand from June 29 to July 2 as part of their plan to promote "Taitronics" as an international brand. Furthermore, the 2006 spring session of the show will focus on digital electronics and automotive electronics, making it the first professional automotive electronics event in Asia.