The global financial tsunami, albeit sparing the designer goods sector, has caused Taiwan’s yacht-building industry to list over the past few years, with the ripple-effect washing over downstream suppliers of yacht and marine hardware, including the top-2 in Taiwan—Man Ship Machinery & Hardware Co., Ltd. and Aritex Products Co., Ltd., who have stepped up adjusting corporate strategies to stay a...

In a secluded hilly area of suburban Taipei, a retired professor has been staging his own version of upgrading and enlightenment of the furniture industry, with the Furniture Bibliotheca HDG, a private library in an isolated, decades-old traditional Chinese residence amid sylvan woods that is perhaps a 30-minute walk from its nearest neighbor. The abbreviation HDG is the Romanized acronym of thre...

With hundreds of business owners and corporate managers taking part, the 12th annual general meeting (AGM) of the Taiwan Hand Tool Manufacturers’ Association (THTMA) was held on Oct. 7, 2011, in central Taiwan’s Taichung City. Despite the sagging global economy, the meeting was upbeat about the industry’s future prospects. In addition to hand-tool industry insiders, the AGM also drew ...

One of the consequences of the global financial tsunamis is that Taiwanese hand tool manufacturers have prepared themselves to explore new overseas markets to reduce their overdependence on the U.S. and European countries in the past few years. One of the top overseas markets on Tawain’s list is Japan, which was the world’s second-largest economy until 2010 when China moved into that position. J...

For several reasons Taiwanese manufacturers of hand tools face increasing global competition. Among them are the mounting debt crisis in Europe, a slowdown in global economic growth, and the upcoming FTA (free trade agreement) between EU and South Korea. In addressing this situation, MIRDC (Metal Industries Research & Development Centre), a leading R&D body on the island, held a forum on October ...

The global small- and medium-sized liquid crystal display (LCD) industry will soon face a major change, with the signing of a memorandum of understanding by four companies in Japan--Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), Hitachi Ltd., Sony Corp., and Toshiba Corp.—calling for the integration of their small- and medium-sized display businesses. The four plan to set up a new company, te...

Since the global recession in 2008 as well as resulting weaker consumer confidence, the global performance-tuning auto-parts market has sagged, a situation exasperated by automakers trying to spice up product competitiveness with enhanced engine output and exterior styling. High fuel prices, unemployment in the USA and EU and uncertain prospects have all impacted yearning to spend on faster, fan...

Taiwan sorely lacks know-how to develop woodworking turnkey plants C.L. Tu, chairman of the Taiwan Woodworking Machinery Association (TWMA) and Cheng Kuang Wood Machinery Works Co., Ltd., gazes a video clip on his laptop of a German-made woodworking equipment that makes futuristic robotic machinery a reality, with the intelligent tool humming effortlessly to turn green logs into finished ...

Michael Ng: “New-generation lighting sources will become dominant” During its annual general meeting in April this year, the Taiwan Lighting Fixture Export Association (TLFEA) announced that it had won the right to host the annual meeting of the Global Lighting Forum (GLF) next year. 　　 The GLF, established five years ago as a global institution dedicated to promoting the worldwide applicati...

Hsiao also has won unprecedented official subsidies to attend global trade shows Eugene Hsiao, an entrepreneur in Taiwan's auto parts and accessory industry and elected at 45 as the 8th chairman of the Taipei County Auto Parts Association (TCAPA) in 2010, quickly proved his leadership in only several months by significantly enhancing cooperation and interaction among the trade group’s 250-to...