Following more than a year of hard work since his inauguration last September, Taiwan Hand Tool Manufacturers’ Association (THTMA) chairman Mark Lin is well on the way to building sustainable development for the industry. In an interview with CENS, Lin confirmed that his industry, which finished the first five months of this year with exports worth US$1.29 billion, has experienced a steady...

Taiwan’s hand tool industry is pursuing sustainable development for the next decade after surging between the 1970s and 1990s and maturing in the 2000s. Matt Yang, project manager of the Office to Revitalize Traditional Industries at the MIRDC (Metal Industries Research & Development Center), says the industry must keep progressing by developing niche products as its Blue Ocean strategy, a method...

The development of digital tools is one means that Taiwan’s hand tool makers are using to deal with price-slashing rivals in emerging countries. Digital models, including torque wrenches and screwdrivers, require advanced electromechanical integration and feature higher torque precision than mechanical models, and they generate better profit margins. Their relatively high technological threshold ...

Following more than a year of hard work since his inauguration last September, Taiwan Hand Tool Manufacturers’ Association (THTMA) chairman Mark Lin is well on the way to building sustainable development for the industry. In an interview with CENS, Lin confirmed that his industry, which finished the first five months of this year with exports worth US$1.29 billion, has experienced a steady rec...

One maker uses aluminum head in pruners for lightweight and excellent strength By STEVE CHUANG Just as Taiwan has become home to a few of the world's most popular bicycle brands, the makers of garden tools on the island have also built globally-renowned reputation as major suppliers over the past decade, which has been mostly achieved by a steady program of product improvement to enhance va...

The “inconvenient truth” for Taiwan’s office workers is that they are 100 to 1,000 times more likely to develop formaldehyde-caused cancers than the acceptable levels for other workplaces, with the construction industry generating 28% of the island’s total CO2 emissions, according to architectural specialist Z.M. Jiang of the National Cheng Kung University and Chairman T.C. Chen of the Taiwan Gre...

Alliance aims to boost Taiwan's profile as world's manufacturing base of top-caliber hand tools With an active push from Corporate Synergy Development Center (CSDC), the T-team has brought together leading local hand tool makers with the goal of making Taiwan a global sourcing base of hand tools, as well as enhancing the industry's images and capability in the global supply chain. In th...

One supplier has been working overtime to fill flooding orders After being shaken by the global recession in 2009, Taiwan’s manufacturers of machinery parts and accessories, mainly medium and small enterprises, have seen their fates reversed, with sales growing substantially in the first three quarters of 2010 due to steady recovery in the global economy. Figures from the Taiwan Association of...

Global demand for power tools will grow 3.7% yearly through 2013 One of the ways for hand tool makers in Taiwan to stay ahead of emerging rivals and battle ever thinning profit margins is to explore newer segments. Despite calling for more advanced manufacturing technologies and higher capitals, making power tools, which tend to be used by professionals, can generate bigger margins than ma...

Having advanced production equipment is critical to meet diversifying demand One underlying, historical reason for the success of Taiwan’s contract manufacturers is price competitiveness initially and then later improving quality. In the 1960s, some Japanese customers, in the wake of the WWII and trying to make ends meet, probably started sourcing rudimentary contract manufacturing of hardware...