Taiwan Outpaces Rivals in Machine-Tool Sales Growth in First Five Months

Taiwan outpaced competitors Japan, South Korea and the U.S. in terms of sales growth for machine tools in the first five months of this year. Taiwan exported US$1.058 billion worth of machine tools in the first five months, representing a 26% year-on-year growth, according to statistics compiled by the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI).

South Korea ranked second with a 25.6% annual growth, exporting 844.5 billion Korean won worth of the tools in the first five months. The U.S. followed with an annual growth of 17.9% to reach US$1.204 billion. Japan had an annual growth of 17.4% in exports amounting to 557.6 billion Japanese yen.

TAMI vice president Wang Cheng-ching attributes the surging sales growth experienced by Taiwan's domestic machine-tool industry efforts to develop such emerging markets as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Another factor that helps the booming sales of the products is the leading manufacturers' development of high-value-added machine tools.

Wang says that since the fourth quarter of last year, domestic machine-tool manufacturers, regardless of their size, have been making all-out efforts to develop emerging markets. Their goal has been to alleviate the impact of the implementation of a stringent credit-control policy imposed by the mainland Chinese government.

Taiwan's leading domestic machine-tool firms include Victor Taichung Machinery Works Co., Tong-tai Machine & Tool Co., She Hong Industrial Co., Ltd. Goodway Machine Corp., Falcon Machine Tool Co. and Awea Mechantronic Co., Ltd. These manufacturers are concentrating on the production of such high-value-added products as horizontal and double-column machining centers, combination lathes, and special-purpose machines for making aluminum wheels.

Edward Yang, chairman of the Precision Machinery Research and Development Center, says domestic manufacturers of machine tools have made great progress in internal management and in the research and development of innovative products over the past several years. He says the efforts made by the manufacturers have paid off, as many of them have developed the strength to compete with rival producers from industrialized nations such as the U.S., Japan and Germany.

Despite the substantial growth in sales of machine tools in the first five months, Yang admits that the number of shipments of domestic machine tools to foreign markets during the fourth quarter of this year is still uncertain. However, he cautiously predicts that the domestic machine-tool industry should be able to grab a 15% to 20% annual growth in export value this year.

To snatch foreign orders in the international arena, a total of 125 domestic manufacturers of machine tools and relevant components will go to Hanover, Germany to participate in the EMO show, one of the world's largest machine-tool exhibitions.

TAMI's Wang notes Victor Taichung, Falcon, Goodway, Awea, Taiwan Takisawa Technology Co., Dah Lih Machinery Industry Co., and Kao Fong Machinery Co. will show off their latest models at EMO, which is slated for Sept. 14-21. Their new models include combination multi-spindle lathes, double-column machining centers, horizontal machining centers, and ultra-high-precision grinding machines.

Wang says the active participation in EMO by domestic machine-tool manufacturers mirrors Taiwan's status as the world's fourth-largest exporter of the products.

He also states that the island's firms have the ambition to take on big-ticket orders by participating in EMO, which has drawn more visitors than similar shows held in Tokyo, Japan and Chicago in the U.S. over the past several years. (BS)