Congrats! Mr. Tu-Chin Tsai Becomes New President of TIFI: “We’ll be promoting a positive image in a practical approach for Taiwan’s fastener industry and products to the world.”

TIFI (Taiwan Industrial Fasteners Institute) welcomed its new group of leaders in an annual member assembly on December 15 last year. President Tu-Chin Tsai of Sun Beam Tech Industrial was elected as chairman of TIFI and greeted with a round of applause. He took over from former chairman Anchor T.H. Chang the duty of leading members to keep building a solid foundation in Taiwan and expanding into the whole world. Chairman Tsai has worked for the fastener industry for decades. He is not only familiar with and involved in the growth of and development of the fastener industry domestic and abroad, but also contributes a lot to the domestic industry development, upgrade and globalization. He has his unique perspectives and visions. We had the honor of an exclusive interview with the new chairman who shared his plans for TIFI’s position, operation and future development. He hopes the interview will help members and more industrialists know him and his leadership and help strengthen collaboration with members in the coming future. Now let’s get to know the new chairman Tu-Chin Tsai.

He will Lead Members to the World Market Through His Success with Sun Beam Group

Chairman Tsai, also the president of Sun Beam Tech Industrial, founded Sun Beam Metal Industrial with shareholders back in 1985 which specialized in fastener hot-dip galvanization. That was when he started to have a strong tie to Taiwan fastener industry. Over the years, he stuck with the improvement of both output and quality as his business principle, and eventually led to the success of Sun Beam Tech Industrial and its business scale today. The company tops the industry with its quality and service, and its current share in Taiwan’s fastener hot-dip galvanization industry has reached over 70%. Tsai foresaw the continuous expansion of his company and the development of a globalized market, so he founded Jiuh Yang Metal Industry Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia) specializing in hot-dip galvanization for fasteners and basic steel structures in Penang in Malaysia besides his base in Taiwan. Particularly his fastener market share in Malaysia was outstanding at over 90%. Therefore, he invested in another hot-dip galvanized wire plant with an annual capacity of over 6 million tons the next year. Besides his pursuit of quality and output, he values fringe benefits for employees, consolidating employee unity by allowing them to buy company shares and share company profits. With the shareholders and employees working together to form a stable momentum, the company and its revenues grow day by day.

"Like the Sun Beam group, TIFI must have top service quality and fulfill its various functions in a practical and step-by-step approach, promoting the positive image of Taiwan fastener industry and its good products to the world," said Tsai.

TIFI will be the Communicator, Promoter and Supporter to Help Members Maintain Sustainability and Create Values

Tsai thinks TIFI with its coming 50th anniversary is a critical center for member unity and enhancing the development of Taiwan fastener industry. TIFI is the communicator between the government and society, the promoter to build industry foundation in Taiwan, and the supporter to expand the industry to the world. It will spare no effort in offering members various services, increasing mutual benefits, and bridging the gap between the industry and government to foster industry development. Furthermore, it will keep pursuing excellence, real-time response, and more complete service to help members maintain sustainability and create added values, ultimately helping them succeed and becoming the top association of member satisfaction.

Regarding TIFI's future activities and development blueprint, Tsai said, "The chairman title means a large burden, but I will go all out for the members. The fastener industry will inevitably head toward and upgrade to high value added industries such as the automotive, aerospace and electronics industries. Especially the focus of future development will be the automotive fasteners market that saw a growth of over 30% in 2017. I will also work hand in hand with my group of directors and supervisors to foster the prosperity of fastener industry." For instance, TIFI has arranged for a delegation to exhibit in The International Hardware Fair Cologne and International Fastener Expo to help member develop the international market. Additionally, Taiwan International Fastener Show, organized by TIFI and Taiwan External Trade Development Council has broken its record by having 410 registered exhibitors and 1,100 standard booths. The show will continue to combine exhibiting and factory visit to complement the advantages of fastener clusters in Southern Taiwan and create infinite business opportunities.

Actively Promoting Industry Technical Upgrade & Transformation to Face Global Competition

The global economy is entering the phase of post-financial-crisis strong recovery. This trend is more apparent in the advanced regions like the U.S., Europe and Japan. This is no doubt good news for Taiwan fastener industry exporting 90% of its fasteners. According to related trade statistics, fastener export performed well by growing 4% to 1.46 million tons in the first 11 months of 2017, which translates to 13% growth to USD 3.9 billion in monetary terms.

“Facing the intensifying global competition, Taiwan must consider technical upgrade and industry transformation, and see a sustainable fastener industry as the ultimate goal. We should also consider upgrading to starting from the automotive, railway and 3C markets to create more added values for Taiwan fastener industry,” said the chairman. According to statistics, the world’s total automotive fastener demand shared over 30% of the global fastener production in 2016, up 3% over 2015. Judging from this stable growth trend, automotive fastener demand is expected to grow year by year. Tsai adds, “By exchanging and improving technology, and breaking free from price competition, everyone can share the same target and head for high-value automotive fasteners, and Taiwan will have the chance to become the giant of automotive fastener supply in 2020!”

Environmental Protection, Work Force, Material Price Remain Hot Issues;

TIFI will Keep Forwarding Members' Opinions to the Government

In the past 3 to 5 years, Taiwan fastener industry faced many difficult problems, such as: (1) A few surface treatment plants were shutdown and delayed shipment due to illegal discharge of waste water; (2) The Labor Standards Act; (3) The fluctuating steel prices. These problems have increased members’ costs and impacted their competitiveness. To tackle this as quick as possible and enable domestic fastener companies to compete in the global market, the chairman said, “First, regarding surface treatment, we suggest the government build a specified area in Taiwan to satisfy the demand for future growth of the fastener industry. Second, TIFI will keep an eye on the result of Labor Standards Act and pass on the opinions of the industry to related authorities through various communication channels. Third, TIFI will communicate with China Steel Corp on wire price every quarter, and further this communication to gain more competitive material prices for members.”

China and ASEAN Show Huge Business Opportunity and are Worth the Attention of Companies Concerned

Under the trend of globalization, TIFI encourages fastener companies to head out and develop more markets around the world. “According to statistics, China imported USD 3.2 billion worth of fasteners in 2016, and the import unit price was USD 10 per kilogram. Over 50% was imported from Japan, Germany and South Korea, but only 7% from Taiwan. Considering Taiwan’s advantage of high quality and reasonable price, the China market is indeed worth developing.” On the other hand, regarding the emerging ASEAN market, he said, “The ASEAN automotive market is growing substantially, so it is also a target of business expansion for Taiwanese automotive fastener companies.”

TIFI will Improve Administrative Efficiency and Computerize the Information od Association Affairs

Facing different challenges in the fastener market every day, TIFI’s operation must be more flexible and in sync with the current times. With much attention to this aspect, Tsai said, “We will work hard to improve TIFI’s administrative efficiency, and computerize all information on association affairs, business and finance. Regarding our information delivery, along with our email service, we will build a specified App to deliver association information. Additionally, our official website will soon have a refreshed new interface to enhance network promotion and help members gain business opportunities.” He concluded, “Taiwan’s fasteners are export oriented, so overseas political and economic changes may affect Taiwan fastener industry. TIFI will continue to react quickly and keep our member up to date.”