TIFI Holds Taiwan Fastener Industrial Transformation & Upgrade Session
Organized by Taiwan Industrial Fasteners Institute (TIFI) and SteelWorld, the Taiwan Fastener Industrial Transformation & Upgrade Session took place June 14th (Fri.) at the Int’l Conference Hall of Taiwan’s CSC headquarters building, which successfully attracted the attendance of more than a hundred professionals from Taiwan fastener industry. The session was joined by experts and representatives from institutes or companies offering Industry Cloud Service, pre-applied processes, or manufacturing machines, an official from the Economic Development Bureau (Kaohsiung) and MIRDC industry analyst, who gave their respective speech on the analysis of the current development of Taiwan and the global fastener industry and challenges and proposed their corresponding strategy suggested for the reference of the audience.
Upgrade from the “Industry” Perspective- Cloud Integration to Enhance the Industry Clustering Effect
As the Cloud digital platform combines the advantages of technical knowledge, marketing & business matchmaking and the supply chain and is formed with the concept of industrial synergy and resource sharing, each company is able to generate its own largest marketing benefit and increase its brand awareness in the shortest time. On the other hand, such a platform also enables global buyers to get real-time suppliers info without being limited by geography and time. The marketing benefits generated through similar types of platforms have been also widely recognized by the fastener industry in recent years. As is known, there are lots of similar platforms for the industry and Fastener World’s online B2B matchmaking system (http://www.fastener-world.com.tw/new/buyandsell.php) is also one of them. The application of these platforms have been also recognized and widely used by several U.S./European/Asian major buyers. It is believed that with the continuous development in the following few years and the influx of information from various sources, the Cloud application will be more ergonomic and the business matchmaking service will be more accurate.
Upgrade from the “Technology” Perspective- Fastener Pre-applied Processes + Highly Precision & Standardized Manufacturing Machines
According to ND Industries General Manager Norman Hsieh, fastener pre-applied processes are mainly used to achieve anti-loosening, sealing, anti-leakage, less vibration, lubrication and surface protection, and are widely adopted in automotive, motorbikes, 3C, aerospace, wind power and many other high value added fastening and assembly industries, making pre-applied processes an indispensable role in industrial transformation. Taking the opportunity, he hoped to make all participating companies to get a clearer picture of material selection, processing methods and testing standards. He also hoped that his company would develop more economical, environment-friendly and safer materials and processing technology, making them a force to boost the industrial upgrade of Taiwanese fastener companies.
U.S. National Machinery Regional Manager for China and Southeast Asia Ken Chan took his company for example and shared the experience of how National Machinery made the most of Technology & Innovation in the past 100 years to develop so many cold forming machines which later helped the industry accelerate their manufacturing and improve quality. He also pointed out that some regions and markets lack of sufficient labor force and technology must rely more upon the assistance of high precision and standardized machines. In addition, he also noted that different machines have to be used for different manufacturing modes. As a result, production can be greatly increased and pressure from costs can be reduced before new challenges knock on the door.
Upgrade from the “Government” Perspective- Governmental Strategy to Guide Industries to Develop Domestic and Overseas Markets
According to EDB (Kaohsiung) official Hsing-I Chen, enhancing the competitive edge of metal products and relevant industrial value chain will be beneficial to the increase in the production value of the downstream. She mentioned that the current industrial development goals, strategy and methods of the Central Government in Taiwan are based on three major pillars. The first pillar is the development of high value added products (i.e., the development of crucial materials and technology); the second pillar is the development of high value added markets (i.e., the assistance in product integration & development, testing and certification); the third pillar is entering the global supply chain (i.e., establishing the image as a global development and logistics center for high value added fasteners). All is for helping Taiwan achieve its goal of selling products by piece rather than by ton. Moreover, the Government also provides several ways (e.g., investment subsidies, R&D rewards, corporate loans and land sales/leasing) to help enterprises achieve higher product value and industrial upgrade.
Status Quo of the Global Fastener Industry and the Best Way for Taiwan Fastener Industry to Transform
MIRDC industry analyst Kristy Chi categorizes global fastener manufacturing countries into 3 types. The first type is “Countries with Advanced Manufacturing Technology (their production preference: advanced fasteners, reps: USA, Germany, Japan, France)”; the second type is “Countries Undergoing Transformation and Upgrade (these countries have R&D capabilities and Taiwan and Korea are both examples)”; the last type is “Countries Focusing on Mass Production of Standard Parts (China, India and Mexico are examples).” She pointed out that in the past decade the export value, export volume and export unit price of Taiwan continued to reach new highs. The largest fastener demand around the world comes mostly from automotive and machinery industries, while the demand from construction, machinery and aerospace industries also shows continuous growth. These industries are all potential directions for Taiwanese fastener enterprises seeking high added value. However, seeking transformation and upgrade sometimes will face many problems, so making the most of IT technology in establishing a smart factory should be definitely included in the to-do-list of Taiwanese enterprises. When the smart factory is ready for operation, the full-range optimization of the managerial process will be the necessary element to improve manufacturing efficiency.
The full-day session allowed all participants to explore the possible ways to achieve industrial upgrade from the perspectives like industrial integration, new tech development & application, governmental guidance & resources utilization and the introduction of new technology and think over how to increase their competitiveness through these perspectives. In the market influenced by the trade war between USA and China, antidumping and fierce competition among the industry, industrial transformation and upgrade has been a must-do for every enterprise.
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