Taiwan Machine Tool Industry Enjoys High Growth In 2000 - Brief Article

The export-oriented machine tool industry of Taiwan revived substantially after undergoing several hardships in 1999. In 2000, the import and export value of Taiwan's machine tool industry recorded a sharp growth of 31.9 percent and 64.1 percent respectively, with exports reaching a record high of US$1.5 billion.

There are more than 300 suppliers that produce complete units, and 1000 venders if peripheral satellite factories are also included. Most of them are small- to medium-scale enterprises. Two-thirds are metal cutting machine makers, while the rest are metal forming machine makers. The major Taiwan-made machine tools include machining centers, CNC/non-CNC lathes, CNC/non-CNC milling machines, CNC/non-CNC grinding machines, drilling machines, CNC/non-CNC electric discharge machines (EDM), presses and shearing machines. The top ten export markets for Taiwan-made machine tools in 2000 in order of priority are Hong Kong (including China), the United States, Malaysia, Italy, Thailand, United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, Japan, and the Netherlands.

As the foremost non-profit trade promotion organization in Taiwan, CETRA and its four representative offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Miami have invested tremendous efforts in promoting Taiwan's machine tools in the United States. To increase bilateral trade opportunities, CETRA regularly offers American buyers and Taiwanese suppliers many trade-related activities in the United States that include the following:

Inviting buyers to visit TIMTOS (Taipei International Machine Tools Show)

Offering free trade inquiry services.

Setting up appointments for buyers before they visit Taiwan.

Holding seminars for Taiwanese exhibitors in Chicago's IMTS show.

Holding seminars on finance to solve financial problems and seek support from the government.

Supporting Taiwan makers to participate in machinery shows in the US.

Launching the Image Enhancement Plan to promote a value-added image of Taiwan-made machines.

The American market will no doubt still be one of the most important markets for Taiwan-made machine tools. To keep its competitiveness in the American market, Taiwan's machine tool industry has increased its investment and cooperated with research institutes in developing high speed, high precision automated products. To improve after-sales service and shorten delivery time, many companies have set up their own warehouses or offices in the United States. Taiwan's machine tool manufacturers are one of the major participants in international machine tool show, You can always find them in major machinery shows worldwide, such as IMTS in the United States, EMO in Europe, JIMTOF in Japan, CIMT in China, BI-MU in Italy, and FEIMAFE in Brazil

The United States ranks as the second largest market for exports of Taiwan's machine tools, in which major machine tools purchased by U.S. buyers are lathes, machining centers, milling machines, grinding machines, EDMs and presses. The total export value to the United States was US$273 million in 2000, with a 25.2 percent growth. In the same period, Taiwan also imported US$434 million worth of machine tools from the United States, of which most were used for semiconductor production.