2014 Taiwan Excellence Gold Awards go to 10 Winners in Wider Range Industries

The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) in late-April 2014 announced the 10 winners of the prestigious Taiwan Excellence Gold Award at a ceremony in Taipei, hosted by the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) that was attended by industry leaders.

 

The Taiwan Excellence Award is regarded locally the highest accolade for products that embody "innovalue"--value of innovation. Formerly the Symbol of Excellence (SOE), Taiwan Excellence was set up in 1993 to encourage Taiwanese industries to upgrade and incorporate "innovalue" in products.

Winning products carry the Taiwan Excellence's distinctive, proprietary logo to be recognized as Taiwan-made with world-class innovation, design and manufacturing. The BOFT retains exclusive rights to this mark that is registered in over 77 countries by TAITRA. The Taiwan Excellence logo consisting of six interwoven arcs symbolizing the traditional Taiwanese cultural concept of "completeness" or "wholeness."
 

22nd Taiwan Excellence
This year marked the 22nd edition of the Taiwan Excellence Awards, which received 1,281 (1,221 in 2013 and 1,145 in 2012) submissions from 504 (483 in 2013 and 426 in 2012) companies in Taiwan, with 514 (541 in 2013 and 441 in 2012) products cited for excellence, and 30 (26 in 2013 and 29 in 2012) items from 22 (17 in 2013 and 19 in 2012 ) companies picked as finalists and 10 eventually winning Gold Awards, and the remaining Silver Awards.

The 22nd annual awards highlighted the consolidation of a widening diversity of products being considered, such as machinery, leisure products, and fitness equipment. A panel of international judges with expertise in the five key criteria of evaluation – R&D, design, quality, marketing, and Made in Taiwan – chose the 10 winners of the Taiwan Excellence Gold Award, whose winners must be judged to demonstrate innovalue ("innovation + added value") in each of the five categories.

Typically known for information and communication technology (ICT) products, Taiwan is also one of the top producers of bicycles. Once again Giant won the Taiwan Excellence Gold Award for the Propel Advanced SL bicycle. Design Judge Thomas Overthun emphasized the bicycle maker's  extraordinary design this year and said that it shows undoubtedly the global edge of design in this category. Further, Overthurn said that Taiwanese companies have made great progress in design by citing the design of the new HTC One and the Acer Ultrabook Apire.

Leading brands from Taiwan that are less-well-known but highly competitive such as machine tools and medical devices also emerged to win  Gold Awards this year. Machine tool maker Hiwin won the second year in a row for its Tangential External Recirculation Ballscrew Super T Series, while local medical device manufacturer Karma Corp. took home the Gold Award for its VIP Wheelchairs. Designed for elderly who need to seat stably on wheelchair for a long time, it has three main features, with a Tilt-in-space design that reduce pressure ulcer; Easy to operate Hydraulic Pressure Support System; and foldability to the most convenient size to store and travel to prevent injury for attendants.

R&D judge Andrej Skrinjar especially lauded the excellent progress Taiwanese companies have made in the past years in research and development in terms of high quality and unique processes. According to Andrey Skrinjar, the Taiwan Excellence Award plays a big part in the success story of Taiwanese companies in the past years.

As usual Taiwan's outstanding achievements in ICT were showcased in this year's awards. PC maker ASUSTeK, for example, once more received a Gold Award for the Padfone Mini A11, its latest mobile innovation that combines a 4.3-inch phone with a 7-inch tablet to provide the best mobile experience possible. This eye-catching design also provides users with a comfortable, tactile grip that fits various user scenarios; while HTC Corp. made the list for its HTC One series with its latest model 801e.

2014 Taiwan Excellence Gold Award Winners
Product	Model Number	Company
PadFone Mini	A11	ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
PhotoDirector 5	Ultra	CyberLink Corp.
Ultrabook Aspire	S7-392	Acer Incorporate
Propel Advance	Proper Advance SL	Giant Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Tangential External Recirculation Ballscrew	Super T Series	HIWIN TECHNOLOGIES CORP.
HTC One	801e	HTC Corp.
ALIGN RC Model Products	RC 9	ALIGN Corp. Ltd.
148-feet Luxury Yacht	EP148	HORIZON Yacht Co., Ltd.
VIP Series Wheelchair	VIP Series	KARMA Medical Products Co., Ltd.
Smart LED protable projector	ML550	Optoma Corporation
Source: TAITRA

2013 Taiwan Excellence Gold Award Winners

Company: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

Product: PadFone MiniModel No.: A11

The PadFone mini is ASUS' latest mobile innovation that combines a 4.3-inch phone with a 7-inch tablet to provide the best mobile experience possible. This phone and tablet's IPS display combination has the respective resolutions of 960 x 540 and 1280 x 800.

Company: CyberLink Corp.

Product: PhotoDirector 5Model No.: Ultra

PhotoDirector 5 combines all the features needed for photography in a single workflow—efficient photo management, professional quality adjustments and creative photo editing. With its native 64-bit support, non-destructive tools, RAW support for popular DSLRs and Ultra 4K slideshow output.

Company: Acer Incorporate

Product: UltrabookModel No.: Aspire S7-392

Acer is the world's first company to use Gorilla Glass for notebook construction, while other brands only use it as a decorative finish. The ultrabook model uses a patented dual-torque and T-shape hinge to reduce wobble and enhances stiffness when touched. Display opens flat to an 180-degree angle for easy sharing. The WQHD (2560 x 1440) 221 PPI wide viewing angle (WVA) display delivers stunningly pleasant details, and a colorful, wider visual range.

Company: Giant Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Product: Propel Advanced SLModel No.: Propel Advanced SL

The Advanced SL-grade composite frame is engineered with AeroSystem Shaping Technology, which saves the rider 12-36 seconds over a distance of 40 km at 40 kph. Compared to Aero Bike's competitors—with zero compromises in weight or stiffness. And with such technologies as a SpeedControl SLR brake system, integrated seat-post and internal cable routing, the Propel Advanced SL is certainly ahead of the pack.

Company: HIWIN TECHNOLOGIES CORP.

Product: Tangential External Recirculation BallscrewModel No.: Super T Series

The Tangential External Recirculation Super T. Series can be used in various machine applications. This invention is about the concept of achieving the most optimal design for the recirculation path, and is able to attain smooth and high speed motion, low noise, a long service life, and save energy.

Company: HTC Corp.

Product: HTC One  801eModel No.: HTC One

The HTC One, with its sleek aluminum body, streams all of your favorite content onto the home screen. With the ability to add content, a photo gallery that comes to life, and dual frontal stereo speakers, the HTC One is ready to reshape your smartphone experience.

Company: Align Corporation Limited

Product: ALIGN RC Model ProductsModel No.:

To create professional, photographic units, Align invented a series of upgrades uniquely for T-Rex 800E Trekker, including the G800 Gimbal, APS gyro, landing skids, an auxiliary battery mount, camera helmet and fuselage, which can instantly transform the T-Rex 800E Trekker into a professional aerial photographer.

Company: Horizon Yacht Co., Ltd.

Product: 148-feet Luxury YachtModel No.: EP148

The EP148 Horizon Polaris marks an enormous achievement for Horizon as a luxury yacht manufacturer. The new yacht is not only the largest mega yacht built by Horizon, but also the first steel-hulled yacht in Horizon's yacht collection, as well as the largest Bureau Veritas (BV) Ice-class yacht built in Asia. The luxury yacht's structural safety and stability fully meet the MCA (Maritime Coastguard Agency) LY2BV (Bureau Veritas) standards.

Company: KARMA MEDICAL PRODUCTS CO., LTD.

Product: VIP Series wheelchairModel No.: KM-1520.3T/KM-1510.3T

The VIP series wheelchair is designed for the elders who need to be seated for long periods of time. Its tilt-in-space design can reduce the chance of pressure ulcers; easy to operate and is foldable for easy travel and storage.

Company: Optoma Corporation

Product: Smart LED portable projectorModel No.: ML550

The Optoma ML550 ultra-compact portable LED projector is easily transportable between the home and office. This tiny projector weighs less than 0.4 kg and comes with a convenient carry bag. Watch HD movies or show winning presentation, the ML550 has everything needed to impress audience.

2014 Taiwan Excellence Silver Award Winners
Product	Model Number	Company
ALIGN RC Model Products T-REX Series	T-REX Series	Align Corporation Limited
ZIP NPWT System	ZIP NPWT System 9Z-001000 / 9W-001000 / 9H-001000	Apex Medical Corp.
ASUS Fonepad 7	ME372CG	ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
ASUS All-in-One PC	ET2221 series	ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Super Narrow Frame LED Monitor	VN279 Series	ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
ASUS Transformer AiO	P1801 / P1802	ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Battery-powered Portable LED Projector	2B	ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
IN LINE Separator	330 IN LINE SR/SL	Aurotek Corporation
HD Video conferencing system	EVC130	AVer Information Inc.
SP1 Digital Action Camera	SP1	BenQ Corporation
Interactive Ultra-Short Throw Projector	D755WTi	DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC.
T-CORE	TR1000RT/TR2000RT	DYACO INTERNATIONAL INC.
Trance Advanced 27.5	Trance Advanced 27.5	Giant Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Ultra Compact PC BRIX	Ultra Compact PC BRIX	GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
65 inch High Color Gamut 4K2K LCD TV Module	V650DK1-KS2	Innolux Corporation
Ride CF Team	Ride CF Team	MERIDA Industry Co., Ltd.
Super LED HomeTheater projector	HD90 / HD91	Optoma Corporation
Heavy Stamping Link Motion Mechanical Press	SM1-300 / SM1-500 / SM1-800	SHIEH  YIH  MACHINERY  INDUSTRY  CO.,  LTD.
Electric Folding Treadmill	TM3010 /TM3020 /TM3030	Strength Master Fitness Tech Co., Ltd.
Ratchet Buckle with ABS system	RTD51E	Win Chance Metal Company Limited
Source: TAITRA