Hiwin Technologies Flooded With Orders for Vibration Controller

Taipei, March 16, 2011 (CENS)—“One man's bane is another man's bounty' has become reality, for the catastrophic quake and tsunami that have hit northeastern Japan is bringing good news to Hiwin Technologies Corp., Taiwan's leading manufacturer of precision machinery components, in the form of orders from Japan for vibration-control systems used in high-rise buildings.

Hiwin Group chairman Eric Y.T. Chou says his group has been partnering with the IHI Group of Japan to develop new-generation vibration-control systems, which, compared to conventional ones, acts immediately upon onset of earthquake.

The group's Hiwin Mikrosystem Corp. is currently developing and producing linear-motor system modules in the vibration-control systems that are installed in three high-rise buildings in Shinjuku, Japan; New York and Shanghai.

In the aftermath of the quake, IHI will order 12 more vibration-control systems from the Hiwin Group. The Japanese government recently ruled that all 30-story-and-above buildings must be installed with vibration-controllers beginning in 2012, a move, coupled with the recent quake and tsunami, which is expected to fuel sales of the advanced vibration-controllers.

Chou says the advanced vibration-controllers developed by Hiwin adopt linear-motor system rather than ball screws in conventional counterparts.

Hiwin Technologies, listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, scored NT$1.797 billion in cumulative consolidated sales in the first two months of this year, surging 98.43% year-on-year from NT$905 million. Specialized in linear motors and industrial robots, Hiwin Mikrosystem is expected to go public in 2013, becoming the group's second listed firm.