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Michigan State Officials Visit Taiwan for Telematics Roundtable

2014/02/05 | By Quincy Liang

By QUINCY LIANG

With an eye on the high potential of the telematics business in Michigan, which hosts about 70% of the automotive R&D capacity of the United States, the Taiwan Telematics Industry Alliance (TTIA) recently invited two governmental officials from that state for a roundtable meeting in Taiwan. The invitees included Michael Finney, President and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC), and Lindsay Eister, Chief of Protocol of MEDC.

The meeting, the Taiwan-U.S. Telematics Cooperation Business Opportunity Roundtable, was co-hosted by the Telematics Promotion Office (TPO) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), TTIA, and the government-sponsored Institute for Information Industry (III). The aim was to help industry players in Taiwan learn more about the status of the telematics market in the U.S.

Paul Wang, chief secretary of the BOFT, delivers a welcoming speech at the roundtable.
Paul Wang, chief secretary of the BOFT, delivers a welcoming speech at the roundtable.

In his welcoming speech at the roundtable, Paul Wang, chief secretary of the MOEA's Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), noted that Taiwan is a small island but is filled with innovative and energetic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which want to work with global partners in the telematics industry.

Finney introduced his state to the roundtable participants, saying that Detroit is returning to the track of recovery and that many industry experts are optimistic about the city's future growth driven by the automotive industry. About one-fifths of America's automotive workers are concentrated in Michigan, he said, and a total of 375 automotive R&D-related firms are clustered in the state.

Michael Finney, President and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC), talks about his state.
Michael Finney, President and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC), talks about his state.
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enney welcomed more Taiwanese telematics companies to find opportunities for business development in Michigan, which is among the top-tree high-tech states in the U.S. The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is set to host the 2014 World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems in Detroit on Sept. 7-11, in partnership with ERTICO (ITS Europe) and ITS Asia-Pacific. Fenney said that many of the latest technologies in intelligent transportation systems (ITS), medical equipment, and aerospace applications will be on show at the event.

Showcases

Representatives from the local Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), III, and Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC) introduced their organizations' developmental results at the roundtable. The representative of ITRI said that it has tapped into the American ITS supply chain as a partner of DSRC (dedicated short range communications) equipment suppliers, and that ITRI would encourage local companies in related fields to attend the ITS World Congress 2014.

A deputy section chief from the III shared his institution's experience in vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication tests in Michigan in partnership with the Connected Vehicle Proving Center (CVPC) of the University of Michigan several years ago. He suggested to the Michigan officials that their state should create more value-added telematics services through the installation of ITS infrastructure. A manager from the ARTC, the largest transportation vehicle R&D and testing hub in Taiwan, shared information on his center's advanced techniques in electro-magnetic compatibility (EMC) tests, electric vehicle (EV) monitoring, and other areas.

The TTIA also arranged for local companies to introduce their technologies and products to the MEDC officials. A representative from the Advantech Co. of Taiwan, the world's largest developer and maker of industrial computers, for example, introduced his company's comprehensive range of products; Advantech has successfully tapped into the automotive electronics market in Europe through its acquisition of the industrial computer company DLOG of Germany, but is still outside the supply chains of the big-three American automakers. He expressed the hope that the relevant government agencies would provide the help it needs to gain entry into those supply chains.

Many of the Taiwanese firms attending the roundtable expressed a strong interest in visiting Michigan to gain a better understanding of its market potential and to look for partners there.