With consumers in North America and Europe spending increasing amounts of time in their gardens, the outlook for the garden tool and equipment market is bright. The shopping lists of gardeners, as well as for wholesalers and retailers wanting to take advantage of the business opportunities inherent in this promising prospect, can hardly be filled without products from Taiwan. Over the past few...

To promote Taiwan’s high-quality medical and surgical instruments to orthopedic surgeons worldwide, Taiwan's Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC), a government-funded R&D institute, organized an exhibitor group to attend the EFORT Congress 2014 (the 15th European Federation of National Associations of Orthopedics and Traumatology Congress). MIRDC says that EFORT is the larges...

By STEVE CHUANG The year 2013 was a year of mixed performance by Taiwanese OA furniture parts manufacturers, given that gloomy economies weakened global enterprises’ willingness to invest in fixed assets and dampened the sector to some extent. But with economies in the U.S., Japan and Europe showing signs of recovery this year, Taiwanese suppliers are generally optimistic about sales growth. ...

With the inaugural Taiwan International Boat Show (TIBS), held May 8-11 in Kaohsiung City, southern Taiwan, to further boost the local yacht industry’s global profile, the island may also accelerate transformation from a yacht production base into an exhibition and recreation hub in Asia. Organized by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), a semi-official export promoter, in assoc...

With some local surface treatment factories officially ordered to shut down due to the violation of environmental protection laws in Taiwan’s southern metropolis of Kaohsiung, where more than 80% of Taiwan's fasteners are made, domestic fastener manufacturers are doing everything they can to repair their supply chain breakdown and cushion its impact in he coming months. The wave of mandatory p...

To accelerate Taiwan’s development of medical instruments, the Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC), a government-funded R&D institute, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Chirana Group, a Slovakian supplier of medical instruments. The MOU was already signed in late January between C.H Fu, MIRDC’s CEO, and Chirana’s CEO, Henrich Hercegu, witnessed by the Slova...

By STEVE CHUANG Pneumatic tools—a category covering air-powered hammers, impact wrenches, spray guns, socket wrenches, grinders, sanders and screwdrivers—account for a major part of Taiwan's power tool production. Local products in this segment have also established a strong presence in the global market over the past decade due to their reputation for quality and competitive pricing, particular...

Growing numbers of companies jump on the eco-bandwagon By KEN LIU Beginning on the first day of this year, all new government construction projects in Taiwan costing less than NT$50 million (US$1.6 million at US$1:NT$30) are required to meet the Ministry of the Interior’s (MOI’s) Green Building Mark standard for energy and water consumption. The standard is administered by the independe...

Riding on the mild economic growth and booming realty market in the United States, the 68th National Hardware Show (NHS), held on May 7-9 in Las Vegas, was bustling with business optimism and educational opportunities. Still North America’s biggest trade fair for the hardware and related industries, this year’s show, organized by Reed Exhibitions, featured thousands of exhibitors in the Centra...

Wise Center Industrial Group Inc., one of Taiwan’s most globally competitive suppliers of garden tools, has experienced an explosive growth of sales in Southeast Asia, offsetting declines that have afflicted the European market in the wake of the debt crisis there. Founded in 1991 in the central Taiwanese city of Taichung, Wise Center has developed into one of the island’s biggest garden ...