While many people, especially in developing nations, may raise eyebrows at news of seemingly extravagant treatment of pets in the West, with dog owners willing to pay for pet lodging during their absence and even workouts at a gym for pets, the existence of such markets and the prospect of their further growths remains promising in many countries, especially in developed countries as the U.S., wh...

Outdoor furniture was once generally regarded as inexpensive furnishings with monotonous, frumpy styles and often distasteful tones, but no longer. Today alfresco furniture can have the same features as indoor furniture, mostly thanks to ever more consumers' changing lifestyles and entertaining habits, which inspire them to turn outdoor spaces into living areas as lavish, relaxing as indoor space...

Alongside the rising trends of leisure gardening, outdoor socializing in gardens, and outdoor activities, consumers are inevitably looking for ways to decorate and add chic to their gardens and backyards, which will also fuel growth of the segment for various garden ornaments, accessories and decorative hardware. Among the notable gardening trends identified by Garden Media Group, a garden mar...

Gardening tool production, as other traditional manufacturing sectors, is one of Taiwan’s most globally competitive industries that began and is clustered in the central region covering Taichung and Changhua, but only a handful of operators could rival Wise Center Industrial Group Inc., especially for its truly profound understanding of the importance and application of various corporate manageme...

Compiled by STEVE CHUANG With the recent collapse in international prices of iron ore causing a domino effect in the global steel market, along with downsizing of U.S.’s shale gas and cruse oil exploration industries due to record-setting low oil prices, Taiwan-based China Steel Corp. (CSC), the island’s largest steelmaker by capacity and size, is on the brink of slashing its nominal prices of...

Compiled by STEVE CHUANG With TV news reports that certain parts of the USA have seen home prices rise sizably since last year, in particular those in San Francisco, and the Greek debt deal tentatively extended, and car sales stateside increase due to falling gas prices, some say the global economic climate looks promising and should drive manufacturing and construction industries worldwide, w...

Compiled by STEVE CHUANG Responding to a downward trend of international steel prices, China Steel Corp. (CSC), Taiwan’s largest steelmaker by size, has decided to continue reduce its nominal prices of domestically sold steels by 2.27 percent, or NT$425 (US$13.49) per tonne, on average, in line with similar reductions applied during January and February, a move that has delighted local downst...

By STEVE CHUANG Taiwan's media has over the years dubbed the nation "Economic Miracle," a deserved title in the 1980s and 1990s, especially considering the small island has scant natural resources as minerals and fossil fuel. But Taiwan's economic might has been undermined on many fronts by China's market liberalization and globalization, to have turned China into both trade partner and rival....

By STEVE CHUANG Hand tool manufacturing, which has been one of Taiwan’s traditional industries with strong presence in the global market for decades, is now looking forward to brighter prospects than ever thanks mainly to new applications and upgraded production technologies developed jointly by local manufacturers and R&D institutions. It is no overstatement to say that the industry is exp...

By QUINCY LIANG Taiwan's hand-tool industry has developed strongly for many years to become a key player in the international market for high-quality, innovative, and reasonably priced products to global users, especially in the professional and industrial application segments. Despite its solid foothold in the global market, Taiwan's hand-tool industry still faces challenges ahead, not so ...