A US-based firm is establishing a bamboo processing factory at the Port of Suao in Yilan County, Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC, 台灣港務) announced.
TieBam Inc (竺豐), which established a subsidiary in Taiwan in 2018, specializes in the densification and processing of bamboo into durable, environmentally sustainable railway ties, TIPC said.
The railway tie market has faced challenges over the past few years due to restrictions on the supply of wood amid growing awareness of environmental issues, it said.
“To address eco-sustainability and new market needs, TieBam developed and patented an innovative bamboo densification technique that allows the use of this fast-growing material in high-performance industrial applications,” TIPC said, adding that densified bamboo ties are stronger and more durable than traditional wood ties.
They are also more cost-effective and have a significantly lower impact on the environment, it said.
TIPC said that its office in Keelung on Oct. 24 last year began reviewing the qualifications of contractors interested in leasing the No. 4 warehouse at the port.
TieBam was chosen as the most qualified contractor, the company said, adding that the two sides signed a lease at the end of last month.
TIPC said that TieBam would have bamboo delivered from Southeast Asian nations to its warehouse, where the material would be processed into railway ties for shipment to buyers worldwide.
TieBam is to spend NT$200 million (US$6.64 million) building the facility at the port, which is expected to be ready for commercial production at the end of next year, TIPC said.
“The facility should generate about NT$1.6 billion in annual revenue in the initial stage, with annual revenue expected to rise to NT$6 billion over time. The facility is also expected to create about 100 new jobs. We look forward to the increase in foreign investment at the Port of Suao, which would raise its shipping volumes and revenue, as well as spur the growth of industry clusters,” the company said.
SUPPLY HICCUPS: Poor manufacturing yields at Apple’s overseas suppliers have caused at least one maker of its new MiniLED displays to pause production, sources said The next-generation display destined to be a highlight of Apple Inc’s upcoming top-tier iPad Pro is facing production issues that could lead to short initial supplies of the new device, people familiar with the matter said. The Cupertino, California-based tech giant plans to showcase a new MiniLED display technology in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro set to be announced as early as the second half of this month. However, the firm’s overseas suppliers are dealing with poor manufacturing yields, the people who asked not to be named discussing sensitive matters said. At least one of the MiniLED makers has had to pause production as
END OF AN ERA: The Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets have served the airline well, but new-generation aircraft are more fuel-efficient, CAL chairman Hsieh Shih-chien said China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 華航) yesterday bid farewell to its last four Boeing 747-400 planes, ending the era of the “Queen of the Skies” at the airline. CAL has since 1975 operated a total of 29 747 series aircraft manufactured by Boeing Co. In 1990, it started receiving delivery of 19 747-400 jumbo jets, with the last one, the B-18215, delivered in 2005, it said. The B-18215 was the last of the passenger model produced by Boeing, making the 16-year-old aircraft the world’s youngest 747-400, CAL chairman Hsieh Shih-chien (謝世謙) told an event to bid farewell to the planes at Taiwan Taoyuan
Several hundred people have already booked their tickets and begun training for a spectacular voyage: a few minutes, or perhaps days, in the weightlessness of space. The mainly wealthy first-time space travelers are preparing to take part in one of several private missions which are preparing to launch. The era of space tourism is on the horizon 60 years after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space. Two companies, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin LLC, are building spacecraft capable of sending private clients on suborbital flights to the edge of space lasting several minutes. Glenn King is the director of
DIVERSE SUPPLY: TSMC chairman Mark Liu said the firm’s US$12 billion investment in Arizona would succeed with continued bipartisan support from the US Congress Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, on Monday took part in a virtual White House summit about a global semiconductor shortage and Washington’s plans to strengthen US supply chains. The Hsinchu-based company was among 19 firms, including fellow chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co, GlobalFoundries Inc and Intel Corp, that attended the summit hosted by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, US National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. US President Joe Biden told executives in the meeting that there is bipartisan support in the US Congress for efforts to strengthen the US