Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (TTL, 台灣菸酒公司) celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding yesterday at its Chunan (竹南) plant in northern Hsinchu County, with new chairman Martin Tsai (蔡木霖) presiding over a ceremony attended by more than 4,000 employees.
Tsai announced his intention to lead TTL, a former state-run monopoly and now a privately run company that is Taiwan's largest beer and liquor producer, to go international, while seeking further consolidation in the domestic market.
Tsai vowed to overhaul TTL's organizational structure to pave the way for efforts to explore overseas markets, including China, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, the US and Europe.
The company will begin by exploring markets in neighboring countries such as China, where Tsai said the Mainland Affairs Council had approved its application to open an office.
According to Tsai, TTL will focus on promoting its beer and tobacco products in the Chinese market, while Shaohsing wine (紹興酒) and flavored liquors will be the main items promoted in Japan and South Korea.
Formerly the company's vice president, Tsai replaced Ray Dawn (董瑞斌) as TTL's chairman in September. He stressed the importance of training qualified personnel for foreign market exploration missions, pointing out that the company had fallen short of building a professional team in this regard.
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