GFun Industrial Corp (聚紡公司) has pledged NT$1.5 billion (US$54.29 million) to build new facilities in Taoyuan’s Guanyin Industrial Park (觀音工業區) as a part of the Invest in Taiwan initiative, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
GFun, a supplier of high-tech fabrics to global brands such as The North Face, Columbia, Jack Wolfskin, Nike and Adidas, is also an important supplier of fabric for manufacturing personal protective equipment (PPE).
The company cited the US-China trade dispute as a reason for reshoring in Taiwan.
The “smart textile factory” would create 73 jobs, it said.
Together with GFun, seven other businesses are investing a total of almost NT$5 billion to create or expand their businesses in Taiwan, including Sakura Scissors (瑞麗刀剪), Min Hsin Canning Co (明新製罐工廠) and Yaw Yew Rubber (耀裕橡膠), the ministry said in a statement.
Sakura Scissors exports its products under the brand name Ohka Sakura to the US, Italy, China, Hong Kong, Finland, Russia and Latvia.
Sakura also sells to consumers worldwide online, with the company transitioning from a B2B to B2C business model.
It is planning to invest more than NT$30 million to build a smart production system at its Taichung facilities, creating at least eight jobs.
Min Hsin Canning specializes in manufacturing cans for food products. A partner of some of Taiwan’s most famous food brands, Min Hsin plans to invest NT$600 million to build an automated e-factory that would create five new jobs.
So far, the Invest in Taiwan initiative has attracted 904 companies to invest more than NT$1.23 trillion in Taiwan, creating 103,258 local jobs. Sixty applications to join the program are pending.
The program aims to attact high-value added companies that would bring green, advanced and well-paying jobs to help Taiwan’s economy become more dynamic.
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