The production value of Taiwan’s machinery industry is expected to rise about 15 percent this year from last year on the back of strong demand, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (台灣機械公會) said yesterday.
Association chairman Larry Wei (魏燦文) told reporters that global demand is expected to keep rising this year as high-end precision and smart manufacturing increase the pressure on manufacturers to upgrade.
The industry’s production value this year is expected to be NT$1.5 trillion (US$53.80 billion), up NT$200 billion, or about 15 percent, from a year earlier, Wei said.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Machinery exports are expected to grow 15 percent year-on-year this year, he said.
Last year, the output value of Taiwan’s machinery sector rose to NT$1.3 trillion, while exports grew 27 percent year-on-year to a new high of US$33.14 billion.
The industry’s exports have been growing steadily for the past 17 months.
The smart manufacturing trend means that smart machinery is gradually replacing traditional machinery in the global manufacturing sector, which will boost the local sector, Wei said.
The COVID-19 pandemic sent ripples through the global supply chain, with the importance of the Chinese manufacturing industry being undercut in the past two years, creating more business opportunities for Taiwanese manufacturers and raising local production, he said.
Taiwanese machinery suppliers have set their sights on the Turkish market, which has been a springboard for exporters to reach markets in the Middle East and Europe, he said.
Hopefully, tensions between Russia and Ukraine would ease, because geopolitical chaos would affect demand in the global machinery market, Wei said.
Alex Ko (柯拔希), head of a new business alliance dedicated to smart manufacturing in Taiwan, said that he was upbeat about the local industry, forecasting that output would top NT$2 trillion in 2025.
The alliance, which was set up on Monday, is made up of 30 machine tool manufacturers, including Victor Taichung Machinery Works Co (台中精機), Taiwan Takisawa Technology Co (台灣瀧澤) and Tongtai Machine and Tool Co (東台精機).
The output value of Taiwan’s machine tools is expected to reach NT$108.2 billion this year, Wei said.
Separately, the TIMTOS TMTS trade exhibition organized by the Taipei International Machine Tool Show and Taiwan International Machine Tool Show opened at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center’s Hall 1 and 2 on Monday.
The organizers said that the event would promote Taiwan’s strength in machinery production.
The exhibition is to end on Saturday.
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