The Taipei International Machine Tool Show (TIMTOS) opened yesterday, with more than 1,000 local and international exhibitors showcasing their products.
It is to run through Saturday at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center’s halls 1 and 2, as well as the Taipei World Trade Center’s Exhibition Hall 1.
Exhibitors from 18 countries and territories are showcasing their products to more than 4,000 potential buyers expected to attend the trade show, the organizers said.
Photo: CNA
An online version of the exhibition would run until April 6, they said.
The products being displayed include metal-cutting machine tools, machine tool parts, laser punching machines, metal forming machinery, casting and forging equipment, tube and wire processing tools, and surface treatment equipment.
More sophisticated control systems and industrial robots, as well as inspection and measurement instruments and software, are also being displayed.
Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and the US opened national pavilions at the show.
The show is organized by the government-sponsored Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) and the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI, 台灣機械公會).
The event is expected to attract 50,000 visitors from home and abroad, making it an important indicator for economic recovery this year, TAITRA said.
At the exhibition’s opening ceremony yesterday, TAMI chairman Larry Wei (魏燦文) said the trade show is expected to create more than US$2 billion in business opportunities.
After facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic uncertainty over the past three years, the machinery sector has regained its footing to unveil advanced products that reduce carbon emissions, as well as optimized services, he said.
Taiwan is the world’s fifth-largest machine tool exporter, Wei said, after the nation’s overseas sales last year rose 8.6 percent annually to US$3.02 billion.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at the opening ceremony that the local machinery industry is the third sector in Taiwan to generate more than NT$1 trillion (US$32.71 billion) in output value, after the semiconductor and optoelectronics sectors, reflecting its competitiveness.
The local machinery industry has created more than 350,000 jobs since 2017 as it transformed itself from a precision industry into a smart industry, she said.
TAITRA chairman James Huang (黃志芳) said it is particularly remarkable that Turkey sent a delegation of 20 potential buyers to the trade show, despite the country’s southeast being struck by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake last month.
Turkey was the third-largest buyer of Taiwan’s machining centers last year, Huang said.
There is strong potential for the two sides to continue cooperating on machinery in the post COVID-19 era, he added.
Also attending the opening ceremony, American Institute in Taiwan Director Sandra Oudkirk praised the performance of Taiwan’s machinery industry, saying Taiwan has played a critical role in global supply chains.
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