A manufacturer of glass products on Saturday said that its nonreliance on Chinese operations has led to a 40 percent increase in orders for this quarter compared with last year.
Changhua-based Taiwan Mirror Glass Enterprise Co said it has always believed in the importance of keeping its operations in Taiwan, which has allowed it to avoid disruptions on production in China caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
A slowdown in Chinese manufacturing this quarter will likely result in many international companies reassessing their supply-chain dependence on China, Taiwan Mirror Glass chief executive officer Jackson Lin (林肇睢) said.
Photo: Liu Hsiao-hsin, Taipei Times
One order he received from a Japanese daily commodities supplier was worth US$2 million and he also received a US$2 million order from an international furniture manufacturer that he had not received orders from for nearly 10 years, Lin said.
Both orders were a sign of things to come, Lin said, adding that the Japanese supplier had visited his factory in Changhua to arrange a long-term contract.
“Japanese businesses are of the mindset that Taiwan is stable in every way,” he said. “The industrial supply chain for glass products in Taiwan is also complete, so everything can be done domestically.”
The furniture manufacturer has also adjusted its business strategy and supply line, he said.
“In the past, it focused on competitive pricing, but Taiwanese businesses do not undercut competitors and steal orders,” Lin said.
Seeing international firms seek partnerships with Taiwanese manufacturers is evidence of their reliability and quality, he said.
Quality and reliability are taking precedence over low cost, he said.
Manufacturers and suppliers at all levels in the nation’s glass products industry are working together to keep manufacturing in Taiwan, Lin said.
“Taiwan’s top-quality public health system is also helping us to secure these orders” through its epidemic prevention efforts, he said.
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