TMBA, Jui-Hsiung Yan: Taiwanese machine tools are highly prized on the European market

Jui-Hsiung Yan, Chairman of the Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders` Association (TMBA),

for South-East European Industrial Market magazine

Present the Association activities in Europe and particularly in South-Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria.

TMBA assists member companies to attend professional machine tool exhibitions which are well-known worldwide every year, such as EMO, AMB, IMTS, JIMTOF, etc., to promote Taiwan’s machine tool and accessory building to an international audience. TMBA also strives for exhibition subsidy from the government to raise the willingness of Taiwanese enterprises to join overseas exhibitions.

If a Bulgarian or a South-East European company would need assistance to establish or support a partnership with Taiwanese manufacturers how would your Association help?

TMBA provides all the necessary services including industry statistics and market research, governmental assignments, facilitating the development of the Taiwan’s machine tool industry, assisting members in developing overseas markets, and organizing the Taiwan International Machine Tool Show (TMTS).

TMBA would help by delivering Bulgarian business information to its member companies, as well as news updates. If Bulgarian companies are interested in cooperation between Taiwan and Bulgaria, TMBA would also convey that information to its members. In order to increase business opportunities, TMBA could hold a purchasing conference for South-Eastern companies to find potential business partnerships in Taiwan.

How do you estimate the Taiwanese Machine Tools business in Bulgaria?

According to a survey made by CELIMO about the cost-performance rating of the machine tool industry in Europe, the top three countries are Germany, Japan and Taiwan. This indicates that Taiwanese machine tools are highly prized by the European market. Bulgaria is ranked 12th in Taiwan’s machine tool exports to Europe, referring to the export statistics of the Taiwan Customs, and the export value to Bulgaria in 2018 was up to USD 13 million. The most sold machine types included lathes and machining centers. Up to 90% of Taiwan’s machine tool manufacturers are located in Taichung, in central Taiwan.

The advantage of flexible manufacturing systems with a complete supply chain makes Taiwan’s machine tool industry famous all over the world. The Taiwan International Machine Tool Show (TMTS), held biannually at Taichung, becomes one of the most important metalworking exhibitions in Asia. It has an innovative “Exhibition integrated with the manufacturing supply chain” concept. We welcome visitors and exhibitors from Bulgaria to join TMTS, and further experience industrial vitality of Taiwan’s machine tool industry.

What are the perspectives for a future business development?

Europe has always been an important trading partner for Taiwan’s machine tool industry. Meanwhile, Taiwan keeps close ties with South-Eastern Europe, where we manufacture automotive accessories and parts, as well as bicycle related products. Those are also among the main ranges of application for Taiwan’s machine tool and machinery equipment.

In recent years, the trend of intelligent manufacturing has been prevailing in the global manufacturing industry. Taiwan’s machine tool industry takes the lead to develop an intelligent manufacturing ecosystem to rapidly respond to the demand of end users and the market. Thus the country is also further enhancing productivity and resource efficiency for the application industry. We believe that Taiwanese machine tools can drive the development of intelligent manufacturing in Bulgaria.