Non-profit PMC in Taiwan Sets Up Center to Help Makers Go High-end

The Precision Machinery Research and Development Center (PMC), a non-profit organization based in the central Taiwan city of Taichung, launched a "five-axis machining center service community" on June 15. The new group of 17 leading domestic makers of machine tools, including the Awea Mechantronic Corp., Falcon Machine Tools Co., Tongtai Machine & Tool Co., Leadwell CNC Machines Mfg. Corp., and Victor Taichung Machinery Works Co., was set up at the direction of the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The PMC predicts that the new organization will boost the production value of Taiwan's machine-tool industry by between NT$20 billion (US$609.75 million at NT$32.8:US$1) and NT$30 billion (US$914.63 million) per year.

The collective efforts to develop five-axis machining centers that the new "community" embodies, says PMC general manager P.C. Chan, are an indication that Taiwan's machine-tool industry is moving toward the production of high-end, high-value-added products. He notes that it will serve as a platform for local companies to use in developing critical manufacturing technologies for the high-tier machining centers.

The PMC and "community" members will initially invest at least NT$20 million (US$609,750) in the establishment of standard inspection criteria for five-axis machining centers.

The impact of the financial tsunami that struck in September 2008 has deeply affected the performance of Taiwan's machine-tool makers. Tongtai, for instance, saw its sales plummet 67.29% year-on-year in the first five months of 2009, to NT$956 million (US$29.14 million). Awea's sales shrunk 74.31% over the five-month period, to NT$363 million (US$11.06 million); Falcon registered a drop of 68.62%, to NT$225 million (US$6.8 million); Victor Taichung posted a 79.59% decline, to NT$527 million (US$16.06 million); and Leadwell saw revenues fall by 71.77%. The suppliers are working to develop high-value-added products that can bring in better profits and help them tide over the recession.

Leading local manufacturers, Chen reports, have been working hard to develop high-end products such as five-axis machining centers and multi-task lathes (sophisticated machines that are widely used in high-tech industries like national defense, aerospace, automobiles, and electronics) over the past few years to help them escape the price competition they face from rivals in mainland China and South Korea.

The production of five-axis machining centers remains in the early stages of development in Taiwan. Quaser Machine Tools Inc. has been especially active in developing them, and other large machine-tool producers such as Victor Taichung, Yeong Chin Machinery Co., and Awea have joined in. The island's production of five-axis machining centers now stands at about NT$8 billion (US$243.9 million) annually.