Machine-tool Industry Expected to Continue Prospering in 2012

Taipei, Jan. 30, 2012 (CENS)--Taiwan's machine-tool industry will continue to prosper in 2012 as ever more locally-made machine-tools will be shipped to China duty-free under the cross-Taiwan Strait ECFA (economic cooperation framework agreement), whose further negotiations will take place soon.

The duty reductions allowed under the ECFA enabled domestic, listed machine-tool firms to achieve robust sales growth in 2011, including Awea Mechantronic Co., Roundtop Machinery Co., Goodway Machine Corp., Hiwin Technologies Corp., Kao Fong Machinery Co., Falcon Machine Tools Co., and Shieh Yih Machinery Industry Co.

According to statistics from the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI), there are between 700 and 800 different types of machines produced in Taiwan, 107 of which are allowed duty-free shipment to China under the ECFA.

Some 17 machine-tool items and 37 machine-tool parts are eligible for zero customs tariffs under the ECFA, including CNC horizontal lathes, CNC surface grinding machines, grinding machines, stamping tools, tool fixtures, and roller bearings.

TAMI chairman Hsu Hsiu-tsang says domestically-made machinery items to be allowed duty-free shipment to China will increase by 100 to 200 in 2012, and over 400 in 2013, with over 80% of machinery items to enjoy zero tariffs in 2014 and over 98% in 2015.

Kao Fong, one of Taiwan's major manufacturers of CNC machine tools, saw orders received in December 2011 grow by NT$60 million year-on-year, NT$40 million of which came from China. The company posted NT$1.62 billion in 2011 sales, up 2% year-on-year, which institutional investors believe will be maintained in 2012.