Facing a worldwide supply shortage of surgical masks during the global COVID-19 outbreak, the Taiwanese government is fast collaborating with 30 brilliant Taiwanese smart-machinery and automation companies as a “national team.”
The national team has effectively reduced the production cycle of mask equipment from two months to one week and will increase mask production to meet demand domestically. In the process, Taiwan will become the second largest producer of surgical masks in the world.
Taiwan is the seventh largest machine tool manufacturer and the fourth largest machine tool exporter in the world. Taiwan’s machine tool industry has effectively scaled up, creating 60 production lines from six months to a single month, and it is poised to boost daily mask production from 4 million to 10 million pieces by the end of February to early March.
The team comprises about 30 top companies in the machinery sector in Taiwan, including AWEA, YCM, SEYI, KAO MING, CAMPRO, CHMER, HABOR, HIWIN, TONGTAI and more, which collaborated with Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builder’s Association, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Metal Industries Research and Development Center (MIRDC) and Precision Machinery Research and Development Center (PMC).
Taiwan’s machinery clusters are the key factor
With its crucial role in the global machine tool industry, Taiwan’s machinery clusters are a key factor. Based in Taichung, with over 1,500 machine tool makers and 10,000 satellite firms nearby, clusters enable flexible production, expertise sharing and shot lead times.
Such comprehensive and high-density clusters also make Taiwan’s machine tools industries highly competitive and customer-oriented, offering high-quality products through efficient and cost-effective operations.
In recent years, a growing number of machine manufacturers are making the leap to smart machinery production. Using a combination of automation technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial in intelligence (AI)., Taiwan’s extensive experience and expertise in these sectors are in the of aerospace, car manufacturing and automotive component industries.
