Special Feature

Editorial

Copyright owned by Fastener WorldArticle by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief“It is already the a Year of the Dragon!” Although this issue comes out several days after theLunar New Year holidays, the editorial team would like to take this opportunity to extend ourbest wishes for the Year of the Dragon to all industry leaders, customers and related partners.
In 2023, the global fastener industry did feel a distinctly
gloomy atmosphere under the influence of many external factors
such as regional conflicts, inflation, material shortages, rising
manufacturing costs, etc., and many companies are facing toughcompetition and challenges in the part of expanding their export
orders, which has made some of them express their worries about
this year's overall development forecasts. However, we can also
see that a number of industry players have taken advantage ofthe market downturn, choosing not to retreat but to advance thestrategy of continuous layout and investment at home and abroad.
Some companies have also introduced new equipment, replaced
old ones, carried out other industrial upgrading programs,strengthened the training of staff, or made preparation for ISO
146064, ISO14067, or even ISO14068 and other CBAM-related
low-carbon certifications, which shows that there are still anumber of industry players who hold a high degree of confidence
in the development of the future demand for fasteners. and they
hope to make good use of the short order period to grasp a good
hand of cards before a bigger challenge comes.

You Can Also Become a Sustainable
Enterprise with Well-EstablishedStrengths
Between the second half of last year and thebeginning of this year, a few of leading companies
in Taiwan celebrated their anniversaries,including the 25th anniversary of Screwtech
I ndust r y, t he 40 t h a n n iversa r yof Special Rivets Corp. and theinauguration of its new plant inThailand, and the 50th anniversaryof Jieng Beei ng Ente r pr ise.
Although each of these companies
h a s a d i f fe r e nt p r o d u c t r a nge,
they all have one thing in common -146

Fastener World no.205/2024 惠達雜誌

they all have very strong competitiveness keeping them in theindustry for decades. Some of their competitiveness comes from"deepening and accumulating technological capabilities", "timelyupgrading and replacement of facilities/equipment", "mastery anddevelopment of key customer markets", "flexible approach andmindset to meet new generation of regulatory requirements", and"reliable services that attract customers to stay with them". How
the competitiveness can be integrated to maximize the effect is
no doubt these companies’ strengths. "By taking into account theexperience of these successful companies, small businesses candefinitely create more room for development in the international
market. More importantly, it is important to know how to dig
out useful resources to add points for yourself. For example,
applying for subsidies or business upgrading programs from theMinistry of Economic Affairs (Taiwan) or attending counselingand training courses organized or co-sponsored by professionalorganizations are all good shortcuts. As the world's most widely
circulated magazine in the fastener industry, Fastener World Inc.
has cooperated with a NCKU professor and well-known fastenercompanies to organize a number of seminars and courses relatedto industry upgrading and CBAM in the past few months, hoping
to become a supportive force to enhance the competitiveness ofthe industry and to enter the international market. We encourageinterested companies should actively participate in these courses
in the future.

Special Feature
Attention! The EU Has Announced
Default Values for CBAM andGuidelines for Delayed Submission
Dr. Wayne Sung, an industry trend analyst in Taiwan,
defines the "Carbon Reduction Trend" as an unavoidable
war for Taiwan fastener industry in this issue. It is not toomuch to say that it is a war, because many countries havebeen forced to participate in it for the sake of sustainablesurvival and development. Therefore, it is important for
Taiwanese companies, whose main export markets are
Europe and the United States, to keep up-to-date with
CBAM announcements. The European Commission (EC)
has recently announced the default values for determining
embedded emission for products covered by CBAM
valid by the end of 2025, and within the limited period,
declarants can report embedded emissions according to thedefault values announced by the EC. In addition, the EU
has also proposed the solution for "delayed submission"
due to technical problems encountered on the Registry inreporting carbon emissions. It is understood that whether
or not the reporting required by CBAM measures has
been thoroughly implemented has become an importantevaluation benchmark for many European and U.S.
purchasers to assess the qualification of their Taiwanesesuppliers for subsequent cooperation. Therefore, relevant
industry players who need to report should be sure to148

Fastener World no.205/2024 惠達雜誌

inquire with the relevant units before the deadline to avoid unintentional
non-compliance with the regulations.

Looking for Opportunities?
Don't Miss Out on the Shows Fastener Worldis Going to Attend in 2024
In addition to magazines, exposure at exhibitions is also an effective
shortcut to market development. This year, Fastener World Inc. has alsoplanned nearly 30 international professional exhibitions to help suppliers
and buyers create more effective and faster cooperation opportunities in
the most direct face-to-face way. In this issue, we also include a special
preshow feature focused on "Fastener Fair USA", "wire Düsseldorf"and "INAFASTENER", introducing many Taiwanese high-quality
exhibitors who are very competitive in terms of products, technology
and service. It is believed that through the presentation of such content,
it can promote the exchange and cooperation between Taiwan's supply
chain and the international demand market in advance, and increase moreordering opportunities. In addition, in the next May issue of Fastener
World Bimonthly Edition, the editorial department also plans to do a
Preshow Feature introducing a few of Taiwanese exhibitors in Taiwan
International Fastener Show 2024, the largest exhibition event in Taiwan
fastener industry. If you unfortunately could not be included in the preshow
feature this time, don't miss out on this opportunity. Please be sure to check
our official website or contact our sales department at sales@fastenerworld.com.tw to get more information about participation.