AssociationTFTA Chairman Josh Chen

“Among Taiwan's export-orientedindustries, fasteners are also oneof the most important industries
that help Taiwan generate a lotof foreign exchange. A complete
supply chain from raw materials
to finished products, which is rarein the world, has made Taiwan apriority for European and American
manufacturers choosing to work withthem in overseas sourcing, and many of
Taiwanese fastener suppliers have been
longtime members of Taiwan Fastener
Trading Association (TFTA). With theefforts of incumbent Chairman JoshChen, TFTA has continued to raise thevisibility of Taiwanese suppliers in theint’l marketplace.

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Global Exchanges, Deepening
Taiwan Fastener Industry'sConnection with the World
Since most TFTA members are export-oriented, communication with int’lfastener associations has become an important task of TFTA. Chairman Josh
Chen said that, over the past few years TFTA has continued to establish
close exchange and smooth communication channels with many int’lassociations (e.g., NFDA, EFDA, EIFI, SINPA, SEIFSA, etc.), helping
Taiwan fastener industry maintain partnership with overseas customers on
the one hand and allowing int’l friends to better understand Taiwan fastenerindustry on the other hand. Chairman Chen has represented TFTA toparticipate in the activities of partnered associations for times. In addition
to having attended the EIFI's General Assembly for times, in May and June
this year, he was also invited by EIFI and NFDA respectively to attend
their annual conferences to exchange views and report on the developmentof Taiwan fastener industry, and he even shared the video footage of theTaiwan Fastener Fashion Show held by TFTA in 2023, amazing all theguests with the endless creativity of Taiwan fastener industry. Speaking ofthe major achievements during his 4-year tenure as chairman, Chairman
Chen said that maintaining smooth communication between TFTA andint’l associations in Europe and the U.S. has been an important task during
his tenure. He also hopes that in the future communication between TFTA
and overseas associations will be even closer than it is now and that thepartnership with them will be even stronger.

AssociationPaying Heed to Int’lSituations and AcceleratingIndustrial Upgrade
The global market is filled with many uncontrollable external
factors, especially the Israeli-Palestinian war may also have aprofound impact on the global economy. Chairman Chen said
that the industry hasn’t appeared signs of recovery yet and thesituation is indeed not optimistic. Fluctuations in steel and oil
prices, wars, U.S. interest rate hikes, and exchange rates havecaused customers to be conservative in their investments. He
reminds suppliers of paying heed to these variables. At thesame time, he also suggests that in the midst of the sluggish
economy, Taiwanese companies should strengthen theirindustrial upgrade, and Taiwanese government should also
consider lowering Taiwan's interest rates to provide more
incentives for investment. On the basis of not affecting therules of market operation, the government should appropriately
adjust and provide preferential interest rates and favorable
measures to help those interested in industrial upgrade getaccess to government resources or subsidies more easily, inorder to stimulate the economy to be vibrant.

Low Carbon Steel Products
are in High Demand.
Hopefully Taiwan CSC Can
Offer Benefits to Enhance
Suppliers’ Competitiveness.
Observing the current significant order downturn of theindustry, Chairman Chen believes that a large proportion ofthis year's decreasing demand is due to the still high level of thecustomer inventory. As last year's shipping container costs andfreight charges hiked, worried customers tried to buy beyond
expectations, resulting in a scenario that some suppliers arestill processing orders made last year. One U.S. customer eventold him privately that he might not run out of inventory untilthe middle or end of next year. Nevertheless, Chairman Chenbelieves that market demand has not disappeared, and that inaddition to the production of low-carbon steel products, theindustry should also strengthen the development of mediumand high-carbon steel products to enhance competitiveness.
Regarding the low-carbon steel products, which are still the bulkof the demand, Chairman Chen believes that as there are many
competitors in the low-carbon steel products (such as thosefrom China and Southeast Asia) and the profit margins arerelatively thin, he hopes that Taiwan CSC can provide morefavorable packages in terms of price to support the industry.

Enhancing Customers’
Understanding of Taiwan;
Order Switching is Only aShort-term Phenomenon

Although a few large factories reflected that some customers
from Europe and the U.S. have requested to set up factories
overseas before they are willing to place orders, Chairman
Chen believes that this should only be a short-term phenomenon
caused by customers’ lack of understanding of the current
situation of Taiwan fastener industry. In order to solve thisdilemma, Taiwanese suppliers should take the initiative to
make customers understand the situation in Taiwan. TFTA
also plays a role in helping them achieve this goal by inviting
European and U.S. customers having operations in Taiwan to
be TFTA's int’l members, so that through exchange they canunderstand the actual situation of Taiwan fastener industry.
Chairman Chen emphasized that the problem of customers
switching to other countries may be a major challenge, but themost important thing for the industry is to continue to take goodcare of product quality and on-time delivery.

Better to Get Official
Counseling on CBAM Issues
As the EU has not finalized the implementation detailsof CBAM yet, Chairman Chen said that instead of looking
for private organizations to conduct carbon footprint
verification, it would be better to contact MIRDC or IDA(MOEA) to inquire about counseling or training courses,
and that TFTA would actively cooperate with these units toassist members in understanding related training courses andsubsidy programs. In addition, TFTA has already establisheda smooth approach and perfect planning with MIRDC interms of member educational training (incl. on-site practiceand technical observation), and will further improve futurecollaboration.

The Recession Has Reachedthe Bottom and BrightFuture Can Be Expected
On Dec/8 this year, TFTA members meeting and Board ofDirectors election will be held in Queen Plaza Hotel in Tainan,
when Chairman Chen will also officially hand over the baton tohis successor. Chairman Chen said that although the economy
doesn’t look good, it is estimated that it might not get worse. Heis confident that Taiwan fastener industry will bottom out andrebound. He will also coordinate with the new TFTA Chairman
on the Association's development policy, hoping that TFTA
will give more training programs and market exchanges (suchas Japan and Southeast Asia) to create more opportunities for
TFTA members.

Copyright owned by Fastener World
Article by Gang Hao Chang, Vice Editor-in-Chief惠達雜誌 Fastener World no.203/2023

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