AssociationTIFI Chairman
Tu-Chin Tsai

“As the international situationis changing, the global industrial
l ayo u t h a s b e e n a f f e c t e d . M a n y
Taiwanese fastener suppliers havebeen facing E SG, EU carbon t a x,
smart manufacturing, and production
line upgrades over the past year orso, in addition to the plight of a sharp
decrease in orders, which have become
major issues that they urgently needto face, and they have been looking
for external counseling and support.
Taiwan Industrial Fasteners Institute(TIFI), which has many members,
has been actively speaking out for theinterests of the industry under theleadership of Chairman Tu-Chin Tsaifor nearly six years and has become oneof the strong supports for Taiwanese
fastener suppliers to strive for moreresources from the government orrelated organizations.

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While the Economy Continues
to Look Bleak, Industry Players
Should Speed up Their ESG
Steps.
Analyzing the current global downturn, Chairman Tsai believes that
it is mainly due to several factors, including inflation caused by the25% tariff imposed by the U.S. on China, the U.S. Fed's interest
rate hike, China’s closure measures in its major economic centersin the wake of the Covid pandemic, and the Ukraine-Russia Warand Israel-Palestine War, which have shaken the global economic
growth. Although the U.S. continues to play the role of economic
locomotive, the economic momentum of almost all other countries
and regions have been significantly affected. Taiwan fastener industry
performed well until July last year as it was still absorbing orders fromoverseas customers, but then saw a sharp drop in new orders as themarket demand declined.
It is currently heard that many companies have begun to implement
3-4 days of unpaid leave. Chairman Tsai predicted that if the industry
orders before April next year could not return, the market may appear
a recession for another 2 years. However, he is still optimistic that if
the demand picks up after the Lunar New Year next year, there could
be a chance to stimulate the global economic growth. Until then,he strongly recommends that domestic players accelerate their ESG
planning to prepare for the next wave of market demand. Currently,
Taiwanese government has allocated NT$44 billion for ESG to assist

Associationcompanies in hiring professionals, improving equipment,
and conducting carbon footprint verification (CFV), which
will be a great opportunity for Taiwanese companies toenter into smart manufacturing and strengthen industrial
upgrade. Chairman Tsai cited the example of Sun Beam
Tech. which started its ESG program 12 years ago byswitching from using fuel oil to natural gas, applying
for tens of millions of dollars in government subsidies
to renovate its equipment, and completing the CFV.
Chairman Tsai emphasized that as Europe and the U.S.
continue to incorporate ESG into their regulations,Taiwan's industry can no longer ignore it anymore.

TIFI Collaborates with theIndustry and Government
to Offer Free ESG
Courses;Industry Players are
Encouraged to Register
for Attendance
There are currently many CFV consulting firms inTaiwan, but their quality varies. In order to enable thedomestic industry to catch up with the int’l CFV ASAP
and to realize the goals of smart manufacturing andproduction line upgrading, TIFI has already obtainedsubsidies from Taiwan's MOEA and has coordinated withMIRDC to help the industry carry out CFV, hoping toaccelerate the improvement of water/electricity/oil/gas
utilization.
Chairman Tsai said, suppliers can often visit TIFI’s
website for more info. TIFI has collaborated with IDB(MOEA) and MIRDC to open free ESG courses forcorporate CEOs and cadres in charge of ESG business,and the lecturers are mostly experts and scholars fromMIRDC, MOEA, and well-known universities & colleges.
It is highly recommended that the industr y pay
attention to and actively participate in the programs. In
the future, if advanced countries such as EU, the U.S.,
and Japan formally implement ESG requirements, it’ll
become Taiwan’s niche to compete with China, India, orother emerging countries. In addition, in view of the highcost of foreign certification, MIRDC will actively applyto become an EU-recognized certification unit, and TIFI
is also pursuing with the government to subsidize at least
half of the amount for those who intend to purchase ESGrelated equipment. However, Chairman Tsai pointed outthat the industry must first apply to the government
before they c an be included in the subsequentcalculation of CFV. For those having completed CFV
before, Taiwanese Government will also work on
complementary programs to cope with the situation.

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Fastener World no.203/2023 惠達雜誌

As the Demand Shrinks, TIFIFights for More Benefits
from the Government andTaiwan CSC to Help theIndustry Tide Over DifficultTimes.
TIFI invites fastener manufacturers to participate in quarterly
production & sales meetings with Taiwan CSC and discuss thecurrent wire rod prices and industry conditions. Chairman Tsai
said that Taiwan CSC's quotations mainly refer to int’l iron ore,coke, exchange rates and quotations from major steel-producing
countries such as China, Russia, Vietnam, and India. At thesame time, they will also consider the performance of domestic
industry orders to make reasonable quotations and provide morediversified and preferential packages.
Chairman Tsai also often coordinates with Taiwan CSC
together with industry-leading companies and TIFI BoD toprevent Taiwan CSC's quotations from deviating too much fromthe actual industrial situation. Due to the current shrinkage ofdomestic industry orders, Chairman Tsai also suggested thatafter the Q1 2024 production & sales meeting scheduledin December this year, Taiwan CSC should definitely takemarket price into consideration and at least flatten orreduce the price, otherwise suppliers won’t be able to receive
orders or cannot pay loans and employee salaries, which may
also affect the Q1 performance next year. He also hopes that thegovernment can coordinate with banks to extend the repayment
period of corporate letters of credit to the end of next year andstand with enterprises.

Overseas Investment
Should Give Priority to theCountry's Security, NationalCharacter and Stability.
With more buyers requiring Chinese or Taiwanese suppliers
to set up factories overseas, many Taiwanese companies havebegun to set up factories in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand andother places in order to maintain orders. Chairman Tsai, whohas factories in Malaysia and Vietnam, said that when choosing
an overseas factory base, the country's security, national
character and stability are the three major evaluationindicators. In addition to having trustworthy people locallyto help with management, their HQs in Taiwan also needto send cadres for supervision. In some emerging markets,
Taiwanese manufacturers can also consider setting up liaison
offices or collaboration with local distributors to expand
sales opportunities. As for the rest of small factories unable
to set up factories overseas, they are recommended to rely onlarge factories to seek sustainable operation. He also believes
that automotive fasteners are an area where Taiwanesecompanies can further strengthen their presence. Thus far,Association
over 30% of Taiwanese companies have invested in this field.
Although EV will reduce the fastener demand in the future,
their added value is still attractive for investment.

Taiwan International
Fastener Show to be
Launched Next June, Hopingto Bring More Overseas
Business Opportunities
Taiwan International Fastener Show (“Fastener Taiwan”),
with TIFI as the executive unit, will be held at Kaohsiung
Exhibition Center on June 5-7 next year. The readjusted
dates are now far from those int’l trade fairs such as Fastener
Fair Global and Wire Düsseldorf, and are sure to attract more
overseas visitors. In order to make Fastener Taiwan more
successful, Chairman Tsai's chairmanship will be extended until
the conclusion of Fastener Taiwan in June next year. Chairman
Tsai said that Fastener Taiwan 2018 held before the pandemic
successfully attracted 2,000+ foreign visitors. This year, withthe exhibition dates returning to normal and national borders
open, overseas visitors are expected to hit new highs. He hopesthat through the consecutive holding of Fastener Taiwan, morebusiness and collaboration opportunities will be created forcompetent industry players in Taiwan.

A New Look of Taiwan
Fastener Museum is Expected
to be Unveiled in H1 Next Year
During his tenure, Chairman Tsai cooperated with Kaohsiung
City Government to build the 1st Taiwan Fastener Museum at
Kangshan Agricultural & Industrial Vocational Senior HighSchool. It is currently one of the two museums in the world
focusing on the fastener industry. Many important developmentsof Taiwan fastener industry are displayed in the museum. Throughvideos and other visual aids, visitors can better understand thepast, present and future of Taiwan fastener industry. Chairman
Tsai said that there are many worth-seeing collections in themuseum waiting for visitors to appreciate. He is also actively
inviting important veteran figures in the development of
Taiwan fastener industry to tell the history of Taiwan fasteners
and add more exhibits that can facilitate interaction withvisitors. Outside the museum, there will be a firefly ecologicalpark, which is expected to become a popular tourist attraction
in Gangshan and will be open soon in H1 next year.
Although the baton will be handed over in June next year,
Chairman Tsai said that in addition to Taiwan International
Fastener Show and the Museum, TIFI will also hold many
activities next year and hopes that everyone can participate andwork together for the future of Taiwan fastener industry.

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

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