Premiere of Taiwan International Tools & Hardware Expo

The first edition of the Taiwan International Tools & Hardware Expo (TiTE) took place from 12 to 14 October and featured more than 250 exhibitors. According to the organisers, over 15 000 visitors, including several hundred international buyers from 42 countries worldwide, attended the show in the Taichung International Exhibition Center. This followed the announcement by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) that Taiwan’s borders would be fully reopened starting on 13 October.

The organisers reported on hundreds of matchmakings from 18 countries during the expo. What’s more, the online expo with virtual exhibition hall was launched on 1 October, combined with conference system access to international and domestic buyers ahead of the show.

The first TiTE was advised by the Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs and co-organised by the Strengthening Investment Services Project Office, NDF, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, Taiwan Industrial Fasteners Institute, Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders' Association, Taiwan Plastics Industry Association, Digital Transformation Association and Invest Kaohsiung. It also worked together with over 20 significant industrial associations to organise the event.

“As countries all across the world are lifting their coronavirus lockdowns, global supply chains in a post-pandemic world have been changed. This is a great opportunity for Taiwanese manufacturers to rebrand the hand tools kingdom. As the organiser, we are devoted to making Taiwan’s hand tool industry shine on the global stage. This expo just makes a first innovative move. As more ideas will be unlocked, a new chapter of Taiwan’s hand tools shall begin,” said Jack Lai, chairman of the Taiwan Hand Tool Manufacturers' Association.

The forum hosted on October 12 to 14 tackled two key topics, covering innovation, transformation and the sustainable development of the metal industry and the digital transformation of traditional industries.  The first thematic session on the opening day covered the carbon reduction strategy and profitability control, Taiwan’s pathway to net-zero emissions and digital transformation in manufacturing and industrials.

Subsequent thematic sessions on day 2 of the TiTE conference opened with “The future of industry transformation”. They closed with a session of the Taiwan-US smart home industrial networking forum, focusing on the best solutions and AI application cases for smart homes.