Global aero parts sector set for Taiwan takeoff

2016/03/01

Taiwan is set to become a global aero components and parts production hub on the back of local public and private sector efforts to carve out a bigger slice of the estimated annual US$5.2 trillion international aviation industry.

The Industrial Development Bureau under the ROC Ministry of Economic Affairs is setting the table in this regard. It has initiated collaboration between the local sector and global aviation firms to develop advanced machinery targeting such production.

A major MOEA-backed undertaking is the A-I-M technological alliance launched last December in Taichung City. Initiated by local industry leader Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. in conjunction with state-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute and several domestic universities, the alliance involves more than 20 firms from the aviation, market intelligence and machinery sectors.

IDB Deputy Director-General Leu Jang-hwa said the alliance is an extension of the Taiwan Productivity 4.0 Initiative aimed at enhancing the global competitiveness of Taiwan’s signature industrial sectors. Kicked off last September, the project is the government’s response to the fourth industrial revolution in major economies such as Germany, Japan and the U.S.

“In light of the challenges facing Taiwan’s machinery industry, the alliance is the perfect platform for capitalizing on new opportunities in the global aero components and parts supply chain,” Leu added.

The private sector is also pulling its weight. Several local firms provide key components to international aviation power system producers such as GE Aviation, Pratt and Whitney and Rolls-Royce.

Among these, Taichung-headquartered AIDC is a tier-one supplier to Airbus Group and has been supplying section 16A barrels for the latter’s A321 series since 2003, with its 1,000th delivery completed Feb. 3.

Kaohsiung City-based Chaheng Precision Co. Ltd. won a NT$3.49 billion (US$104 million), multiyear contract in March 2015 to provide outlet guide vane diffusers and other key components for the LEAP engines produced by CFM International, a joint venture of Snecma SA of France and GE Aviation.

And earlier this month, the southern Taiwan firm announced it successfully developed fan OGV for engines equipped on Airbus A380, and will ramp up production starting this quarter.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=242528&ctNode=2194&mp=9)