President Ma promotes industrial automation

2014-08-29

President Ma Ying-jeou said Aug. 27 that automation is a key plank in the government’s industrial upgrade platform, vowing to continue promoting the sector and facilitating Taiwan’s economic transformation.

“Automation plays a crucial role in Taiwan’s manufacturing activity, enabling planners to produce flexible solutions for labor and production challenges,” Ma said at the opening of the Taipei International Industrial Automation Exhibition.

Co-organized by Taiwan Fluid Power Association with support from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the exhibition features more than 2,500 booths set up by 900 plus firms from home and abroad. It is expected to attract 60,000 buyers and visitors during its four-day run.

According to the president, local firms in the automation, electrical equipment, logistics and molding sectors have integrated into a strong supply chain for smart industrial automation. 2013 sector output and exports reached NT$1.08 trillion (US$36 billion) and NT$457.5 billion, respectively, with the former accounting for 42 percent of the Taiwan’s total manufacturing.

Ma said as part of efforts capitalizing on this positive trend, the MOEA launched a project two years ago aimed at promoting servitization of manufacturing, internationalization and technologization of service trade and specialization of traditional industries.

Under the project, Taiwan machinery sector output is expected to surge 70 percent to NT$255 billion in 2020, up from NT$145 billion in 2013, with services income as a percentage of total sector revenues increasing fourfold to 20 percent.

Some remain skeptical about the benefits of automation, arguing that machinery will replace labor and trigger massive unemployment. “But these concerns are unfounded," Ma said. "Industrial upgrades will promote workers from equipment operators to decision-makers and managers while enhancing work flow efficiency.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=221109&CtNode=413)