Taiwan International Fastener Show 2023 (Fastener Taiwan), organized by the Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA, co-organized by the Kaohsiung City Government, and implemented by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taiwan Industrial Fasteners Institute (TIFI), successfully concluded on May 10th after attracting nearly 300 exhibitors from the global fastener industry and packing out both the North and South Exhibition Halls of the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center. According to TAITRA's statistics, the three-day exhibition attracted nearly 10,000 visitors from domestic and international markets, a growth of 7.2% compared to pre-pandemic levels. During the show, multiple international buyer groups visited and purchased, including nearly 1,100 foreign buyers from 60 countries/regions, with the top five buyers coming from India, the United States, Japan, Germany, and Thailand. Although the physical exhibition is now closed, the online exhibition continued until May 16th and attracted visitors from 16 countries with over 1,500 views. Like the physical exhibition, the online exhibition is interactive and full of business opportunities.
Taiwan is renowned as the "Kingdom of Screws" and its fastener industry has constructed the most complete industry supply chain from upstream to downstream. Made in Taiwan fastener products not only feature consistent quality and the latest innovative industrial technology, but also integrate the latest software and hardware systems to provide high-end applications for the automobile, medical equipment, aerospace, offshore wind power, and information technology industries among others.
In addition to exhibiting the latest technologies and innovations in the fastener industry, the exhibition organizers held multiple industry forums, procurement meetings, and the Manufacturers Win podcast, attracting many industry experts and scholars to share their experiences and achievements. The senior vice president of SACMA Group, a well-known Italian manufacturer of fastener production machinery, stated that this was their first time joining Fastener Taiwan, and with many potential business and cooperation opportunities obtained on-site, the results exceeded his expectations. The procurement vice president of Reyher, a heavyweight German buyer expressed his affirmation of the innovative strength of Taiwanese fastener manufacturers at the exhibition. They expressed a wish to continue to cooperate with high-quality fastener suppliers in Taiwan and excitement at the prospect of visiting the show again in 2024. A representative from the Brazilian company Upper Comerico Exterior Ltd. also stated that visiting Fastener Taiwan allowed them to find reliable partners in terms of both quality and delivery; while the representative from CCF Company in the UK believed that the show brought better solutions for their company.
On the first day of the exhibition, the organizers held the Global Fastener Forum, inviting the presidents of the three major fastener distributor associations, including the National Fastener Distributors Association (NFDA) from the United States, the Italian Union of Fastener Distributors (UDIB), and the European Fastener Distributor Association (EFDA), as well as experts in related fields to exchange views on the future prospects of the global fastener market under the impact of rising raw material and transportation costs and anti-dumping measures in China. They also discussed hot topics such as the transformation to low-carbon fasteners, smart manufacturing, electric vehicles, and solar and wind power fastener applications. The event attracted over 200 industry insiders from both domestic and foreign markets, providing the industry with the latest trends in domestic and international industries.
Global Fastener Forum 2023 was opened by Ms. Hui-Chu Lu, Director of BOFT Kaohsiung Office from MOEA and Ms. Emilia Shih, Director of Exhibition Department from TAITRA. After Ms. Hui-Chu Lu and Ms. Emilia Shih, the first speaker was Mr. Nick Ruetz, President of the National Fastener Distributors Association (NFDA). Mr. Ruetz began his speech by providing information about himself and the NFDA's mission and purposes, and then continued with the main topic of his speech, the "North American Fastener Market". Ruetz touched upon the fastest growing sectors such as electric vehicle production, construction, alternative energy (solar), material handling and food products machinery.
The speaker after Nick Ruetz was Mr. Riccardo Bonalumi, President of the Italian Union of Fastener Distributors (UDIB). Mr. Bonalumi started his speech by giving information about UDIB. The general content of the President's speech was "Fastener Industry's Highlights in Italy: Market trends and future potential business opportunities". He also talked about new Anti-Dumping measures, Anti-circumvention checks by Italian Customs, increased in raw material cost and the main data of the Italian economy.
The next speaker was Mr. Andreas Bertaggia, President of the European Fastener Distributor Association (EFDA). The topic of Mr. Bertaggia's speech at the Global Fastener Forum 2023 was “How the European Fastener Distribution Navigates through the VUCA World”. In his speech, the EFDA President concluded his speech after addressing the topics of the market demand compliance, EU fastener imports from Taiwan and the other key Asian sources, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and Corporate Social Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
After Mr. Andreas Beraggia's speech, Mr. Chun-Te Chu, Executive Assistant to President from Shuenn Chang Fa Enterprise Co., Ltd. gave his speech titled "Multiplier Effect in Daily Life Carbon Reduction". The Global Fastener Forum ended after Mr. Peter Wu, Greater China Product Marketing Supervisor from Atotech Taiwan Limited made his speech on “Energy Saving and Carbon Reduction Solutions”.
On the second day of the exhibition, the organizer carefully planned a procurement meeting to assist industry players in discussions with buyers. This included inviting the Vice President of the KIRCHHOFF Group, a well-known German automotive parts manufacturer, to find the best partners and fastener products at the exhibition and hold discussions with 14 potential partner companies. In addition, TAITRA invited 49 international buyers from 18 countries, including Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Brazil, New Zealand, Finland, the United States, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates to participate in 152 one-on-one procurement meetings with 24 industry players. Through this matchmaking event, the industry players gained an enormous amount of potential business opportunities.
In addition to giving many well-known companies the opportunity to showcase their high-tech fastener products and mechanical equipment, the organizers also planned a themed exhibition to give buyers a deeper understanding of the excellence of Taiwan's fastener industry. Furthermore, to allow other businesses who were unable to attend the exhibition to participate, the online exhibition was launched on May 3rd with a two-week exhibition period and is complemented by the podcast Manufacturing Addiction. Through online and offline integration, the global perspective of Fastener Taiwan has been expanded, with the essence of the "Kingdom of Screws " broadcast to every corner of the world.
Fastener Taiwan 2023, which returned after a five-year hiatus, not only promoted communication and cooperation within the industry but also injected new vitality and energy into it. Fastener Taiwan 2024 is scheduled to be held from April 16th to 18th, and the latest exhibition news and registration information can be found on the official website and social media fan page (online exhibition: online.fastenertaiwan.com.tw).
