Taiwan's best-known “micro” technologies around the world are semi-conductors. The current top semiconductor manufacturer is of course Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) with a 56% global market share. Furthermore, the most sophisticated machinery design and metal processing is also in Taiwan, and the best known Apple computer products are assembled by industries in Taiwan.

This kind of trait of focusing on details during the production process is part of the fabric of Taiwan's industrial technology.

Hiwin Technologies Corp. is the biggest Taiwanese company to participate in the Hannover Messe IA & Digital Factory exhibition. They initially started out manufacturing traditional mechanical equipment, and due to their superb production technology, their products are widely used by customers around the world.

Figure 2: Hiwin showcased a new ball screw product with an emphasis on performance and automatic maintenance detection systems.

Nearly all of the well-known industrial manufacturing equipment providers use mechanical components which were manufactured by Hiwin, making them worthy of the title of invisible champion. The company has also crossed over into automation equipment, and their reach extends across a broad range of production equipment.

This year for the “INDUSTRIE 4.0 Best Partner” exhibition theme, Hiwin showcased a new ball screw product with an emphasis on performance and automatic maintenance detection systems.

Delta Electronics, Inc. is another well-known Taiwanese manufacturer that specializes in industrial grade power solutions and automatic control technologies. Their main focus this year is on integrated automated systems which include product and construction applications. In addition, the company also has an advanced power control system.

Figure 3: IEI Integration's machine vision solution which combine industrial computer, Camera and software, can take 150 pictures per minute.

IEI Integration Corp. is a famed Taiwanese industrial computer solutions provider that supplies a full range of industrial computer modules and system products. This year the company is participating in the “Industrial 4.0 Complete Solution” exhibition theme and showcasing products which include IP65 grade industrial computers, and industrial networking equipment that integrates corporate cloud with storage cloud. The company also boasts a smart power control system for wind power and solar power applications as well as machine vision products.

Tatung Co. is actually a very well-known home appliance brand name in Taiwan; however, they have also been in the industrial market for a long time and are now introducing their smart grid capabilities to the world.

This year Tatung's main exhibition was their Micro Grid solution. The system can be used to dispatch power distribution systems to localized areas and create a self-sufficient energy supply. The system also has the capacity to integrate wind-power, solar-power, and power from generators to provide an independent and stable power source.

Figure 4: Tatung's Micro Grid solution can be used to dispatch power distribution systems to localized areas and create a self-sufficient energy supply.

A number of additional Taiwanese industrial application manufacturers are also gathered in the Taiwan Boutique Area, which was planned by TAITRA and the Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs. This small and attractive area emphasizes Taiwan's excellence in design and manufacturing.

There are also several other participating companies, such as Nexcom, Portwell, ADTEK, TRANTEX, TAILYN, Sunlike Display, and KINSUN.

(TR/ Phil Sweeney)