At IMTS, Taiwan’s Femco introduced the HL-35DMSY CNC lathe with the company’s patented 23-station Durga turret. The new machine also features two spindles (each offering Y-axis movement) and 11 live tool stations.
Machine tool builders in Taiwan are striving to increase equipment capabilities while keeping unit prices down. That was clear when I visited Taiwan’s TIMTOS trade show last year. At IMTS, I was able to meet with Mr. Yueh-Chyou Wen, director of the Taiwan Trade Center in Chicago, and get an update from a handful of Taiwan equipment manufacturers about their businesses.
Here are a few interesting points.
Taiwan is the world’s sixth largest machine tool producer and fourth largest exporter.
Approximately 75 percent of the island’s machine tool production goes to the export market. Taiwan’s export sales of machine tools are estimated to hit a record high of U.S. $4.2 billion in 2012. Exports to the U.S. increased by 21.6 percent last year, ranking second to only China.
The machine tool industry is the country’s most important industry by value. There are more than 500 machine tool manufacturers in Taiwan, with most situated in the Taichung area.
Taiwan is among the world leaders in machine tool production despite its size. Taiwan has 23 million people living on an island with an area a little larger than the state of Maryland.
The 24th TIMTOS, scheduled for March 5-10, 2013, will feature 950 exhibitors and 5,200 booths.
For more about what Taiwan machine tool builders have to offer, read this article about technologies I spotted at last year’s TIMTOS show.
