The PLASCOM TAIWAN to be held for its first time in September is not only a new show for Taiwan, but it’s the show that will comprehend all stages in streamline manufacturing process required for plastic, rubber, and composite materials. As one of the organizers in making this show possible, the Taiwan Plastics Industry Association (TPIA) aims to include products in all aspects of industry production, and PLASCOM TAIWAN is expected to be viewed as an international procurement platform to allow buyers to access for Taiwan high quality materials with precision machinery and equipment.

 

To better understand the attractiveness of PLASCOM show, TPIA is sharing the updates of Taiwan market and its trending technology.

 

Ｑ：How was the performance of Taiwan plastics industry in the first half year? And what is the overall prospect for 2017?

 

Current Status

The global economy is on its path for recovering, but a slower growth has been perceived from the base period to 2017. Also, the prices on raw materials had dropped and the supply chain has gone through re-consolidation. These negative reports all caused a slowdown in sales performance in the industry, which also led to index for industrial production annual growth dropped to a negative rate in April 2017, and the export orders and trade also experienced a downtrend into a slower growth. The manufacturing industry’s indicator monitored by the government showed a decreased on number from 10.91 to 10.58 between March and April, indicating the overall industry in a transitional period between sluggish and stable.

 

In petrochemical and coal refining and manufacturing, even though the international crude oil price was seen with a moderate increase, additional cost was spent on annual equipment maintenance. Also, some export products were delayed by shipments. These all resulted in a reduction on manufacturers’ both production volume and revenue. The indicator showed the petrochemical and coal refining and manufacturing also at a transitional period between sluggish and stable.

 

In plastics and rubber manufacturing, the plastic materials prices had dropped in responding to crude oil prices decreased. This led to a more reserved attitude among most manufacturers and resulted in a slower demand on plastic materials.

 

Projecting On the Whole Year

The International Monetary Fund observed the recent global economy and declared the new global economy projected growth at 0.1% higher than before. Several new developments are proofing the global overall economy are recovering, including that the major exporting countries around the world are perceived with good numbers on their products export, or China’s economy growth rate for the first quarter performed better than expected.

 

In Taiwan, manufacturers were also benefited by the upturning global economy and had huge increase on both export and orders, such as that the semiconductor industry have been expanding on their production and lured better momentum on Taiwan’s domestic investment. However, there were also some negative factors from the crude oil price drop and unstable currency exchange rate, which has influenced on how manufacturers expect for the following economy growth in 2017. In a survey conducted by the Taiwan Institute of Economy for economy performance in March, the feedback from all manufacturing industry members showed that 49% of them marked “good”, which increased 28.1% higher than the 20.9% in February. On the other hand, 14.5% of manufacturers considered the economy was “bad” in March, which decreased 12.9% than the 27.4% in February; members from plastic, rubber, and chemical production reviewed higher than the average. When the respondents were then asked about their economy forecast for the following 6 months, 30.7% of manufacturers replied “good”, which was 11.5% lower than the 42.2% in February, and 14.8% of manufacturers replied “bad”, which was 6.8% higher than the 8.0% in February. In conclusion, the majority of manufacturers thought the economy in the following 6 months would maintain the same it was in March.

 

The TPIA also organized the data manufacturing business index and found it increased from 98.20 to 98.29 in March 2017. The manufacturing industry’s indicator might be showing a downturn in economy for the first half year of 2017, but the review shared by Taiwan manufacturers proved the opposite and even forecasted a better overall economy in 2017.

 

Data source: Taiwan Institute of Economy Research (TIER)

 

Ｑ：Are there the recent technology breakthrough? What are the trends within Taiwan plastics industry?

 

Taiwan plastics manufacturing field had long been considered as part of the traditional manufacturing, and their main services were focusing on OEM that was low in pricing and required large production volume. When the labors and suitable factory lands became increasingly harder to find throughout the years and production cost had been stacking up, Taiwan manufacturers then moved and produced in China; however, they were still challenged by the global scale competition over sale price, which not even mentioning the shortage of oil supply that caused a sky-rising oil price. It might be difficult for manufacturers from other countries to imagine how Taiwan survived and still stood up within this fierce global competition, but it is true that Taiwan now needs to transform their business pattern and develop different services in order to receive better profits. So, it is also critical for Taiwan plastics and rubber industry to upgrade on their production process and increase more on materials research to keep up with the standard from other advanced manufacturing nations.

 

Throughout the past decade, there are 5 top trends for plastics manufacturing: GREEN, RECYCLE, ADVANCE, SMART, SAFE.

GREEN (environmental friendly):
Green production covers 3 aspects, more efficient production, higher production-cost ratio design, and the use of environmental friendly materials. Its main concept is about resource conservation with using fewer materials, consuming less energy, and employing less manpower in production. Additionally, it also incorporates industry 4.0 smart manufacturing concepts for biomaterial examination and analyze, bio-composites and green additive production, second generation non-food crop modification, production, and application, energy conservation and green energy (wind and solar), and etc.

 

RECYCLE (recycle and reuse):
In the new theme of circular economy, it follows a 6R principle for green production which helps extend product’s life cycle. The 6R includes Reuse, Recycle, Reduce, Recovery, Repair, and Redesign.

ADVANCE (recreational advance):
More new developments have been focusing on high-end and high value-added materials and allocate them with new designs and more practical applications. For instance, the high-end elastomer that can be recycled and reused are widely applied to sport goods, bio-medical research, and rail transportation; or the light-weight and energy conserving reinforced composites that were originally used from aerospace and military grade are extending its usage and becoming common materials for construction, electric motors, green technology, and even high value industrial components and basic commodities.

 

SMART (smart design):
By fully utilizing the structure and the mechanical features of new materials, an ordinary plastic material can be transformed into “smart” material and creates new path in innovative applications. The shape-memory polymer is replacing the heavy and one-time-use plaster, or the smart glue that can change its stickiness under different wavelength helps serve for much easier products and package recycle. In medical field, there are also smart equipment that can sense blood sugar level and release insulin when needed, stent graft to be implanted in blood vessel, or new materials to make artificial skin and organ. In transportation, materials that can sense and self-alter its shape are utilized in enhancing driving experience. There are also many other applications like the low weather-dependent construction material, the multifunctional textile product, the widely-used shape-memory materials, and the biometric passport.

 

SAFE (ensure safety):
The trend for safety concern is a heated topic to all plastic products and materials. It becomes important to various applications such as environmental protection, health care, medical equipment safety, biomedical technology, emergency aid, industrial safety, and even on food safety. Among them, the food safety is especially highlighted due to a number of incidents on food production that violated food safety in recent years. During food transportation and storage, the differences in surroundings, temperature, and humidity may cause germs to reproduce and result in food being spoiled; therefore, a precise choice on packaging materials and method need to be conducted through careful evaluations and tests.

 

Data source: Science Development Magazine, March 2017, Issue 531.

 

Ｑ：How many members from TPIA are showcasing at PLASCOM TAIWAN 2017?

 

For PLASCOM TAIWAN show this year, TPIA members have accounted around 30% among the total of 400 booths. The iconic manufacturers in the industry like NAN YA PLASTICS, CHIMEI, USI, FCS, and YE-I have all booked a large booth and have been actively participating at PLASCOM TAIWAN. We believe PLASCOM TAIWAN is definitely an international platform to help international buyers find the right products for their business.

 

 

Ｑ：What is TPIA's expectation toward PLASCOME TAIWAN 2017?

 

The show has set its theme upon "high-end" and "circular economy" with presenting the new face of Taiwan petrochemical and composites industries' transformation results.

 

To match with different needs from different visitors, the show is categorized into 6 sections, the Raw Materials, Finished Parts and Application, Machine and Equipment, Petrochemical and Materials, Composites, and Academic and Research Institutes. The 6 sections are consisted of the full streamline process that connects from the upstream raw materials to product manufacture. The products presented will feature mainly on energy conservation, low energy cost, and high value-added production. The iconic domestic manufacturers include CPC, FORMOSA GROUP (PLASTICS, CHEMICALS AND FIBRE, NAN YA, FORMOSA TAFFETA), CHIMEI, USI, TAIWAN GLASS, FCS, DIING KUEN, and YE-I, and foreign manufacturers like WITTMAN BATTENFELD.

 

The PLASCOM TAIWAN show is not only a top-notch procurement platform for buyers, but it is also a great location to learn the newest technology development in the industry.