TIMTOS 2023: Gearing Towards Efficient, Smarter and Greener Future

The inaugural Taipei Int’l Machine Tool (TIMTOS) 2023, organized by TAITRA and TAMI highlights energy saving, machines connected, flexible manufacturing and digital simulation to help the metalworking industry stakeholders navigate the challenges, take advantage of, and build new opportunities in the current global manufacturing landscape. With the theme “Keep Rolling in Metalworking,” this year’s event, to be held from March 6–11, focuses on new exhibits and applications including advanced metalworking technology, future manufacturing, and additive manufacturing.

Saving energy, reducing waste, and being more sustainable is a win-win in today’s business environment. This was reflected in Mr. James C. F. Huang, Chairman of Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) speech during the opening ceremony. “We launched the TIMTOS ESG Action for a more Efficient, Smarter, and Greener future. This year, you will see technologies, such as digital twins, edge computing, artificial intelligence, and co-bots that help us do more with less. Working smarter is also the key. When everything is connected, companies can deliver better services and create new values.”

In connection, Mr. Larry Wei, Chairman of Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI) has prepared ahead by establishing the first Committee of Zero Emission & Sustainability in the machinery industry in August 2022, developing high-efficiency carbon reduction equipment through the power of the association, cooperation with research institutes and the academia, and introduction of government resources, setting an example for other machinery subindustries. TAMI has set the goal of promoting organizational carbon inventory and product carbon footprint inventory throughout the industry chain within three years to accelerate the establishment of Taiwan’s low-carbon machinery supply chain.

The continuing evolution of Industry 4.0 is driving differentiation in semiconductor devices, requiring rich on-chip resources to build unique systems that are cost-efficient. Ms. Sandra Oudkirk, Director, American Institute in Taiwan, Taipei Office mentioned that Taiwanese Machine tools lay the foundation for semiconductor industry, in which Taiwan-US are firmest allies. She stated an upcoming contract signing under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade. The deal will be the first trade-related pact that U.S. President Joe Biden signed with a foreign country. The deal will enhance more collaborations on 5G, Cyber security, etc.

This return after the pandemic proved Taiwan’s resilience and success in transforming the industry, where machine tools industry production value soared over trillions. Mr. Wen-Tsan Cheng, Vice Premier, Executive Yuan, stated, “We have a very good ecosystem and complete industry supply chain in Taiwan. Three years ago, when the pandemic first came, Taiwan’s mechanical manufacturing industry cooperated with other industries. Now that the whole world is still facing several challenges, such as Inflation, and the Russia-Ukraine war, plans to help SME recover are on the way. A support of NT$88 billion for loans will allow SMEs to purchase smart machineries for low carbon emission transformation. Thus, machine tools can help simplify this process and make it more efficient and effective.”

Another main takeaway from the opening ceremony was the speech by Dr. Ing-Wen Tsai, President, Republic of China (Taiwan). She emphasized that TIMTOS is undoubtedly the grand event of the machine tools industry. The exports value reached US$3 billion, an 8.6% growth, creating 350,000 more jobs. As Taiwan Energy Machinery moves towards smart manufacturing, the government will continue helping the industry become more capable of responding to changes and to take action to reduce carbon emissions.

Another big talking point at TIMTOS this year is the “Insights Stage” at TWTC Hall 1, which accommodates thought-provoking events like Future Manufacturing Forum, ESG Seminars, Maker Workshop, Insights Talk, and Podcast Live. Other activities include Cutting Tool Hunter Stamp Collecting Tasks at TWTC Hall 1 and Metalworking Ecosystem Guided Tour that spans three halls. The physical exhibition of TIMTOS 2023 runs March 6 to 11, while the online exhibition will continue until April 6.