Small enterprises flock to Taiwan machinery show

In order to explore the trade potential for the import of machinery by Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), a two-day Taiwan Machinery Catalogue Show, 2014 was organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in association with Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI) in Chandigarh last week.

The main objective of this show, said Dalip Sharma, Director, PHD Chamber, was to promote business and trade in the field of machinery, to spur fruitful bilateral trade relations between both India and Taiwan.

The exhibitors displayed opportunities for industrial and technological transfer, besides trade in machinery, in addition to providing information on the latest, innovative, high-precision and high-technology machine tools for improving manufacturing efficiency, and the growth of MSMEs in India, added Sharma.

About 400 small and medium-scale entrepreneurs participated, to gain insights into the technology that state-of-the-art Taiwanese machinery could offer them.

According to John Chen, director, TAMI, Taiwan's machinery exports to India in 2013 (January- December) were more than $424 million, making India the 10th largest importer of Taiwanese machinery.

The machinery show consisted of several industrial machinery categories -- machine tools, food processing machinery, packaging machinery, plastic and rubber machinery, textile machinery, shoe and leather machinery, woodworking machinery and machinery parts. A total of 100 companies took part in the show, he added.

The bilateral trade potential of the two nations, he said, had not been fully tapped yet and India and Taiwan can join hands in the field of information technology/software, hardware, electronics, automotive components, food processing, agri-technology and education to build international brands.

"The future prospects for trade and investment between our countries are significant. The inbuilt complementary of the economies of both our countries offers innumerable opportunities and it is important that we build on the existing strong relations", said Vikram Sahgal, chairman, Chandigarh committee, PHD Chamber.