At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Su Tseng-chang received a briefing from the Ministry of Economic Affairs on the outcomes of the Smart Machinery Development Program.
Premier Su said the government has invested NT$15 billion (US$508.5 million) in the past four years to upgrading Taiwan's machinery industry from precision machinery to smart machinery. As a result, the industry became the nation's third trillion-NT-dollar industry in 2017 and topped NT$1 trillion (US$33.9 billion) in production value for three consecutive years, serving as an important catalyst and engine for Taiwan's economy. The next phase of the program will focus on helping industries upgrade to smart machinery with the ultimate goal of transforming Taiwan into a high-end manufacturing center for the Asia region.
Machines are foundational to the development of all industries, the premier pointed out. President Tsai Ing-wen in her 2020 inaugural address pledged to develop "six core strategic industries," the premier said, and the key ingredients behind the growth of these core industries are the parts and components made by the machinery industry.
Taiwan offers a complete supply chain for the machinery industry and is the fourth largest exporter of machine tools in the world. The nation also boasts excellent foundations in information and communications technology, upon which the government has been aggressively promoting cloud computing, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and other innovative technologies, Premier Su said.
With multiple technological advantages and the clear guidance of industrial policies, Taiwan's smart machinery industry will continue to grow strong as it works to reduce factory processes, improve product yields, and shorten delivery times. These achievements are all attributable to the collaboration of government, businesses, industry associations, academia and research institutions, the premier said.