Visit by Taiwan’s Economic Deputy Minister & Taiwan-Japan Intelligent Manufacturing Forum—Great Results from Industry-Government Interactions

 

Mr. Jong-Chin Shen, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), led a delegation to Japan consisting of representatives from the MOEA, the Industrial Development Bureau, the Taipei Economic & Cultural Representative Office in Japan, the Office for Taiwan-Japan Cooperation Promotion, the TPCA, the TAIROA, the Office for Intelligent Machinery Promotion, and the Metal Industries R&D Center, amongst others, to facilitate and further the promotion of intelligent machinery.

 

The second day of the trip began with a visit to the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Nagoya Works, where PCB and server motors are produced. Mitsubishi launched this facility in Nagoya in 2003. It involves uploading retrieved data to the cloud and creating an e-F@ctory framework, aimed at development, production, and quality optimization through edge computing. The structure of the e-F@ctory framework is capable of switching between production lines within one minute in intelligent mode and has an annual output capacity of approximately 1.6 million server motors. The corporation stresses not only the importance of development of skills but also the collection of production data, which is used as a training basis for individual production capacity. Mitsubishi also focuses on integrating all sorts of intelligent manufacturing equipment and software and has established communication channels using CC Link, therefore maintaining the rate of availability of its facility, product quality, and energy visibility through the integration of equipment and data of compnents. In contrast, Taiwan promotes the PCB Equipment Communication Initiative through joint efforts by the TPCA and the ITRI, facilitating data collection, analysis, and database creation to achieve the ultimate goal of intelligent manufacturing.
 

On the afternoon of June 7, Shen’s delegation paid a visit to the JPC Show, where they visited ORC, OHT, OFUNA, SCREEN, FUJI MACHINE, IBIDEN, NIPPON MEKTRON. OFUNA is a supplier of the PCB drilling machine that has a rotating speed of 300,000 rpm and is capable of mini-pore processing of a minimum of 0.075 mm; specifications that make it stand out in the industry. The company has a facility in Dajia, Taichung, dedicated to high-speed motors and high-speed spindles. On the other hand, Nippon Mektron is the largest FPCB supplier on earth, with a 32% global production value. It is dedicated to mobile communications, consumable electronics, and electrics used in the car industry such as sensors, battery systems, illumination, entertainment information, and all kinds of switches. Domestic participants presented various applications such as electric car components, golf appliances, and medical devices. They are expected to focus on advanced industries in the future such as aviation and aeronautics.
 

The Taiwan-Japan Intelligent Manufacturing Forum was convened at Tokyo Big Sight on the afternoon of June 8. Coordinated by the MOEA and TPCA, the event featured more than 80 intelligent manufacturing companies from Japan and equipment suppliers from Taiwan.

 

Giving the opening speeches were representatives from Avantech, Sink, Mitshubishi, UPR, Unimicron, who gave their insights on PCB intelligent manufacturing & logistics, and shared their experiences and visions in the industry. Moderated by the Vice CEO, Mr. Chu-Sheng Hu, of the Intelligent Machinery Promotion Office, a panel discussion followed, during which both countries exchanged more in-depth insights on the topic of intelligent manufacturing. An MOU between Taiwan’s Intelligent Machinery Promotion Office and Mitsubishi was signed with Deputy Minister of the MOEA, Mr. Shen, as a witness, in the hope of exploring more opportunities for cooperation between both parties and expanding joint-development efforts in intelligent manufacturing applications. This is expected to become a good example in Taiwan that could facilitate the global outreach of intelligent manufacturing on the basis of strong ties between the two countries.
 

The last day was marked by a visit to Yamato headquarters. Yamato is in cooperation with Uni-President in Taiwan for the operation of T-Cat Express Services. Its logistics center in Haneda, Tokyo is able to handle more than 48,000 pieces of products. Senior Operation Manager, Katsuyoshi Umezu, said that Yamato is currently working with Japan’s transportation and economic authorities and plans to introduce AI into unmanned aircrafts, for which they hope to see more cooperation with Taiwan.
 

The event is characterized by the in-depth exchange of intelligent manufacturing between the two countries providing solutions for the PCB, automation, and robotics industries and paving way for more competitive advantages on an international level. In addition, Taiwan’s intelligent machinery sector benefits from more international connections and cooperation opportunities.