The Taiwan International Fastener Show 2023 (Fastener Taiwan) came to a successful close in May – attracting just under 300 exhibitors and nearly 10,000 visitors across the three day event, from both domestic and international fastener markets.

Fastener Taiwan returned after a five year hiatus, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and not only promoted communication and cooperation within the industry, but also injected new vitality and energy into it. The event, which is organised by the Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA, co-organised by the Kaohsiung City Government, and implemented by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taiwan Industrial Fasteners Institute (TIFI), experienced a growth of 7.2% in visitor levels compared to the pre-pandemic shows.

Throughout the show, multiple international buyer groups visited and purchased products, including nearly 1,100 foreign buyers from 60 different countries, with the top five buyers coming from India, the US, Japan, Germany, and Thailand. Although the physical exhibition was closed on May 5^th, the online exhibition continued until May 16^th, attracting even more visitors and business opportunities.  

In addition to exhibiting the latest technologies and innovations in the fastener industry, the exhibition organisers held multiple industry forums, procurement meetings, and the Manufacturers Win podcast, attracting many industry experts and scholars to share their experiences and achievements.

On the first day of the exhibition, the Fastener Taiwan organisers held the Global Fastener Forum, inviting the presidents of the three major fastener distributor associations, including the National Fastener Distributors Association (NFDA), the Italian Union of Fastener Distributors (UDIB) and the European Fastener Distributor Association (EFDA). Experts in related fields were also invited to exchange views on the future prospects of the global fastener market under the impact of rising raw material and transportation costs, as well as anti-dumping measures in China.

Other hot topics were also discussed, such as the transformation to low-carbon fasteners, smart manufacturing, electric vehicles, in addition to solar and wind power fastener applications. The Global Fastener Forum attracted over 200 industry insiders from both domestic and foreign markets, all interested in the latest trends in domestic and international industries.

The second day of the exhibition included a carefully planned procurement meeting to assist industry players in discussions with buyers. This included inviting the vice-president of the KIRCHHOFF Group, a well-known German automotive parts manufacturer, to find the best partners and fastener products at the exhibition and hold discussions with 14 potential partner companies. In addition, TAITRA invited 49 international buyers from 18 countries, including Mexico, Germany, the UK, France, Brazil, New Zealand, Finland, USA, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates, to participate in 152 one-on-one procurement meetings with 24 industry players. Through this matchmaking event, the industry professionals gained an enormous amount of potential business opportunities.

The senior vice-president of SACMA Group, an Italian manufacturer of fastener production machinery, stated that this was SACMA’s first time joining Fastener Taiwan and with many potential business and cooperation opportunities obtained on-site, the results exceeded his expectations. Also, the procurement vice president of F. Reyher GmbH expressed his affirmation of the innovative strength of Taiwanese fastener manufacturers at the exhibition. Both expressed a wish to continue to cooperate with high-quality fastener suppliers in Taiwan and excitement at the prospect of visiting the show again from 16^th – 18^th April 2024.