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Febraury 15, 2017, Taipei, Taiwan – Taiwanese brands are making fast strides in their capacity to deliver total solutions customized for the end user. Building on their strong reputation in the business-to-business segment, Taiwanese brands are penetrating deeper into the consumer market with industry-leading products.

At today’s Taiwan Excellence Awards in Taipei, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) announced the ten winners of the Taiwan Excellence Gold Award. The 25th annual awards highlighted the rising innovative acumen of Taiwanese companies.

A panel of international judges with expertise in the four evaluation criteria – R&D, Design, Quality, and Marketing – chose the ten winners of the Taiwan Excellence Gold Award. Judges selected the winners based on the products’ innovativeness and added value.

The judges were impressed by the capacity of Taiwanese brands to produce world-class products across a wide variety of sectors: among them healthcare, bicycles, medical devices, IoT products and security. “The thing that continues to impress me is the range of expertise Taiwanese industry has,” said Marketing Judge Andrew Harvey, who is Chairman of the European Marketing Confederation.

Harvey further lauded the platform of Taiwan Excellence. “These awards are a superb opportunity for companies to raise their profile,” he said. “They give Taiwan an edge and show a real understanding of the market.”

“Taiwanese companies have worked very hard on innovation,” said R&D Judge Ju-Ping Fu, Deputy General Director of the Commericalization and Industry Service Center at the Industrial Technology and Research Institute (ITRI).

At the same time, Taiwanese companies are increasingly able to provide a total solution to their customers, said Marketing Judge Li-Chung Jen, Director of the Global Branding & Marketing Research Center.

Design Judge Cheng-Neng Kuan, Professor and Vice-President at Shih Chien University, highlighted the evolution of Taiwanese brands’ business strategies. “The product development process has become more subtle,” he said. “Taiwanese companies have gone from a focus on supplying key components to a greater focus on the end-user. We can see that with the emergence of products specifically designed to help the elderly.”

Medimaging Integrated Solution Inc.’s gold-winning Horus Scope Digital Eye-Fundus Camera is a fine example of a product designed with the needs of an aging society in mind. This specialized camera used to capture images of the eye fundus is useful for determining problems in the eye – a common affliction of the elderly.

Prof. Seijiro Oshimura, Managing Director of the Management Research Institute in Tokyo and Quality Judge, said the eye-fundus camera showcased the ability of Taiwanese brands to apply their technology expertise to the healthcare field. Given its high utility, “One day this eye-fundus camera may become a common household item,” Prof. Oshimura said.

Giant’s Full E+ bicycle is another product designed with the needs of a niche consumer market in mind – those who enjoy biking but can benefit from some technological assistance along the way. This full-suspension E-bike is equipped with a SyncDrive motor that makes tough climbs easier for those not accustomed to them.

Meanwhile, in electronic devices for both businesses and consumers, Taiwan brands continue to showcase industry-leading technology. “The tech competitiveness is really there,” said Design Judge Warren Hutchinson, Founder and Experience Design Director at ELSE London. Gold-winning consumer electronics products at this year’s Taiwan Excellence Awards included Acer’s Predator 21X GX21-71 gaming notebook, E Ink Holdings’ 32-inch Color ePaper display and Innolux’s 100” 4K2K LCD TV Module. Gold-winning electronic devices for businesses included AVer Information Inc.’s Tracking camera and Marson Technology Co.’s Wireless Ring Barcode Scanner.

Taiwan’s increasing strength in smart manufacturing equipments  was evident at 2017 Taiwan Excellence Gold Awards, as seen in Ching Hung Machinery and Electric Industrial Co’s, Intelligent Linear Drive Wire Cut EDM and Hinwin Mikrosystem Corp’s DiAMOND, a nano accuracy positioning stage developed for the semiconductor and FPD industries.

Ching-Chow Yang, Fellow and Board Member of the Chinese Society for Quality, commented: “The Award winners this year are in line with key global trends: the rise of smart machinery and Industry 4.0. We can also see that Taiwanese brands are increasingly able to identify customer needs.”

For certain companies that are not yet well known, the Taiwan Excellence Awards offer a platform to showcase their competitiveness to the world, he explained. “The Taiwan Excellence Awards reveal the invisible champions,” he said.

Taiwan Excellence Gold Award Winners

Taiwan Excellence Silver Award Winners

Information about Taiwan Excellence / Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA and TAITRA:

The symbol of Taiwan Excellence was established in 1992 by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, and subsequently the Taiwan Excellence Selection was launched the following year. The selection is based on the distinct criteria of R&D, quality, design and marketing. Taiwan Excellence awarded products using cutting-edge innovation and meeting the highest quality will represent Taiwan on the international stage to reinforce the buyer’s confidence and continue building a favorable impression for Taiwanese products. This year marks the 22nd selection, making the symbol of Taiwan Excellence a prestigious brand for enterprises in Taiwan to strive to be recognized by and is highly reputed throughout the world.

Please visit www.taiwanexcellence.org for more information.

Organized by:

The Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), under The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) of Taiwan, is responsible for implementing policies and regulations governing foreign trade, economic cooperation, and foreign investments. Established in January 1969, the BOFT's role and position have undergone continual adjustments to meet the needs of the shifting international economic and trade environment. The BOFT has been guiding and working with the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) in numerous trade promotion projects and activities both internationally and domestically. Having worked closely with TAITRA for many decades, the BOFT continues to entrust TAITRA with various critical government projects relating to trade and investments, promoting Taiwan on every international aspect.

Implemented by:

Founded in 1970 to help promote foreign trade, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) is the foremost non-profit, semi-governmental trade promotion organization in Taiwan. Jointly sponsored by the government, industry associations, and several commercial organizations, TAITRA assists Taiwanese businesses with reinforcing their international competitiveness and in coping with the challenges they face in foreign markets. TAITRA boasts a well-coordinated trade promotion and information network consisting of over 1,200 trained specialists stationed throughout its Taipei headquarters and their 60 branches worldwide. Together with its sister organizations, the Taiwan Trade Center (TTC) and Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC), TAITRA has created a wealth of trade opportunities through effective promotion strategies.