Plastics and rubber machinery exports from Taiwan are on the rise. New figures from the Ministry of Finance show that the total export value reached $1 billion in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 13.5 percent, pushing Taiwan into sixth place as one of the world’s largest exporters of plastics and rubber machinery.
The signs point to this growth continuing into 2022. The figures for the first half of 2022 showed that Taiwan’s exports of plastics and rubber machinery were again up 6.8 percent year-on-year, reaching a total value of $611 million in the period from January to July.
Plastic injection molding machines accounted for 18.3 percent of the total in 2021, followed by another 11.3 for extrusion machinery. Vacuum and thermoforming machines and blow molding machinery each represented about 9 percent of total exports.
Nearly 82 percent of the plastics and rubber machinery produced in Taiwan is exported. The top five export markets for Taiwan's plastics and rubber machinery in 2021 were China, Vietnam, the United States, India and Thailand.
The German market, however, is becoming an increasingly important one for Taiwan's plastics and rubber machinery industry. Exports to Germany grew almost 157 percent year-on-year in 2021, and have risen a robust 69 percent in the period from January to July 2022. As a result, Germany has now moved into 14th place on the list of Taiwan's largest export markets.
The success of Taiwan’s drive to grow its presence in the global plastic and rubber machinery market may be ascribed, among others, to the smart and sustainable features with which the machines are equipped. The newest machines are all-electric and digitalized, allowing processors to save costs and reduce the carbon footprint of their production processes. Other advantages include short delivery times, flexibility and turnkey supply.
At K 2022, a number of Taiwan’s leading machinery builders, including FCS Group, Polystar Machinery, Huarong Group, Everplast and Chumpower, will be exhibiting under the slogan "Go Green with Taiwan's Smart Plastic & Rubber Machinery.”