How old is Awea?

Awea was founded in 1986 and public listed in 1998. It is one of the few machine tools manufacturers to be a listed company. Only eight or nine machine tools companies are listed companies. We have four factories in Taiwan, and one plant in China. We are setting up a new plant in Taiwan to make smaller machines. While Goodway is our group company, Awea makes small as well as very big machines. With 20% of the staff working in two R&D centres (one into double column type machines, and the other into VMC small machines), Awea, apart from being customer centric, is the only company that makes spindles and heads in-house. We also have a well-equipped testing lab. Each machine is tested.

What machines does Awea produce?

We make Gantry type/Bridge type 5-axes machining centres, Bridge type 5-face machining centres, Bridge type moving cross rail 5-face machining centres, Bridge type machining centres, horizontal boring mills, high-speed machining centres, and high rigidity vertical machining centres. Our new products include an extra large span gantry type machining centre and gantry type 5-axis machining centre. Awea machines are at the premium end of the market.

Does Awea have a presence in India?

We have presence in 38 countries. In India we have two dealers. Having entered the Indian market many years ago, we have sold 50 machines in India. Most of these are professional double column machining centres. In India, price is an issue. We face competition from Korea. Korean machine tools manufacturers enjoy a price advantage due to the trade agreement between the two countries.

How would you describe your company as customer centric?

We have an application development cell, which studies the needs of the customers and advises them on the most suitable solution. We also have a CNC department for software design. Our global technology centres are in China and USA.

Who are your clients?

With the Gantry type/bridge type 5-axis machining centre we cater to the exacting needs of the aerospace and automotive industry. Our clients include Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford, Mitsubishi, FAW Group, Nissan, Kobelco, JFE, Airbus, Boeing, Kennametal, ACE Micromatic, and PARI.

Do you have a presence in India?

We have a presence in India for more than 12 years. We sell our machines through our agents in India.

What do you manufacture?

We manufacture vertical machining centre box-ways; linear guide ways, extra high-speed linear guide ways, double column machining centres, and toggle type micro machine tools.

How many machines have you sold in India?

We have sold 11machines in India. Indian market is very price sensitive. We therefore don't find it easy to sell in India. We make reliable machines. We are honest, and do not want to make low cost machines. We don't want to compromise on quality. For our machines we use Mitsubishi and Fanuc controllers.

Do you have a presence in India?

We have a presence in India. We have two dealers in India. We find the Indian market to be very competitive. We face competition from Chinese companies.

What machines do you manufacture?

We make the most advanced press with servo motor drive. We have worm & roller drive machines. We also have knuckle joint presses. Our products assure precision. We are the only manufacturer in Taiwan to make long stroke forging press suitable for cold forging. Such presses are available only in Germany and Japan. The newest product development is the servomotor drive press.

What is your set up like? We have a factory in Taiwan and China. We operate through 80 dealers worldwide. We make up to 2400-tonne presses.

What machines do you make?

We make different types of machines. We make CNC machining centres, 5-axes machines, and horizontal machining centres. We also make very good linear drives.

Do you have a presence in India?

Yes! We have a presence in India.

How do you find the Indian market?

We find India as a market with good growth. Korean companies are strong in India. We feel we need to promote our company on a larger scale in India.

How would you term yourself in comparison to the competition?

On the technological side, Taiwan's machine tools industry is stronger than Korea. We are cost competitive in general-purpose machines. We offer very good quality.

What products do you make?

We make pipe-bending machines. We offer CNC pipe bending and tube forming solutions.

Are you present in India? How do you find this market for growth?

We have been in the Indian market for some years now. It is a price sensitive market, and we are facing competition from companies in China, and despite the fact that we make very good quality products. While we expect that better promotion will help, the Indian market is well exposed. The buyers are well informed.

Do you have a presence in India? How do you find the Indian market?

We have a dealer at Delhi, in India. We have been present in India for the last twenty-twenty two years. India has the presence of many machine tools manufacturer; the market's been getting bigger. We are, in India, competing in turn key machines and customised machine tools. It is difficult to compete against the local machine tools manufacturers for standard machines. We do 60 machines per year.

What are your products like?

We make special purpose machines, tapping centres, machining centres, CNC lathes, horizontal boring and milling machines, and AI wheel machining.

Are you offering any new products at the TMTS 2012?

We are offering the HB 500 II horizontal machining centre. With this machine we are concentrating on making beautiful machines. Machines that are ergonomic, and offer the machine operator good access for change of tools, and enable him ease of operation. Machine manufacturers have been told by the Taiwan Government to make machine beautiful and more presentable in appearance. We are working on product identification.

What was the reason behind sprucing up the appearance of your machines?

We observed that the European machines are styled differently, and the Japanese machines are styled differently. We chose to adapt our styling language, and with focus on their ergonomics and ease of operation. We listened to the customers. Under the project, '2012 high-grade machine tools development plan', with counselling by the Precision Machinery Research Development Centre (PMC), we redesigned the new machine guards and achieved improvements in the aspects of machine performance and machine appearance for providing outstanding cost-performance solutions to the clients.

Any specific industry segments that you are targeting at?

We are targeting the auto industry with products tlike turning centres. We are also targeting the electronics industry.

Do you have a presence in India? How do you find the Indian market?

We have agents in India. We entered the Indian market in 2006. India is a growing market. The environment in India is different from that of Taiwan. We had to modify our products accordingly, so that they can withstand the tough Indian operating conditions.

What machines do you make?

We manufacture oil coolers, water coolers, heat exchangers, ventilator filters, air dryers, and electronic controllers. We offer high quality products at reasonable prices. Competition in the Indian market stems from Japanese and local manufacturers. We have sold 50 units in India so far.

What are your plans for the Indian market?

We want to go step-by-step in the Indian market. We need to supply products that address the needs of the Indian market. I would therefore say that we have a room for improvement. To be more precise, we have been getting repeat orders from our Indian customers.

Do you have a presence in India? How do you find the Indian market?

We are in India for a long time. We have few customers in India. In India we face a strong competition from domestic manufacturers. We find that the Indian companies are willing to pay more for better quality. We are eager to develop the Indian market.

We have an office in India. There is an Indian engineer who worked with us, here, for five years. Based on his drawings we can supply to India. Let me add: Indian market is changing. Buyers are willing to pay more for quality products.

What products do you manufacture?

We are the largest telescopic cover manufacturer in the world. We do 1200 telescopic covers per day. These are made at our two plants at Taiwan, and three plants in China. We have 600-650 employees. We also make chip conveyors, chip compactors and machine housings.

Any new product launch at the TMTS 2012?

Chip compactor is our new release. They crush large aluminium chips before they enter the neck part of the conveyor. We are planning to take this product to the global markets. Our chip compactor received good response from clients across the world. We are targeting machine manufacturers and end users with the chip compactor.

With the kind of products you offer, how closely do you work with machine manufacturers?

To give you an example, we developed the machine outfit for Tongtai HB 500 II. We also developed the telescopic engine cover for the machine.

What products do you manufacture?

We make belt drive spindles, direct drive spindles, motorised spindles, and built-in spindles. Our company was founded in 2003 at Taichung, Taiwan. We are dedicated to making high precision machine tool spindles. 45% of products we make go to the domestic market. Another 45% go to the China market. The remaining find their way to the other markets, prominently the European markets.

Do you have a presence in India?

We have a few customers in India. We also have a few smaller buyers there. We do 2000 spindles per month. In India, we supply to Jyoti CNC Machines. Price is an issue in India. We negotiated for half a year with our first customer. Customers in India have come to appreciate our products, and we are getting repeat orders. We are very keen to increase our sales in India. We want to gather more presence in India.

Do you have a dealer in India?

We have found out that Indian customers do not like agents; they contact us directly. As far as competition goes, China is not a big competitor in spindles. Our competitors come from Europe. European spindles are of a very high quality. The companies, which make them, have a long history; they also have technology. We are ten years behind them.

Are you presenting any new products at TMTS 2012?

We are presenting a high technology, high-speed spindle at the show.

Are you present in India?

We entered the Indian market a year and a half ago. We have clients in India like ACE and Bisse. India, for us, is a booming market. There are people looking for overseas suppliers. For us, India is a priority market. Clients from India are more aggressive.

What is your market spread?

70% of our sales come from Taiwan. South East Asia accounts for 15%, and the other markets account for the rest of the sales.

What products does your company manufacture?

We manufacture machine bellow covers and wipers. In India, we have sold 200 pieces of these two products from the time we entered. While I would want to stress that buyers in India are keen on low cost products, our focus on the Indian market includes competition from Europe. We will thus be aggressively competing with the European manufacturers. We may also set up a factory in India at a later stage. We were founded in 1989, and have two plants; one at Taichung and the other at Taipei. Our third plant is near Taichung is coming up.

With the third plant coming up, what are your plans for the future?

We are creating more opportunities as far as our global thrust is concerned. We are looking for new partners for Japan, India, and a few other markets. We are also keen to enter markets like Russia. The TMTS 2012 show makes an important show for us as it helps to extend the Taiwan machine tools and accessories industry.

What new products are you showing at TMTS 2012?

We are focusing on new material and higher speed. We are focusing on horizontal, higher speed modular system. These have been newly developed, and are finding application with Japanese manufacturers.

What kind of growth are you looking at from the Indian market?

We are looking at 0.1 billion New Taiwan Dollars business from India.

Do you have a presence in India?

We have dealers in India at Bangalore and Mumbai. We have sold 30 to 40 machines in the Indian market.

What machines do you make?

We make vertical and horizontal machining centres. Knee type milling machines, bed type vertical and horizontal milling machines, bed type vertical milling machines, and bed type turret vertical milling machines. We also make traditional machines.

How do you find the Indian market?

India is a very good market.