The 11th China International Machine Tool & Tools Exhibition, or CIMES 2012 in short, is returning to Beijing from June 12-16 with an estimated 1,300 exhibitors making their presence on 120,000sq m of exhibition space.

TAIPEI, Taiwan —Taiwan’s government has unveiled the first stage of a new stimulus effort to help the island’s export-driven economy grow up to four per cent next year amid global uncertainty.

According to the latest data from China Machine Tool & Tool Builders’ Association (CMTBA), in the first three quarters, China’s machine tool industry maintained a relatively high growth rate despite the pace of growth slowed down gradually compared with 2010.As the data shows, during January to September, the cumulative gross value of production output was RMB472.17 billion, up by 33.5% year on year. The cumulative value of product sales was RMB458.01 billion, up by 33.3% in comparison to the same period of 2010.The cumulative value of imports of machine tools in the first three quarters grew by 38.5% year on year to US$15.27 billion. Of this sum, imports of metal working machines amounted to US$9.91 billion, up by 51.4% year on year.The cumulative value of exports of machine tools was US$6.56 billion, an increase of 29.5%

According to Chinese media, China imported 7,731 units of metal working machine tools this October, a decrease of 21.62% in comparison to last month but a growth of 13.71% year on year.The value of imports was about US$976 million, up by 32.62% on a like-for-like basis, or by 23.88% from US$1.28 billion in the previous month.The average import unit price was US$126,200, which, slightly lower than last month’s US$130,000, represented an increase of 16.63% from US$108,200 in October 2010.In the first 10 months of 2011, China cumulatively imported 98,500 units of metal working machine tools, up by 14.3% from 86,200 units in the same period of 2010. The cumulative value of imports was US$10.89 billion, up by 49.6% from US$7.28 billion in October 2010

Leading machine tool manufacturers in Taiwan are worrying that there will be a significant slowdown of orders in 2012.As Chinese media reports, Korean-made machine tools are gaining in international competitiveness thanks to its Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the EU and US. The FTA between Korea and the EU has become effective since July, with tariffs reduced from 2.7% to zero. And starting from January 1, 2012, tariffs on machine tool products exported from Korea to the US will drop from 4% to zero, under the FTA between the two countries.Furthermore, Korean machine tools are said to be benefiting from the significant depreciation of Korean won against the US dollar.In addition to the increasing competitiveness of Korean products, Taiwanese machine tool exports will also be affected in 2012 by uncertainties in the recovery of the automotive and consumer electronics industries in the US, EU and China, according to the news reports.A number of leading Taiwanese machine tool manufacturers, including Tongtai, Goldentech, Falcon, Awea, Roundtop, Victor Taichung, Goodway and Taiwan Takisawa, are reported to be operating at full capacities until the year end with orders that have been received so far, but they are uncertain if they will receive sufficient orders next year.

Creaform, a leading company in portable 3D optical measurement technologies and 3D engineering services, announces the appointment of Carl Mercier as Vice-President for the APAC territory on November 16. The appointment has started from October 24.According to Creaform, Mr Mercier will be responsible for managing the sales teams and he will be involved in developing strategies for Creaform’s subsidiaries in Asia-Pacific so as to reach annual sales goals.Mr Mercier has more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing of analytical instrumentation and non-destructive testing.

The first edition of China Machine Tool Exhibition (CMTE 2011) closed its doors on October 14 at the Nanjing International Expo Center.According to the show organizers, during the inaugural event, about 7,752 visitors from seven countries and regions made their way to CMTE 2011, which featured 160 leading enterprises coming from Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, USA, Japan, China and Taiwan district.At CMTE 2011, the latest technologies and products were presented by Hardinge, Haas, Spinner, DEPO, Tech-omiller, OSG, Nagoya Precision Tools, Formdrill, Wikus, WEKO-Gear Technologies, Kaefer Dial Gauges, SMP Technik, MACHTEK, Litz, etc. Domestic Chinese enterprises such as Haitian, Nanjing No.2 Machine Tool Works and Nanjing Technical Equipment Manufacture, etc, not only showcased their latest products and technologies, but also presented creative innovations.

Rapidly growing Taiwan’s Fair Friend Group is aiming to be the world’s largest manufacturer of machine tools with revenue more than US$ 3.5 billion by 2018. Increasing distribution channels, increasing manufacturing plants, expanding product lines and global branding are the four major orientations with which FFG is reaching to its target.Jimmy Chu, Chairman of FFG, indicated that FFG owns 24 production sites located around Taiwan, China, Japan, Italy and the US

According to the latest statistics from China Machinery Industry Federation (CMIF), during the first half of 2011, the country’s machine tool industry achieved US$9.289 billion of foreign trade, up by 54.64% year on year. Of this sum, the value of imports was US$6.527 billion, up by 62.92% from the same period of last year, and the value of export increased by 38.06% to US$2.763 billion.The statistics also reveal that import growth accelerated while foreign trade and exports grew at a slower pace than the pace in the first five months.The total value of processing trade was US$99 million, representing a 33.99% year-on-year growth. This included US$19 million of imports and US$81 million of exports, which represented year-on-year increases of 65.59% and 28.25% respectively

Taiwan’s Fair Friend Group, described as the country’s leading manufacturer of machine tools and industrial machines, aims to become the world’s largest manufacturer of machine tools by 2018, reports www.cens.com.