Size, power, proximity

Taiwan has a tight network of suppliers and manufacturers, all easily accessible in terms of proximity and language. The structures in place mean it’s safe and easy to conduct business, from a legal and financial standpoint.

Pilotfish managing director Marco Heusdens dubs the island’s capital, Taipei, as “the hub of manufacturing in Asia.”

“Of course, you have manufacturing in other Asian countries, but if you start in Taipei, you have this amazing spiderweb of contacts,” he says.

“Since everything is so close, we can perform quality inspections on produced products at our manufacturers. Our suppliers are within two hours of each other – it’s the whole ecosystem.”

Therefore, Pilotfish has their team of product developers and manufacturing specialists in Taipei.

Supporting innovation

Innovation is a core part of Pilotfish’s operations, and with it comes complex requests, and not-so-standard engineering, tooling and production needs. But no challenge has been too great for suppliers and networks in Taiwan.

“They’re open to what we need to make an innovative product. Most of the suppliers are flexible to accommodate and implement changes,” says engineer and project manager Maeva Schaller.

“It’s natural that when you make something new you will have bumps along the road. They always try to make it happen and do any changes we need.”

Skills, scaling and accessibility

Of course, it only matters how close your suppliers are if their output is of a high standard. Pilotfish has spent the last decades building strong relationships with a network of skilled suppliers who can produce in small batches – often a limitation for many manufacturers, but an essential requirement when developing new or innovative products.

From there, it’s easy to scale, including to nearby countries like Vietnam, Thailand and China.

“The Taiwanese are very good at building networks so it’s easy to scale within the country or to other countries nearby. You can benefit from the fast accessibility of everything on the island, and scale up later when the time comes,” says Marco Heusdens.

Production in Taiwan offers a host of benefits and a competitive offering when looking at total cost of ownership. Suppliers often go above and beyond to accommodate complex requests, without sacrificing quality.

So, if you’re looking at your options, bump Taiwan to the top of the list – even if you’re based abroad. For Pilotfish, our European-based teams with project managers ensure a seamless collaboration for clients, no matter which time zone they’re located in.

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