Products
Chemicals
Taiwan's petrochemical industry started getting on the map with the help of the Japanese in the 40's. One of the stimulants of Taiwan's chemical industry came from production of methyl alcohol using natural gas at Chang Chun Petrochemical in 1964.
Fast forward to the present, Taiwan has become one of the power houses in this field with products such as Acetone/ Phenol/ BPA/ Resins /VAM.
Steels/Fasteners
Taiwan is the 12th biggest worldwide exporter of steels as of 2020. At the same time it is ranked tenth in exporting the highest dollar value worth of stainless steel.
Taiwan's fastener industry is closely tied to its steel industry. Taiwan has been a stable supplier of fasteners for over half a century, earning the reputation of Kingdom of Screw. Taiwan was the world's third largest exporter of fasteners in 2020.
Plastics
Taiwan made its transition from an agricultural society to industrial in the 50's. Plastics manufacturing surged in a short period with some investments from Taiwan government. One of the stimulants of this industry came from production of a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin (Bakelite) at Chang Chun Plastics starting 1949.
Today Taiwan holds one of the top positions in this industry with products like PVC/ EVA/ PBT/ PMMA/TPU etc.
Services
Taiwan industries have gradually moved to capital and technology-intensive industries from more labor-intensive industries, with electronics and information technology accounting for a third of the industrial structure. Industry in Taiwan primarily consists of many small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) with fewer large enterprises. Traditional labor-intensive industries are being moved off-shore and replaced with capital and technology-intensive industries.