2024 Taiwan International Water Week Concludes: Paving the Way for Sustainable Water Development and Cross-Industry Collaboration
The 2024 Taiwan International Water Week (TIWW) successfully wrapped up on 13 September, showcasing the latest advancements in water technology. With nearly 100 exhibitors and close to 200 booths, the event featured smart systems, wastewater treatment, recycled water, desalination, and water purification solutions. The trade show attracted over 2,500 professional buyers, including a notable increase in international attendees. Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand topped the list of buyer countries, highlighting the exhibition’s position as the leading procurement platform for Asian businesses in search of water resource solutions.
Throughout the three-day event, the exhibition floor buzzed with activity as buyers from around the world engaged in dynamic discussions with exhibitors. CHYI SHYANG captured significant attention with its globally patented JW Eco-Technology Permeable Pavement, attracting strong interest from both domestic and international buyers and paving the way for promising business opportunities. TANKPAC underscored the exceptional quality of this year’s buyers, and many connections with prospective partners from Japan, South Korea and Australia were made. Meanwhile, mbranfiltra Co., Ltd. stated that the result of TIWW 2024 far surpassed their expectations, as they were able to carry out in-depth negotiations with Malaysian, the UAE, and Indonesian buyers who expressed significant interest in both industrial and consumer filtration products. This year, Novax made its debut at TIWW, showcasing a 13-square-metre MVR wastewater treatment machine that drew the attention of all visitors. Many exhibitors have already expressed keen interest in returning for next year’s event.
Being Taiwan’s only professional water exhibition, TIWW drew industry heavyweights from sectors such as water resources, semiconductors, software, electronics, chemicals, construction and automotive to visit the show. Notable visitors included TSMC, Micron Technology, ASE, Foxconn, Super Micro, Phoenix Silicon International, Siemens, SOLOMON, Formosa Biomedical Technology, UNION CHEMICAL, TORAY, NAGANO KEIKI, Oracle, YULON MOTOR, Coxabengoa, F.A.S.T. GmbH, and Suez. Their presence accentuated the growing importance of water technology across industries, as demand for industrial water solutions continues to rise.
TIWW featured a diverse array of events, including the TIWW Tech Talk, where industry leaders from Veolia Water, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) and the British Standards Institution (BSI) delivered the latest advancements in water treatment technologies, net-zero initiatives in hydraulic engineering, and trends in international certification. Additionally, 18 product launches at the W Stage attracted over 400 participants. The show also facilitated one-on-one procurement meetings, connecting buyers from Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Bulgaria, Israel and Malaysia with Taiwanese exhibitors in more than 40 sessions, paving the way for promising future business opportunities.
As Taiwan’s government advances significant projects such as recycled water plants, seawater desalination, and pipeline infrastructure, a substantial NTD55.1 (USD1.73) billion budget will be allocated to water management in 2025, representing a 10.4% increase from this year. This investment aims to secure stable water supplies and enhance disaster resilience. Industries are also investing in smart water-saving and recycling systems, creating substantial opportunities for the future. TIWW will return in 2025. For the latest updates and registration details, visit the official website at www.taiwanintlwaterweek.com and follow our social media channels.
SPECIAL EXHIBITORS’ INTERVIEWS
AKWATEK Co., Ltd.
AKWATEK Co., Ltd. is a company that has been committed to environmental projects such as water and waste treatments and recycling projects. It believes ecological balance, beautification of life and economic benefits are possible in creating a perfect green environment.
Asian Water met with Dr Chi-Wang Li, a consultant with AKWATEK Co., Ltd. and Aaron Lin, AKWATEK Co., Ltd. representative at TIWW 2024 to talk about the company and the water treatment industry in Taiwan.
Asian Water: As professionals in the fields of environment, chemistry, instrumentation and electrical, mechanical and civil engineering, how does AKWATEK contribute to the development of the water industry and its commitment towards environmental protection?
Dr Chi-Wang Li: In the past, there are various regulations in placed and those in the water treatment industry discharge their waste into the environment as long as they do not violate the regulations. The time has changed and at the moment, treatment companies are aware of ESG, where they are showing concerns not just on the clean water supply but also how much energy was put in the treatment of the wastewater and what are the consequences on the environment. The researchers in this field are beginning to look at all the possibilities of recovering resources from the wastewater.
For example, in Taiwan, the semi-conductor companies are required to recover, reuse and recycle the 80-85% of the water that they used in the plants.
Asian Water: Since Taiwan is an island, where does it get its supply of clean water?
Dr Chi-Wang Li: Taiwan gets a lot of typhoons every year and we rely of the typhoons to fill the reservoirs. Because of climate change and extreme weather, we get a lot of water but the reservoirs’ capacity cannot hold the water and when there are no typhoons, we run into trouble of water shortages. The government started pushing for water recycle/reuse and reclamation. For example, we build water reclamation plants, from the domestic wastewater treatment. But we do not allow human consumption of the treated water like in Singapore, because we are concerned about the impact on human health, so the treated recycled water are for industrial use.
Recently, the Taiwanese government has agreed to build a desalination plant in Tai Nan, in southern Taiwan. The facility is expected to produce 100,000 tons of desalinated water daily.
Asian Water: Lastly, what are your hopes for the future of Taiwan’s water industry?
Dr Chi-Wang Li: The semi conductor industry is very big in Taiwan and they use a lot of water so water security is very important. That is why the industry is pushing for a more steady, robust seawater desalination facilities to supply fresh water.
TankPAC Industries Co., Ltd.
TankPAC Industries Co., Ltd. is company that manufactures pressure vessels/tanks. Clean water resources are increasingly scarce due to climate change and contamination issues. To address these concerns, TankPAC recently ventured into water purification sector. Its products are NSF-certified, with less service life, less maintenance cost and less carbon footprint. TankPac strives to provide high quality products and good service to satisfy its customers.
At the recent TIWW 2024, Asian Water had a chance to sit with TankPAC’s Sales and Marketing Director, Wei-Chiao Lo to talk about TankPAC and the tank industry in Taiwan.
Asian Water: As one of the largest pressure tank manufacturers, how do you view the pressure tank industry in Taiwan?
Wei-Chiao Lo: Our factories are in Taiwan, China and the US. In Taiwan, we can control all the details at the home ground, from the machines to the people. As for the US and China, these are two of the largest markets in the industry and we feel that we need to be there. Competition in the industry is very competitive. In order to set us aside from our competitors, we continuously improve our designs and we educate our customers on the best products for them. It is our philosophy to be outstanding in what we give to our customers.
Asian Water: What are the latest products that you have developed? Can you share with us some success stories on these products?
Wei-Chiao Lo: Our latest products are we try to put components into cisterns for developing countries. This is so that everyone can afford to have supply of clean water, at low cost. Since the cost is low and plastic waste is little, our products provide supply of clean water for total usage in a household, from drinking water to brushing your teeth and washing the dishes.
Asian Water: What do you expect to achieve from your participation in TIWW?
Wei-Chiao Lo: The visitors are not as crowded as before but we see more valuable and quality visitors. We will most definitely come back for the next edition.
TRUE TEN Industrial Co., Ltd.
TRUE TEN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. was established in 1964 in Taichung City, Taiwan. It manufactures machinery and provides customisation services for its customers. TRUE TEN is divided into three main businesses: biotechnology freeze-drying equipment, footwear machinery and design and manufacture of green energy equipment.
TRUE TEN was an exhibitor at the recent TIWW 2024 and Asian Water had a chance to speak to Huang Lienchun, TRUE TEN’s Consultant, about the company.
Asian Water: As a specialist in services and solutions of low temperature drying facilities, what are the new technological innovations that your company has developed?
Huang: TRUE TEN has developed the dehumidifier low temperature vacuum cold air dryer. It reduces deterioration (de-qualify) of dry product quality and shortens the drying time, in general (non-normal) electrical heating and solar thermal heating.
Asian Water: What are the products that you are showcasing in TIWW 2024 and what are the advantages of these products?
Huang: We brought with us a hydropower generator and clean/sanitary water equipment. We also have tidal seawater and a small dam designed Siphon Power Generation System, which is designed for multi-layer water flow approach power generation devices, comprising a water storage tank, a water flow approach channel, multiple power generation components and pumping components. The sewage, seawater filtration and purification devices that we have here are used to fight drought by electrolytic sterilisation filtration group, seawater ion desalination, and river and stream water recycling. The small hydropower systems that we have here are suitable for rivers, water channels or water pools. It is designed for critical and difficult to reach locations.
Asian Water: In your opinion, how do you view the future of the industry and what are your hopes for the industry?
Huang: Clean energy that is low cost, reducing manpower, protecting the environment and utilising any place of energy source are the future global trends. Coincidentally, this is also our goal and the direction of our main efforts.
Ginger Hi-Tech Co., Ltd.
Ginger Hi-Tech Co., Ltd. is a company that develops desalination technology that produces clean water sustainably. The company has extensive knowledge and techniques on the highly efficient and eco-friendly Seawater Fogging Desalination System (SFDS). SFDS not only uses seawater to generate clean water, it can also extract the minerals from the seawater in the form of solid salts. This way, SFDS does not discharge back into the sea, therefore lowering the impact to the water ecology.
Asian Water talked to Ginger Hi-Tech Co., Ltd. representative at the recent TIWW 2024 on the company and desalination industry in the region.
Asian Water: How do you view the SFDS industry in Taiwan?
Ginger Hi-Tech Co., Ltd.: Taiwan has suffered from serious drought a few years ago, and I feel that desalination is the most stable method to overcome shortage of clean water supply, especially when Taiwan is surrounded by the sea. To achieve the Environmental Protection Goals of 2030, our technology is an asset to reach this goal. Not just in the Asian region but also around the world, countries are facing similar water scarcity problems. We are also targeting water scarce regions such as MENA. We have joined several shows/exhibitions in the area and we have also sent demo machined, we expect to have more opportunities there.
Asian Water: What are the latest products that you have developed? Can you share with us some success stories on these products?
Ginger Hi-Tech Co., Ltd.: We have worked on the SFDS for years. Thanks for our founders who have foreseen the values of SFDS and gave us a lot of supports. Last year, SFDS reaches a milestone, where the system is able to produce seasalt at the same time, producing clean water, it is not just a success for Ginger Hi-Tech but it is a silver lining for everyone around the world who are trying to solve the problem of brine discharge.
Asian Water: What do you expect to achieve from your participation in TIWW 2024?
Ginger Hi-Tech Co., Ltd.: We are here for the exposure and to let people know that there are better options for desalination and we expect to reach out to people and have more conversation/discussion with international experts. We also expect to build partnership globally and to promote our products to the market.
Asian Water: Lastly, what are your hopes for the desalination industry?
Ginger Hi-Tech Co., Ltd.: We hope the desalination industry can help the world to deal with the equal distribution of water resources and at the same time considering the long term impact on the environment. We hope to collaborate with the government to promote SFDS to the world and bring the desalination industry to a new era.
Yuan Chang Tsay Industry Co., Ltd.
Yuan Chang Tsay Industry Co., Ltd. was established in 1981. With over 30 years of professional manufacturing experience in environmental protection equipment, the company produces the latest design and manufacturing technology in wastewater and sewage treatment equipment. It has a global distribution systems providing fast and reliable services.
Asian Water talked to representative from Yuan Chang Tsay Industry at the recent TIWW 2024 in Taiwan about the wastewater and sewage industry and the company.
Asian Water: In your opinion, how do you view the development of the wastewater/sewage treatment industry in Taiwan?
Yuan Chang Tsay: Taiwan’s wastewater treatment industry is very competitive. It is tough competing with the other competitors compared to 10 years ago. Now there are more companies manufacturing wastewater and sewage treatment machines.
Asian Water: What are the products that you are showcasing in this exhibition and how can these products help in the advancement of the industry?
Yuan Chang Tsay: We have with us here the sludge drying machine. It makes sludge cakes by reducing the water content. Water contents is reduced from 70-80% is reduced to 30%, therefore, we can reduce the weight and the treatment cost is effectively reduced. This machine is used in the semi-conductor, metal and food industries.
Asian Water: What are your expectations of TIWW?
Yuan Chang Tsay: During this exhibition, we want to show our products to visitors. We can see a lot of old friends and old customers, where we can catch up and discuss new potential buyers. However, I think due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I see that the numbers of visitors are lower compared to 2 years ago.
Asian Water: Lastly, how do you see the future of the industry in the next 5 years?
Yuan Chang Tsay: I believe the industry will continue to innovate and developed the technology for reducing waste in wastewater and sewage treatment. I see that in Japan and Europe, the development is progressing at a faster rate and in the next 5 years, I believe that we will have a better environment.
SUN MINES ELECTRICS CO., LTD.
SUN MINES ELECTRICS CO., LTD. has been in the wastewater field for over 30 years. It specialises in silent rotary vane blowers, floating aerator for aqua and wastewater treatment aeration and submersible jet aerators. Asian Water talked to Sun Mines Electrics representative at the recent TIWW 2024 about the company.
Asian Water: Environmental protection and sustainability are very important in the water industry. How does your company ensure your products are sustainable and innovative?
Sun Mines Electrics: We sell wastewater treatment equipment, which aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6’s “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.
Wastewater treatment plays a critical role in improving water quality, protecting aquatic ecosystems and safeguarding human health. By providing wastewater treatment equipment, we ensure that wastewater is properly treated and is aligned with the specific targets under SDG 6, such as improving water quality by reducing pollution.
Asian Water: What are the products that you are showcasing at TIWW 2024 and how will your products benefit your customers?
Sun Mines Electrics: We brought with us different kinds of blowers and aerators. One of our major products is the biogas blower. This blower is used in large farms where biogas are vacuumed and turned into energy to keep the farms warm during winter. This echoes our commitment to protecting the environment by reusing the biogas and turning it into reusable power.
Asian Water: Lastly, what are your hopes for the future of the industry?
Sun Mines Electrics: Biogas power generation supports environmental sustainability by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, utilising renewable energy sources, recycling waste and promoting a circular economy. It plays a critical role in the global effort to combat climate change and protect the Earth for future generations.