Tongtai - the number one manufacturer of machine tools in Taiwan - has moved into a new factory built on a greenfield site in Kaosiung. Occupying an area of over 86,200m2, this modern facility incorporates six separate air-conditioned production bays all equipped with four 20 ton cranes and a guide rail system to manoeuvre the machines. With 680 employees, Tongtai is building some 200 machine sets/month and has a target turnover for the year of US$160 million.

While over the next five years it plans to double in size.

The company manufactures a range of advanced and high quality machine tools which are shipped all over the world, with the main markets being China, Europe and Turkey.

And following a recent distribution agreement, Surrey-based Matchmaker M/C is now the sole UK agent for Tongtai and the full Topper range of equipment.

With some 30 plus machines always held in stock by Tongtai subsidiary Topper Europe (based in Holland), Matchmaker can offer a wide range of machine tools on a short delivery, with many models available ex-stock.

The types of machines produced by Tongtai are wide and varied including: 15 models of CNC lathe (including twin spindle models and centres with driven tools, Y-axis and gantry loading); 16 types of vertical turning machine, 12 different models of drilling/tapping machine, 14 styles of vertical machining centre (including high speed machines and moving column models), a full range of horizontal machining centres (with 400, 500, 630 and 800mm2 pallets sizes) and, special-purpose machines.

In addition, the company also produces high speed PCB drilling machines and offers full turnkey facilities for multiples of linked machine transfer lines.

In many respects, Tongtai designs and manufactures more technically advanced machine tools than people might first think.

For the Taiwanese company has had technical co-operation agreements with a number of Japanese machine tool builders over the years, and staff from Hitachi Seiki were employed after the closure of that company - including top management and the designers in Japan.

While in terms of customers, Tongtai supplies such house-hold names as Honda, Yamaha, Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi on a regular basis.

A number of machines have also been installed in the UK, too.

The full range of Tongtai equipment - CNC lathes, machining centres and tapping centres - is now available from Matchmaker M/C in Leatherhead, UK.