Abstract
This paper surveys the current status of the screw manufacturing industry in Taiwan. The industry has the following characteristics. First, a screw is a product mainly manufactured by medium and small-sized factories. Second, most of these factories are located in the southern part of Taiwan and form an industrial cluster. Third, the factories trace a similar growth path which could be described by the spin-off model. They share a common original factory established just after World War Ⅱ, and as a whole the industry developed by using a unique production network and horizontal/vertical division of labor. A screw is an essential product for manufacturing and used for a variety of industrial products ranging from home appliances to aircraft. Faced with a rapid catch-up from China, the screw manufacturing industry currently strives for structural transformation from quantity to quality. This paper also considers new challenges to further development of the screw manufacturing industry, which is at a crossroads.
