Page 4 - Demo

Over the past few decades, Taiwan's bicycle industry has been playing an important role in international arena. With its complete production system, leading manufacturing technology, and globally famous brands, Taiwan now becomes the most important source of supply in the world for mid-to-high end bicycles. Realizing the pressing need to upgrade Taiwan's bicycle industry, particularly in an era of globalization, the Department of Industrial Technology (DOIT), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), R.O.C began in 1996 the annual International Bicycle Design Competition (IBDC) in hope of injecting more innovation into the industry and making Taiwan an epicenter of creativity. Our utmost goal is to create Taiwan the %u201cKingdom of Bicycle Designs.%u201dThe IBDC, now into the 13th year, has won recognition and praises from home and abroad. Not only does it enhance Taiwan's image, but it also has helped the industry by transferring sophisticated technologies derived for the activity to local manufacturers, spurring their revenues and profits. I am delighted to see that Taiwan's bicycle industry has managed to transform itself handsomely from the adverse situation characterized by upward spiral in costs and stiff competition from labor-intensive economies. Although different companies adopt different business strategies, the key to success has always been %u201c Product Innovation.%u201d This is why MOEA keeps supporting the design contest.I would like to convey my heartfelt appreciation to those who have devoted themselves to the development of Taiwan's bicycle industry. With their great efforts and unreserved contribution, Taiwan is able to gain a world-acclaimed reputation as the mecca of high quality bikes. My thanks also go to the organizers of IBCD who have made this annual event an international success.PrefaceDirector General, DOIT, MOEAT.J. DuhChairman, CHCTom JengFollowing the current trend of global competition and enterprise restructuring, the knowledge capitals you own determine the competitive advantages in this knowledge-based economy, and that %u201cinnovation and design%u201d are effectively the core of this capital. Although bicycle industry is usually seen as a traditional industry, it is actually one of the most successful example in applying advance knowledge and technology into the industry. Even with threats of industry migration and domestic labour shortage, our bike industry is still able to maintain their competitiveness and international position by focusing on design innovation, distribution channels, and international labour divisions. IBDC is an action of revealing intangible values because the wisdom from worldwide designers has been incorporated into their designs. Not only does IBDC allow everyone to absorb the features, characteristics and knowhow of global designs, it also helps in molding Taiwan into a global centre of bicycle designs.It has now been 13 years since the Cycling & Health Tech Industry R&D Center first organized the design competition in 1996. Here, I would like to say special thanks to the Department of Industrial Technology for their long-standing supports. In order to develop the event more rigorously, we will be organizing the event continuously year after year using the experiences and knowledge we gained, and also try our best to bring the designs from IBDC alive in industry. We hope that more and more commercialization of bicycle designs is encouraged through the promotion of this event, and that we also hope to see that businesses can work together with this event, creating an environment for sustainable bike development.