" Building the Taiwan Textile Research Institute into a Leading International Textile Technology and Services Institution!" In the 18th century, the textile industry was in the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. Since then, the industry has experienced rapid growth, but now finds itself at a turning point in its development. Today, we are faced not only with the impact of the global financial crisis, but also of society’s expectations with regard to sustainable development. However, I am confident that Taiwan’s textile industry – which has successfully overcome so many difficulties in the past – will be able to cope with these multiple challenges. The Taiwan Textile Research Institute (TTRI) will continue to work closely with textile manufacturers for Taiwan in the global textile market.

Wang, Yea-Kang

Shortly after I took up the position of Chairman of TTRI in 2008, the impact of the global financial crisis began to be felt. Nevertheless, I remain determined to fulfill my responsibilities to the best of my ability, making full use of the experience that I acquired as a civil servant, and the many useful contacts that I developed while serving as Secretary General of the Chinese National Federation of Industries. I and my colleagues at TTRI will be working actively to assist the government by providing recommendations regarding the future of Taiwan’s textile industry, emphasizing the need to focus more on industrial textiles and home textiles, to diversify, and to develop high-value-added products. As the leading textile research institution in Taiwan, TTRI has a mission to help the Taiwanese textile industry globalize and develop into a truly world-class research center. All TTRI staff should be doing their utmost to help textile manufacturers become more competitive, by serving as effective mentors.

Accompanying the emergence of the concept of sustainable development, “corporate social responsibility” has become an important asset for any large enterprise. The U.N. Global Compact which was announced by the U.N. in 1999 gives a detailed list of enterprises’ environmental and social responsibilities, and emphasizes the need to develop environmentally friendly technologies. The plan to promote the formation of R&D alliances to develop nanotech and environmentally friendly functional textile products – which constitutes one of the three “Hundred Billion” plans to stimulate the development of the textile industry that have been announced by the Ministry of Economic Affairs – is well matched to current global trends, and also dovetails well with the other two “Hundred Billion” plans: the plan to double Taiwan’s industrial textile production value, and the plan to develop branded marketing and fashion design. With the aim of boosting the overall annual production value of the Taiwanese textile industry to NT$580 billion by 2015.

It is my earnest hope that, building on the impressive foundations that it has already established, TTRI will continue to fulfill its mission to innovate, help manufacturers create new value, and to serve the textile industry. By integrating the capabilities of the private sector with its own, TTRI will be able to take its R&D and technology diffusion activities to a new level, and establish itself as a leading international textile technology and services institution.