RunSociety was recently invited for a pre-media tour arranged by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), a non-profit trade promotion organisation leading up to 2019 Taipei International Sporting Goods Show (TaiSPO) on 28 March to 30 March at the iconic Taiwan World Trade Centre.
This will be held in conjunction with two major events, the likes of Taiwan International Sports Textile and Accessory Expo (SPOMODE). The event also coincides with one of the world’s biggest bicycle exhibitions, Taipei CYCLE.
The 2018 edition had garnered 325 local and international exhibitors which saw more than 1,700 buyers from all over the world in the city of Taipei concluding business collaborations with the exhibitors of the day. The 3-day event which was opened to the public on the last day of the exhibition finally counted over 25,000 visitorship.
Touted as one of Asia’s major sporting events showcasing a wide range of products from Taiwan which range from fitness equipment, sportswear makers and water & diving sports, among many. As the event organiser, TaiSPO is confident that its 2019 edition will attract even more exhibitors and buyers. It will be another exciting year for TaiSPO.
During the pre-media tour, we were introduced to some of the business owners and executives who will be exhibiting their latest products in the 2019 edition.
Saeko
Founded in 1979, Saeko has cemented a solid 39 years in the development of swim goggles to meet the ever-changing demand of their customers. All the swim goggles are wholly made in its Taiwan factory which has also earned them the prestigious Taiwan Excellence award from 2014 to 2018. The swim goggles come in 58 different types from recreational swim to racing which is distributed in more than 50 countries including Singapore. Europe remains its biggest market with some 44% share whereas, it is 7.06% in Southeast Asia. On a yearly basis, Saeko makes 1,500 different types of goggles for the local and international market.
‘Jet Mirror’and ‘Carina Mirror’are the two most popular swim goggles marketed by the company with the former having just won the Taiwan Excellence 2018 accolade.
The company is helmed by Howard Chen, the general manager.
Please visit www.saeko.com.tw to know more about the company and their products.
Person To Contact:
Howard Chen
General Manager
(242) 3F, No. 651-6, Chung Cheng Road
Hsin Chuang District, New Taipei City
Taiwan
Tel: +886-2-29072727 #30
Email: hwd@saeko.com.tw
Intenza
A company that places much attention on its product quality, innovation and green manufacturing, Intenza is a truly home-grown company that has punched beyond its own weight. Founded in 1985, the company has subsidiaries in South Korea, USA, Germany, Japan and Singapore. Intenza fitness equipment can be found in some 60 countries and there are 3 dedicated service centres in Taiwan, Seattle and Dusseldorf. They are an out-and-out manufacturer of gym fitness equipment which includes treadmills, stair climbers, trainers and stationary bikes where 98% of the components are exquisitely made in Taiwan.
Setting a new standard, it’s Escalate 550 Series stairclimber which has 20 different step heights has won the prestigious 2018 Red Dot Design award for the company.
The company is led by CEO, Mark Chang and Eleanor-Jayne Browne is the VP Branding & Communications.
Please visit www.intenzafitness.com to know more about the company and their products.
Person To Contact:
Eleanor-Jayne Browne
VP Branding & Communications
16-3 Zichiang 1stRoad
Jhongli, Taoyuan 32063
Taiwan
Tel: +886-3-433-6269 ext 319
Email: eleanorjayne.browne@intenzafitness.com
Dyaco
Established in 1990 as a fitness equipment specialist, Dyaco has since grown from strength-to-strength with an annual turnover of US$75 million. Under their belt include Spirit Fitness, SOLE Fitness, XTERAA Fitness, Spirit Medical Systems Group, Fuel and Intrepid.
The company was in the limelight when British marathoner, Amy Hughes broke a Guinness World Records on 9 September 2016 by running 834km in 7 days on a treadmill which is the equivalent of running 3 marathons in a day or 21 marathons in 7 days. To achieve the incredible feat, she had to run over 20 hours a day for 7 days on the ever-reliable SOLE Fitness treadmills manufactured by Dyaco.
Please visit www.dyaco.com to know more about the company and the products.
Person To Contact:
Christopher Hancock
Global Marketing Director
12F, No. 111, Songjiang Road
Taipei, 104 Taiwan
Tel: +886-2-2515-2288
Email: chris.hancock@dyaco.com
JKFitness
The company was founded in 1980 by Victor Chen as a fitness equipment manufacturer who realised most of the gym equipment in Taiwan was fitted for foreign brands as OEM factories. He then decided to venture on his own brand and thus, JKexer was launched in 1981. The range of equipment under the company comprise of quality motorised treadmills, indoor fitness cycles, elliptical trainers, exercise bikes, rowing machines, steppers and multigyms.
Adopting the company’s motto, “Built For Health”, they are on a mission to improve healthy living lifestyle by creating fitness equipment for people to train at home.
The second brand, FitLux was launched in 2012 for the more affluent consumers as a semi-commercial installation, be it for home usage, hotel or fitness centre.
Please visit www.jkexer.com to know more about the company and the products.
Person To Contact:
Lynn Wang
9F, No. 26, Sec 2
MinChuan E Road
Taipei, Taiwan
Tel: +886-2-25373397 #31
Email: sales-9@jkexer.com
Proteus
Founded in 1984, Michael Lu is the man behind Proteus which is a manufacturer of wide range of sporting goods and fitness equipment manufacturer in their Taiwan and China plants. They have more than 80 distributors marketing their equipment globally.
The company has prided themselves on being among the firsts to tap on the app for their gym equipment to meet customers’ expectations. They are also into strength products.
Please visit www.proteusfitness.com to know more about the company and the products.
Person To Contact:
Michael Lu
Executive Vice MD
5F, No.159, Sec 2, Wenhua 1stRoad
Linkou District, New Taipei City 244
Taiwan
Tel: +886-2-2602-2956
Email: michaeliu@proteus.com.tw
Aropec
Martin Wei is the managing director of the company, Aropec which was founded in 1963 by his father. They started with making wetsuits but have since transformed into a specialist in water sports products. They have won many ‘Taiwan Excellence’ awards for their wetsuits over the years. Their extensive range of products can be found in more than 88 countries from diving, surfing, swimming, canyoning and even compression wear, among others.
Please visit www.aropec.com to know more about the company and the products.
Person To Contact:
Marvin Wei
122, MinSheng Road
Shengang, Taichung 42950
Taiwan
Tel: +886-4-2569-3850 ext 11
Email: marvin@aropec.com
Kingasia International
Kingasia International makes mainly water sports products which have over 1,000 different items produced in their China factory. They started in diving suits, masks, fins, gloves, boots and swim goggles.
The person-in-charge is Peter Pan who is mostly based in China overseeing the manufacturing process and Jinny Pan is based in Taiwan overseeing the marketing and sales aspect of the business.
Person To Contact:
Jinny Pan
Assistant General Manager
6F, No. 131, Sec 1, Pei Hsin Road
Sindian District, New Taipei City
Taiwan
Tel:+886-2-29182136
Email: jinnypan@ms19.hinet.net
2019 Taipei International Sporting Goods Show (TaiSPO)
For those who are interested to attend the event next year in Taiwan from 28 March to 30 March to find out more about the latest and innovative sports products, you can pre-register here.