Hartford: Taiwan’s Hidden Champion in Machine Tools Embarks on Dual Transformation for Smart Manufacturing and Sustainability

(Taipei, July 24 – CNA) Located in the Taichung Industrial Zone, Hartford has long operated quietly but stands as a hidden champion in Taiwan’s machinery industry. With 60 years of manufacturing expertise, the machine tool giant, under the leadership of third-generation successor Chen Chih-Chieh, has launched a dual transformation plan focusing on smart manufacturing and sustainable operations.

Hartford’s founder, Chen Chien-Chih, hails from Shengang Township, Changhua County, and was the first youth in his village to enter Changhua Industrial High School. After graduation, he chose to become an apprentice at a motorcycle parts factory.

Current Chairwoman and Chen’s wife, You Shu, recalls that to support the family, Chen leveraged his mechanical background to try assembling motorcycle engines and manufacturing parts. He once went seven consecutive days and nights without sleep to deliver difficult outsourced products on time, despite little market demand.

Chen possessed a spirit of adventure and understood that merely doing contract work was insufficient—originality was key to gaining control. After visiting major machinery companies in the United States, he recognized the immense potential of machine tools. In 1965, he invested over a hundred thousand New Taiwan Dollars to start his business. You Shu recalls, “Back then, the surrounding area was all sugarcane fields; we were the only factory.” Against this backdrop, Chen personally drafted and developed Taiwan’s first Bridgeport-style milling machine, laying the technical foundation for Hartford’s independent manufacturing capabilities.

High-End Manufacturing and Global Expansion: Taiwan’s Machinery Beacon

Unlike many machine manufacturers relying on outsourced assembly, Hartford insists on producing key components in-house and equips itself with various measurement and inspection tools. It has established a full-process quality verification system from component inspection to finished product delivery and adopted Six Sigma quality management to strive for zero-defect delivery.

You Shu shared that at its peak, Hartford produced 400 machining centers monthly, accounting for nearly 50% of Taiwan’s export share. Despite lucrative offers for OEM partnerships, Chen firmly declined. His management philosophy—“Make a profit when you can, accept losses when necessary, but always produce the best machines”—still hangs above the main gate of Hartford’s first factory as a legacy.

With limited English proficiency in those days, Chen traveled the world carrying a suitcase and an English phrasebook, building decades-long partnerships with agents. Ultimately, the Hartford brand entered supply chains of Boeing, Airbus, Samsung, Nokia, NASA, and others, shipping over 30,000 units to 65 countries and earning the reputation of a “sunnever sets” enterprise.

After Hartford became a global leader in machining centers, the “ageless rider” Chen fulfilled his youthful motorcycle dream by founding Hartford Industrial in 1995 to create Taiwan’s own motorcycle brand.

Transformation Beyond Tradition: Third Generation Launches Dual Innovation

In 2025, Hartford marks its 60th anniversary, with operational leadership passed to third-generation executive director Chen Chih-Chieh. A Columbia University graduate in finance, he analyzed that under pressure from China and Japan, continuing old business models would risk severe challenges. Hence, he set “smart manufacturing” and “sustainable operations” as dual engines of transformation, leading his team to upgrade product technology and management processes through AI analysis and carbon footprint auditing.

With support from the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ post-pandemic revitalization and transformation loan program and the Precision Machinery Research Center, Hartford has introduced intelligent energy management and AI real-time monitoring systems to reduce carbon emissions and improve equipment precision. Estimates show that newly developed high-precision machining equipment with AI-based automatic compensation modules can reduce annual maintenance costs by 5% to 10%, increase product prices by over 10%, and improve precision by 15% based on ISO 10791-6 five-axis simultaneous inspection.

By the end of this year, Hartford will establish a European distribution center in the Czech Republic, linking over 80 global sales and service points to build an around-the-clock customer service network, advancing toward becoming the world’s top smart machinery brand.

Talent Revolution: From “Blue-Collar” Factory to High-Tech Enterprise

Beyond machine upgrades and carbon reduction, Chen Chih-Chieh is working to overturn the stereotype of the machinery industry as “blue-collar.” Stepping into Hartford’s factory, visitors see tidy, bright, and clean workspaces comparable to those of technology giants.

“Many people associate machinery factories with oil stains, stuffiness, and heavy labor,” Chen said. Young people generally avoid the industry, creating not only technological bottlenecks but also talent shortages.

Starting in 2024, he launched Hartford’s “Talent Development” initiative to enhance mid-career employees’ sense of responsibility and participation, while digitizing and archiving veteran workers’ experience to prevent knowledge loss. Simultaneously, the company actively recruits younger and female talents into R&D and marketing, using social media posts and videos to reshape the factory’s image and attract new generations.

Facing the European Union’s “Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism” (CBAM) effective in 2026 and reciprocal tariffs imposed during the Trump administration in the U.S., Chen acknowledged that although the global machine tool market is currently adjusting, demand for high-precision machining equipment will rebound amid the rise of electric vehicles, smart manufacturing, and renewable energy applications. This transformation is not just for current competition but marks Hartford’s starting line for the next 60 years. “My goal is to build Hartford into a premium brand among customers’ machining centers.”

Source:https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202507240044.aspx?topic=4724