Editor's Note
This editor’s note highlights the key facts and market implications behind “Taiwan’s Pride Sparks Another Stone Revolution: “, with emphasis on sourcing, product fit, fabrication, logistics, or buyer impact.
At the annual Taipei International Building Materials Show in December, a fiercely competitive arena for the building materials industry, the engineered quartz brand 'Mikado Quartz,' which made its mark in the US before returning to Taiwan, stole the spotlight last year with an art-like mountain bench installation. Like the Mikado pheasant on its logo, it stood out among the crowd—beautiful and unique.
The team behind this innovation is Taiwan's 'Saiens Inc,' a top-tier R&D group with advanced material science capabilities. Saiens not only leads in product innovation but also boasts a complete supply chain, from raw material extraction (including its own quarry in Sri Lanka) to final sales. The company operates three R&D labs staffed with multiple PhD-level material scientists, ensuring product innovation and quality. Its production bases span Taiwan, China, and Sri Lanka, with brand-owned outlets in the US and across Taiwan, guaranteeing global coverage and brand influence.
As the market gradually recognizes Taiwan's ability to develop and produce premium quartz slabs—rather than relying solely on European or American brands—Saiens, after a year of preparation, unveiled the revolutionary material 'ETERNOS' at the 2023 Taipei International Building Materials Show. This launch demonstrates its innovation and leadership in material science. 'ETERNOS' combines the advantages of traditional quartz slabs with breakthrough multi-quadrant through-body printing technology, a technique not yet seen in Spain, Italy, or the US. This marks another revolution in the building materials market and highlights Saiens' strong position in the top 1-2% of technology in Asia.
Traditional quartz manufacturing incorporates reverse 'marble' engineering, offering through-body color, scratch resistance, wear resistance, and stain resistance, but has limitations in patterning. By integrating ceramic tile printing technology into through-body quartz slab production, Saiens retains the beautiful through-body characteristics while enabling finer and more diverse patterns that can be appreciated from different angles, not just on the surface. Combining quartz manufacturing with printing poses challenges in physical properties, pattern design, quality control, and equipment investment. For existing quartz or ceramic tile producers, this requires significant R&D and capital strength, as well as a shift in mindset. Saiens' DNA of continuous evolution and R&D has been the key accelerator.
Brand director Michael Wu stated:
‘ETERNOS is not only an innovation in material science but also a continuation of Saiens’ mission to provide warm and lasting companionship in people’s homes. The name is inspired by Marvel’s Eternals. Just as the Eternals witnessed the rise of world civilizations, Saiens, through durable stone that can accompany people for 20 to 30 years, will continue to witness touching life stories unfolding in homes.’
In addition to ETERNOS, Saiens has also developed an eco-friendly quartz composite board structure (recycled stone) under its existing quartz production framework. This product incorporates hard-to-recycle construction waste, offering an innovative and sustainable solution. It reduces carbon dioxide emissions, meets the 3R principles (reduce, recycle, reuse), and achieves energy savings, supporting the industry's ESG goals. This makes it an ideal eco-friendly building material for a circular economy.
As a customer-focused material solution consultant, Saiens is also an advanced processing facility in Taiwan, equipped with waterjet cutters, CNC machines, and custom shaping equipment to ensure precision and diverse services. Adhering to the principle that technology and experience are equally important, Saiens has established a professional customer service team, offering rare high-quality after-sales service in the industry, further solidifying its market position. At this year's exhibition, the core experience area allowed visitors to test the quartz's scratch resistance, wear resistance, and stain resistance, and showcased the new, challenging 'hot bending' technology. This technology gives the hard quartz (Mohs hardness 7) a soft, curved appearance. Together with the launch of ETERNOS, these two highlights are set to dominate the 2023 Taipei International Building Materials Show.
During the four-day exhibition, Saiens not only shared the excitement of ETERNOS' debut but also launched a 'Free Slab Giveaway' activity. Designers, architects, and construction companies who complete interactive games at the booth have a chance to win a slab—a rare opportunity.
About Saiens Inc
Saiens Inc is a company focused on next-generation material R&D, dedicated to pushing the boundaries of material science and providing customers with optimal material solutions. Through continuous innovation and in-depth research, Saiens is leading the industry toward a more sustainable and better future.
Currently, Saiens has three direct-sale outlets in northern, central, and southern Taiwan:
Taipei: 02-2745-8089 (1F, No. 616, Songhe St., Nangang Dist., Taipei City) Monday to Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Saturday: 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Taichung: 04-2251-1850 (1F, No. 152, Sec. 2, Huizhong Rd., Nantun Dist., Taichung City) Monday to Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Saturday: By appointment only
Kaohsiung: 07-558-8758 (23F, No. 366, Bo'ai 2nd Rd., Zuoying Dist., Kaohsiung City) Monday to Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Saturday: By appointment only
Source: Read the original article | Published: December 01, 2023