Airmate set to open new base

Taiwan electronic appliance maker Airmate plans to build another manufacturing base in East China, following rapid business growth since it entered the Chinese mainland market in 1991, an executive manager of the company said.

The planned facility will boost sustainable development for the company, which specializes in making small home appliances, according to Tsai Cheng-fu, vice-president of Airmate Electrical (Shenzhen) Co.

"We are very keen on further exploring the mainland market, which has helped boost our sales in the past decades," Tsai said.

The company currently has a major manufacturing plant in Shenzhen, which includes more than 60 production lines with a capacity for more than 20 million cooling fans.

Despite a sluggish market for domestic electronic appliance makers in recent years, Airmate achieved steady business growth in recent years.

Sales increased by 12 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of this year, according to Tsai.

Last year alone, the company's sales reached 2.3 billion yuan ($377 million), of which half were generated from the mainland market, according to Tsai.

Meanwhile, Airmate launched a charity program in 2013 to aid schools in poor areas across the mainland.

Under the program, the company will donate some 6,500 cool fans, heating and air purifying equipment to schools by the end of 2015, according to Tsai.

On Wednesday, the company donated 44 heating electric heaters to a primary school in Guangxing township of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.