Anko Food Tech, founded in 1978, has been committed to manufacturing and developing machinery for food-grade materials. With over 30 years of experience in developing and researching traditional Chinese foods, the company can meet the production needs of most Chinese snacks on the market. In 2015, they established a subsidiary in the United States, forming a local team of engineers and a spare parts warehouse. They also expanded their product line to include equipment for making Mexican burritos, Spanish empanadas, and other diverse food items.
Anko Food Tech’s sales manager for the Americas, Ann Zhang, mentioned that in the past, they faced various challenges due to insufficient after-sales service from agents when operating through a distributor model. To uphold their reputation and expand into the North American market, they decided to establish a strong local presence in the United States. They built a comprehensive team of engineers dedicated to providing full support from equipment installation to after-sales maintenance, addressing the previous shortfall in distributor services.
The development of Taiwan’s food equipment industry began in the mid-20th century, growing rapidly alongside the rise of Taiwan’s food industry. Initially focused on meeting local food manufacturing needs, Anko Food Tech transitioned towards automated and precision food machinery with technological advancements and changing market demands. Today, Taiwan’s food equipment not only meets high standards of food hygiene and safety regulations but also competes globally due to technological innovation and cost-effectiveness.
The range of food machinery in Taiwan is extensive, encompassing Chinese food machines such as automatic dumpling and baozi makers, as well as fully automated equipment for producing Western pastries, bread, and beverages. Anko Food Tech specializes in developing specialized equipment for regional cuisines, catering to a variety of market demands with products like dumplings, siu mai, spring rolls, wontons, potstickers, xiaolongbao, shrimp dumplings, scallion pancakes, tangyuan, baozi, mantou, as well as Mexican burritos and Indian thin crust pizzas.
Ann Zhang highlighted the company’s most popular product, the HLT-700U multifunctional shaping machine, which can produce 8,000 to 10,000 dumplings per hour. The machine achieves a handmade appearance with a plump shape and maintains the crispness of vegetable fillings and the juiciness of minced meat. She emphasized that all equipment strictly adheres to North American food safety standards, with materials compliant with NSF standards for equipment used, electrical materials meeting UL standards, and the ability to pass ETL or CSA inspections.
To ensure that customers fully understand the equipment’s performance, Anko Food Tech has established a dedicated test kitchen where clients can test their own recipes on-site to verify that the production results align with expectations. The company also employs professional food scientists to assist customers in improving and developing food recipes.
“In the North American market, Asian food equipment comprises about 30% of our business. We are also actively exploring diverse market demands in the Middle East, India, and beyond,” said Ann Zhang. With the preparation of a branch in the Netherlands, Anko is expanding its vision of “Safety and Deliciousness are Not Just Slogans” to the European market, developing intelligent and environmentally friendly food processing equipment. They have recently collaborated with Taiwanese manufacturers to launch a fully automatic stir fry machine, continuously innovating to meet the automation needs required by the restaurant industry due to labor shortages and rising prices.
In recent years, Taiwan’s food equipment industry has been dedicated to enhancing automation and intelligence, utilizing technologies such as robots and the Internet of Things (IoT) to increase production efficiency and reduce labor costs. The industry has actively expanded into international markets, particularly in North America, Europe, and emerging markets, while also strengthening after-sales service and enhancing brand image. These strategies have led to an annual increase in Taiwan’s food equipment industry’s market share in the global market, establishing it as a significant supply source in the international food machinery industry.