FOUNDER

Founder/Chairman of Fair Friend Group

Mr. Chu Chih-Yaung (Jimmy)

Honorary Doctorate Degree of Engineering and Honorary Doctorate Degree of Management, Chung Yuan Christian University.
Honorary Doctorate Degree of Management, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.

AWARDS/HONORS

  • The 7th Group of Laureates, Industrial Technology Research Institute
  • Honorary Professor of Management College, National Chin-Yi University of Technology
  • 2016 Ernst Young National Distinguished Accomplishment Award and Ernst Young Entrepreneur of Year – Award Winner
  • 2018 Medal of K.T. Lee, Chinese Management Association
  • 2020 Pan Wen Yuan Award – Pan Wen Yuan Foundation

EXPERIENCED

  • Chairman of Fair Friend Group
  • Vice Chairman of Taiwan Merger’s Acquisitions and Private Equity Council
  • The 3rd President of Taiwan Listed Companies Association
  • Chairman of Taiwan Association of Green Energy Transition
  • Honorary President of Council for Industrial and Commercial Development
  • Honorary President of Financial Executives Institute, R.O.C.
  • Vice President of Global Council Asian Manufacturing Association
  • Vice Chairman of Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association
  • Chairman for Taiwanese-German Economic Cooperation Committee, Taiwanese-Italy Economic Cooperation Committee, and Taiwanese-Turkey Economic Cooperation Committee.

Entrepreneurial Mission

Sincerity and Responsibility for Sustained Operations

Founder of Fair Friend Group, Hon. Dr. Jimmy Chu, embarked on his entrepreneurial journey in 1979. Starting with the representation of Japanese construction machinery, he demonstrated exceptional vision and investment acumen by venturing into the machine tool industry. Known for his precise judgment and extraordinary courage, Mr. Chu applied merger and joint venture strategies, rapidly accumulating brand power and technical expertise. With a keen focus on the advanced CNC machine tool industry, he showcased his multinational integration capabilities, transforming Fair Friend Group from a small startup with initial revenues in the millions to a formidable enterprise with a global presence.
Today, Fair Friend Group stands as a solid corporation with a marketing network encompassing top machine tool manufacturing countries in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. With over 50 production bases worldwide, the group is not only the world’s leading provider of complete turnkey solutions for CNC machine tools but also supplies over 30% of the machine tool demand for major high-end automotive component industries globally. This exceptional achievement has undoubtedly brought remarkable recognition to Taiwan’s industrial prowess in the global market.

Chairman Jimmy Chu, who started from humble beginnings as a sailor, established Fair Friend Group in response to the booming construction projects of the 1970s. Recognizing the industry’s potential, he decisively founded the company, initially acting as an agent for Kobe Steel’s construction machinery and excavators from Japan. In 1985, with his keen foresight, President Chu acquired and integrated three Taiwanese companies—Yuanzhou, Lien Feng, and Wu Feng—forming the Machine Tool Division. Under the FEELER brand, the company commenced sales of conventional lathes. Faced with fierce competition in both domestic and international markets, President Chu fearlessly broke through bottlenecks and actively pursued merger and joint venture strategies. Not only did he acquire top Taiwanese machine tool companies, but he also purchased high-quality, time-honored machine tool brands worldwide, rapidly gaining access to cutting-edge international technologies, talent, and market potential, thereby enhancing the group’s industrial competitiveness.

Under Chairman Chu’s visionary leadership, Fair Friend Group, anchored by its merger strategy, expanded and established 40 production bases across Taiwan, China, the United States, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, India, Japan, and other global locations. Additionally, the group has formed joint ventures with 17 renowned enterprises, engaging in diversified businesses such as machine tools and industrial equipment, achieving significant growth and profitability.

As Chairman Chu approaches four decades of service in the machine tool industry, he has witnessed the rise and fall of Taiwan’s machinery industry. Placing great importance on talent, he has devoted efforts to continuous research and development. Fair Friend Group not only allocates over 20% of its workforce to internal research and development but also actively contributes to the overall enhancement of industry talent. The company has established industry-academia programs with technical and vocational colleges, offering internships to domestic and international students, thereby cultivating a strong talent pool for the industry. In 2016, President Chu was honored with the prestigious EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award, also known as the “Entrepreneurial Olympics,” in recognition of his outstanding management capabilities. In 2018, he made history in the machinery industry by awarding The Seventh Group of Laureates, Industrial Technology Research Institute, acknowledging his remarkable contributions to the machine tool industry.