The use of buttons in the Western world can be traced back to ancient Greece. But it was not until the 18th century that the button industry reached the stage of mass production. With thousands of button factories, Italy has for a long time been the world's leading producer, followed by West Germany, Japan and the U.S.

In China, buttons used in traditional costumes are mainly of the crossed type, which give an elegant and graceful appearance to clothes. Imports of Western style buttons started toward the end of the Ching Dynasty. Because of rapid rises in wages and other costs, button-making has become uneconomical in advanced countries. Lower labor costs and the development of the petrochemical industry have therefore put Taiwan in a strong position to make progress in the button industry.

Button-making is today mainly concentrated in the Tainan area of southern Taiwan, where there are some 30 factories producing all kinds of nylon, acrylic-plastic and metal buttons. At first, production was mainly geared to the domestic market, but about 10 years ago the first overseas sales were achieved. Export value increased from NT$35,316,000 (US$950,000) in 1974 to NT$56,498,000 (US$1.6 million) for the first half of 1978.

One of the most prominent businessmen in the button-making field is Prof. Lin Hsiu-shyong. While he was studying at the National Cheng Kung University, he took a special interest in business administration, quality control and operational research. He became a quality control manager at a factory after his graduation, and during this period traveled twice to Japan and once to Germany to further his research.

When he started to plan his career on his own, however, a lack of finances thwarted his ambitions. His luck changed when he read a pamphlet entitled "A Brief Introduction on the Young Lions," published by the National Youth Commission, while he was attending a seminar. He learned that in cooperation with the China Youth Corps and the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the commission had opened a Young Lions Industrial Area in the Yangmei area of Taoyuan County in northern Taiwan. In this zone, the government provided a well-equipped factory, low-price land and a 10-year low-interest loan to enable ambitious young men to start their own businesses.

Within six months, his application was approved, and Prof. Lin set up the Pin-mei Button Industrial Co. in 1973. Since then, the company has expanded from a one-man operation with five machines and five employees to a total of four factories. Later, Prof. Lin started to design, manufacture and export button-making machines to assist under-developed countries start up their own industries in the line.

Despite his success, Prof. Lin is still not satisfied. As a result of long research on design, renovation and other improvements, he has been able to write two popular books on product quality control and establish the Famy Zipper Co. His achievements eventually brought him official recognition in the form of one of the 10 outstanding youth awards in 1972, and a model young entrepreneur award last year. Although the textile industries in Central and South America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia have continued to expand, their button making industries are still lagging behind. With the increasing demand both at home and abroad, the Republic of China is in a strong position to become "the kingdom of button-making" in the next few years.