Opening a design department, any suggestion?

Hmmm… well, since your main concern is resources in material, first of all, I suggest you to check online. There are some search engines catered for Taiwan’s manufacturing industry. They’ve got listings of companies you want.

Secondly, visit the Taipei’s WTC. There are a few floors delicated to display booths of various product manufacturers. There you can see their samples and of course their company information. There usually are name cards under each of them. It will take you a good day to browse through all of them.

Surely you can find the offical website of Taiwan’s Industrial Design Association and a good list of suppliers.