MELANINE TABLEWARE : Srithai has regional designs

MELANINE TABLEWARE : Srithai has regional designs.

Buying two plants; looks to VN, India to boost output

Srithai Superware, a leading manufacturer of melamine tableware, plans to spend Bt100 million to take over two local plastic plants this year, and also has plans for expansion in Vietnam and India.

One of the local target companies generates annual revenue of Bt200 million and the other Bt100 million.

"Taking over two existing plants will help us expand our production capacity. That is better than starting up new plants because Thailand now faces a labour shortage," company chairman and president Sanan Angubolkul said last week.

The company also plans to set up a second plant in Vietnam this year and expand production to India next year.

"In the future, we may move our production base from Thailand to Vietnam owing to its cheaper wages and plentiful raw materials," he said.

The company spent Bt25 million to construct its existing melamine plant in Vietnam and purchase the first 10 machines. It plans to add 40 more machines there over the next three years.

Next year Srithai wants to set up a Bt50-million melamine plant in India to service its customer there.

It is studying the details of forming a joint venture in India.

The company targets this year's revenue at Bt5 billion, up from Bt4.58 billion last year.

Industrial plastics such as pails and automobile moulds are projected to contribute 64 per cent of total revenue and household plastics made of melamine the rest.

In the first nine months of last year the company earned Bt266.35 million on sales of Bt3.9 billion.

After the prices of polypropylene and polyethylene, the raw materials for industrial plastics, rose last quarter due to tight domestic supplies, they are expected to come back down at the end of next month.

Sanan said he would begin importing these materials from Singapore to avoid local supply problems. He forecasts the price of melamine to keep rising, as the prices of its raw materials trend up in the medium and long term.

But the company has no plans to hike its product prices at the moment.

Srithai already exports to 63 countries worldwide. Sanan said he would like to celebrate the company's 45th anniversary by selling to 100 countries in the coming year.

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation
Mon, January 15, 2007