Thai Alloy doubling wheel output with new plant
Thai Alloy Manufacturing, a privatelyowned alloy wheel maker, has invested 1 billion baht to build a production plant in Chon Buri to meet growing demand from both local and overseas markets.
According to managing director Ken Chuang, the new plant is scheduled to start production in late 2017 with an annual capacity of 600,000 alloy wheels.
He said the company has secured purchase orders from overseas buyers, notably from European countries.
“Our existing plant in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli is operating close to the maximum capacity of 720,000 wheels,” he said. “A new plant is desperately needed to handle the flood of orders.”
The new facility in Chon Buri will have a state-of-the-art production line with fully automated machinery.
According to Mr Chuang, the new factory can double production capacity to 1.2 million wheels, if everything goes according to plan.
Founded in September 1993, the company runs three manufacturing facilities in Samut Prakan on an area of 22,400 square metres.
The company exports to over 20 countries, including Europe, North America, South Africa and Asia. Around 70% of total production is exported, with the remainder sold domestically.
According to Mr Chuang, Thai Alloy Manufacturing sold 600,000 alloy wheels in 2016, unchanged from a year before.
In 2017, Mr Chuang expects sales to grow 15-20% following the increase in output.
“We are very upbeat about our business prospects after the second facility starts operations. We expect sales to double in 2018,” said Mr Chuang.
He predicted automotive industry growth will remain steady worldwide, boosting all related sectors and supply chains, and inducing growth in the alloy wheel segment.
In 2016, car production worldwide rose by 4.5% to 95 million units with Thailand ranking 12th with 1.94 cars, up by 1.8%.
The Federation of Thai Industries forecasts Thai automotive output will grow by 2.6% in 2017 to 2 million cars, with domestic sales expected to rise 4.05% to 800,000 units and exports to grow by 0.97% to 1.2 million units.
For the first four months of 2017, output stood at 606,028 vehicles, a 6.1% fall from the same period last year, while domestic car sales amounted to 273,757 units, up by 15.7% from the same period last year.
Car exports from January to April stood at 353,228 vehicles, down 9%, with export value totalling 186 billion baht, down 10%.