Amata goes BIG with EEC nitrogen joint venture
SET-listed industrial estate developer Amata Corporation Plc has agreed on a joint venture with Bangkok Industrial Gas Co (BIG) to invest more than 200 million baht in a nitrogen gas business for industrial factories in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
Amata Big Industrial Gas Co (ABIG) said Amata would own 49% and BIG would hold a 51% majority stake.
The 200-million-baht investment is targeted to produce 50,000 tonnes of nitrogen annually. The gas is used as a manufacturing fuel.
Piyabut Charuphen, BIG’s managing director, said construction of the new plant is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019 and commercial operations are scheduled to begin that quarter.
This is BIG’s first joint venture with an industrial estate developer to supply nitrogen gas through pipelines.
“ABIG is projected to generate 100 million baht in revenue next year as it already has two customers: Sumitomo Rubber Thailand Co and POSCO Thailand Coated Steel Co,” Mr Piyabut said. “It aims to have five more customers soon.”
Viboon Kromadit, Amata’s chief executive, said the joint venture is part of the company’s strategy to provide integrated services to those operating industrial facilities in Thailand.
Amata has more than 1,000 factories in its industrial estates in Chon Buri and Rayong. Most of the company’s customers are in the 10 targeted industries the government is promoting to make the Industry 4.0 leap.
The 10 targeted industries are nextgeneration cars; smart electronics; affluent, medical and wellness tourism; agriculture and biotechnology; food; robotics for industry; logistics and aviation; biofuels and biochemical; digital; and medical services.
Amata is focusing on five industries: aerospace, electronics, electric vehicles, logistics, and robotics and automation, following the government’s S-curve policy.
The EEC spans Chachoengsao, Chon Buri and Rayong provinces.
“We plan to expand our gas business in neighbouring countries, and Amata currently has industrial estates in Vietnam,” Mr Viboon said. “The next project entails supplying nitrogen gas for those factories.”
For BIG’s industrial gas demand plans, the company projects a 7-8% rise in 2018 to 100,000 tonnes, thanks to the expansion of industrial facilities, in line with the 3.8% year-on-year hike in the Manufacturing Production Index over the first five months of the year.
Mr Piyabut expects total revenue from BIG this year to grow by 10% from 5.5 billion baht in 2017.
Established in 1987, BIG provides a wide range of gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and helium, along with mixed and specialty varieties. The firm also provides engineering design and services.