At-risk zones fix sight in floods

The others, all in the eastern part of Bangkok, are Lat Krabang Industrial Park, Bangchan Industrial Estate, Bang Phli Industrial Estate, Bangpoo Industrial Estate, Wellgrow Industrial Estate, Gateway Industrial Estate and TFD Industrial Estate.
The senior manager of Bangkadee Industrial Park, Sujin Wassanit, said the park had bolstered its barriers and was closely monitoring the situation.
The Flood Relief Operation Centre (FROC) yesterday ordered an urgent evacuation of workers in Navanakorn Industrial Estate and nearby residents after the primary flood-prevention dyke ruptured in two locations and flood water started to pour into the estate.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said she was sorry that the government had been unable to protect the industrial estate.
FROC director Pol General Pracha Promnog instructed factories in Navanakorn Industrial Estate to stop production and remove their workers, critical supplies and industrial support equipment to higher ground after 10 per cent of the overall area started to flood.
The ruptures occurred at two locations. The first breach was 6 metres long while the second, in the second tier of the floodwall, was 30 metres in length. Flood water continued to pour into the estate as 500 local residents and the military rushed to pile more sandbags to plug the broken wall.
Factories in the estate have been advised to move important office files and other belongings to higher ground.
Metha Junhasiri, senior vice president at MK Restaurant, said the company had closed its factory in Navanakorn Industrial Estate until the situation returned to normal.
All 220 workers are being moved to the company’s plant on Bang Na-Trat Road.
“We believe the flood situation will not have an impact on our business, as our factory on Bang Na-Trat has enough capacity to serve the more than 300 MK restaurants throughout the Kingdom,” Metha said.
Giffarine president Nalinee Paiboon said the company had moved all machinery to the second floor of its Navanakorn factory, which is between 5 and 7 metres above the ground, while all raw materials had been moved to the third floor.
“We have installed sandbags and water pumps to reduce any damage that might happen to our factory in Navanakorn. All finished products have been moved to our warehouse in Soi Aree Sampan and will be further moved to our distribution centres throughout the Kingdom.
“Including previous overtime operations, we expect to have enough stock of finished goods to serve our customers for the next two to three months,” she said.
Parinya Permpanich, director of marketing and sales at Serm Suk, the local bottler of Pepsi-Cola, said the company had closed two major soft-drink factories in Nakhon Sawan and Pathum Thani.
“Our Nakhon Sawan factory has been closed since the beginning of this month as it was 100 per cent damaged by flood water, including the machinery. We have also closed our Pathum Thani factory for nearly two months,” he said.
Parinya added that the flooding had not yet affected the machinery at its Pathum Thani plant, but all transport in and out had been cut.
He said all major suppliers for plastic bottles, which have factories in Lop Buri and the Rojana Industrial Estate in Ayutthaya, had also been seriously affected by the flooding.
“Our key priority is to restore our factory in Nakhon Sawan, which has been seriously hit by the floods. We expect the factory will get back to normal operation by the end of November,” he said. The Serm Suk executive said the Pathum Thani factory would meanwhile return to normal operation within the next two weeks.
The two factories have sufficient combined stock to serve the market for the next four to five months.
Parinya said Serm Suk’s other three facilities, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Chon Buri and Surat Thani, had not been hit by the floods.
A source from ThaiNamthip, Coca-Cola’s local bottler, said the flooding had not yet had any impact on its two main factories in Pathum Thani and Rangsit, which have strict early-warning and protection systems.
“However, the flood has hit our two branches and distribution centres in Ayutthaya and Nakhon Sawan, which have been closed,” the source said.
He said the company would compensate for those affected centres with other facilities nearby. The branch and distribution centre in Ayutthaya will be replaced by one in Angthong, while the centre in Nakhon Sawan will be replaced by nearby centres in Chai Nat and Phichit.
ThaiNamthip operates about 60 branches and distribution centres throughout the Kingdom.
“So far we cannot disclose the level of impact,” said the source, while noting that the flood crisis would affect people’s purchasing power.
More flood-hit firms filed to the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday.
Thai Metal Trade has shut down its plant and distribution centre at Wang Noi in Ayutthaya province until the end of the month because of floods and logistics problems.
Avaplas (Thailand) Ltd, Cal-Comp Electronics (Thailand)’s subsidiary in Hi-Tech Industrial Estate, has stopped its operations until this Friday, citing a lack of electrical power in the estate and transport and safety issues in Ayutthaya.
KCE Electronics expects to take about two or three months to resume operations at its subsidiary in Hi-Tech Industrial Estate, KCE Technology Co.
Navakij Insurance reported yesterday that about 70 clients had notified the company of claims, accounting for 2.12 per cent of the total sum insured. Preliminary net loss from those insured was estimated at Bt20 million to Bt30 million.
Stars Microelectronics (Thailand) extended its temporary closure to November 1 because of floods at its plant in Bang Pa-in Industrial Estate. According to a release on Sunday, SMT has insured both the plants and machinery with compensation coverage of Bt4 billion. The insurance covers the flood disaster and loss of business opportunity.
Ticon Industrial Connection, a provider of factories and logistics warehouses on lease, said its 19 plants in Hi-Tech Industrial Estate and two in Bang Pa-in Industrial Estate had been damaged by floods. Rental income for the plants with contracts and income realisation amounts to about Bt6.5 million per month or 8 per cent of its monthly rental income.
Mai Tan’s Bt2.4-billion manufacturing and bottling facility has been hit severely by the massive flood that recently hit Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya.
Chief executive officer Tan Passakornnatee said the flood level in the factory was now as high as 2.9 metres and had destroyed the factory’s two high-technology aseptic bottling machines, worth about Bt1 billion each.However, Tan said Thailand was maintaining its good image as an attractive investment destination in the eyes of foreigners.
The second floor of the factory is office space and houses a route for factory tours, and has not been affected by the flood. “What I have seen is that all Thai people have joined hand in hand and help one another to protect and get relief from the flooding problem,” Tan said.