Toshiba carrier Bt2 bn earmarked for second factory

Toshiba Carrier (Thailand), a joint venture between Toshiba Carrier Corporation Japan and Connecticut-based Carrier Corp, announced yesterday that it would invest Bt2 billion on its second air-conditioner factory in Thailand.
Akio Ozaka, managing director of Toshiba Carrier (Thailand), said the new factory – set to be completed by next February – would be its largest manufacturing facility in the world, accounting for more than 70 per cent of its global production capacity.
Located next door to its factory in Bangkadi Industrial Park in Pathum Thani, the new facility will produce items such as light-commercial air-conditioners for shop and office use, and a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system for buildings and shopping malls. The new factory, the construction of which began last month, will also create 300 new jobs.
VRF, considered one of the most advanced technologies in the air-conditioning industry, allows one outdoor unit to be connected to multiple indoor units, which work at individual speeds. The VRF system saves up to 50 per cent of energy compared with conventional fixed-speed air-conditioners.
Choosing not to disclose the production capacity of the new factory, Ozaka said he believed the facility’s capacity would double in the next three years.
Almost 100 per cent of the products are meant for export to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and North America. Toshiba Carrier currently has factories in Japan, China and Thailand.
“Having a strong manufacturing foothold in Thailand will help us take advantage of other potential markets such as India and Europe, which have favourable export tariffs of 10 per cent and 3 per cent less import duty respectively.
“Thailand is also in a good geographic location in relation to the rest of Asia and other emerging markets such as India and Africa,” Ozaka said.
He added that after being hit by last year’s flood, the company’s factory in Bangkadi Industrial Park resumed its operation 100 per cent in April. “Our second factory is being set up in response to strong consumer demand and is a move to expand our portfolio by adding new products such as light-commercial air-conditioning for shops and offices, or in other words, the VRF system,” Ozaka said.
Since April 1999, Toshiba Carrier (Thailand) has been one of the largest manufacturers of residential air-conditioning, producing high-wall split and multi-split systems as well as console, under-ceiling and window-type products. Its first factory, built in Bangkadi Industrial Estate in 1990, has trebled its capacity and expanded its product rate and market coverage.
The company already exports to more than 52 countries, including those in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
It says management incorporates the best practices of its Japanese and US parent companies, integrating strong Thai capabilities in manufacturing and export logistics.