Compact plans Bt100m brake lining plant in Dawei

“Initially, the company will produce brake linings for motorcycles and trucks to serve Myanmar and targeted markets, as Myanmar is a gateway to countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan,” Pattana Issaraphithakkul, business development director, said yesterday.
The company plans to deploy a 360-degree marketing strategy for expansion in overseas markets to brace for the coming of the Asean Economic Community in 2015.
“We target becoming a market leader in Asean over the next 10 years. The company plans to invest in a brake-lining facility in the Dawei industrial estate in Myanmar next year as well as form a joint venture with local enterprises in Indonesia for a distribution hub in the region, where our customer base is more than 50,000 companies,” he said.
The company will also penetrate deeper into Malaysia with its Compact, Musashi, Kenji and Diamond brake-lining brands, Pattana said. It has been marketing the products there for a year.
Russia and Brazil will be added in three to five years to its overseas market of 30 countries. For the Asean market, the company shares about 20 per cent. In Thailand, it expects to increase its market share to 15 per cent in five years.
“Compact has spent up to Bt300 million for expansion of the Phetchaburi facility on 45 rai of land to serve demand from car assemblers,” he said.
Compact runs two plants in Phetchaburi and Samut Sakhon, with total capacity of 150,000 sets per month.
The company posted Bt700 million in revenue in the first nine months. In Thailand, Compact controls about 32 per cent of the commuter market segment of 300,000 sets.
“We expect the company this year to enjoy revenue growth of 10-20 per cent to Bt800 million in the replacement market,” Pattana said.
The company has focused on two major market segments. It sells its brake-lining products to carmakers as an original equipment manufacturer and to car service centres as an original equipment supplier.