Trane looks to branches in 3 CLMV markets

“With the opening of our own branches in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, we will be able to introduce the same business model of Thailand into those markets,” general manager Phanlop Techasuwan said yesterday.
 The company has been appointed by its US head office to spearhead the march into the nearby markets for about five years.
Sales activities with end-customers in those neighbouring countries have been conducted directly by the Thai office.
The products distributed to those countries are limited to large-scale air-conditioning systems, mainly for commercial, residential, institutional and industrial markets.
In Thailand, Trane distributes its A/C products via 126 dealers around the country, of which 50 are in Bangkok.
Trane Thailand targets its sales to reach Bt5 billion this year, up from Bt4.6 billion last year.
The company has set a three-year goal of doubling its sales to Bt10 billion per year, and increasing the contribution from small-scale home A/Cs from 50 per cent currently to 60 per cent over the period.
Thailand’s overall home A/C market is expected to hit about Bt20 billion this year.
Trane expanded its plant located on Bang Na-Trat Road in Samut Prakan about two years ago at a cost of more than Bt100 million.
That increased its manufacturing capacity by 10-20 per cent, depending on the product.
The company’s sales in the first six months of this year – Bt2.7 billion – were quite satisfactory.
This was 10 per cent higher than the same half year last year and higher than the Bt2.5 billion that had been targeted.

Customers’ confidence
The strong performance was driven by brand reliability, customers’ confidence in product quality and excellent customer service.
Also, Trane was able to cover a wide range of products, from one to five tonnes in size, comprising wall, convertible, cassette and concealed ceiling models, up to large-scale five to 2,500-tonne mini chillers and chillers.
As an integrated vendor, it offers performance services, durability services, all sizes of A/C spare parts, a turnkey design and build service and an energy service that meet all of the demands.
“We also received credibility from commercial customers who have constantly extended their projects, especially department stores in several regions and the industrial factory that extended its production base in Thailand,” he said.
Other positive factors were the hotter climate in the past summer and the stimulated real estate market.
Trane also concentrates on ecological conditions by working with both domestic and international organisations to evaluate the eco-friendliest refrigerants.