Sermsuk’s new line increases production
SERMSUK, a bottling and logistics unit of conglomerate Thai Beverage, has opened a Bt350 million production line at its Surat Thani plant with the aim of cashing in on significant growth in the drinking water market in the South.
The southern region contributes about 12 per cent of Sermsuk’s sales on its Crystal drinking water. The southern market is growing at 7 per cent a year.
The company will also strengthen its “Crystal Everywhere” campaign to highlight the brand as a provider of quality drinking water. Sermsuk’s “The more we know Crystal, the more we love Crystal” campaign will be launched to secure Crystal’s position in the market, which is expected to see growth of 10 per cent this year.
Lester Teck Chuan Tan, deputy chief executive officer of ThaiDrinks Co Ltd and president of Sermsuk, said that the drinking water market in 2016 was valued at Bt35 billion, and is growing at 8 per cent year on year. However, Crystal outperformed the market with 13 per cent growth.
Last year Crystal held 19 per cent market share and gained recognition through certifications issued by five institutions, in Thailand and abroad. This includes being the first Thai brand to receive certification from the NSF in the United States. It also received the Thai Food and Drug Administration’s “Quality Award” for the fourth time, an ISO 22000 Food Safety Management certification, and Halal certification for Muslim consumers. In addition, Crystal was registered as a Carbon Footprint Reduction label by the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation for its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Also, the ‘Crystal Everywhere’ campaign featuring Nai-Naphat as Crystal’s brand ambassador has represented a new generation who trust in Crystal’s leadership in clean and safe drinking water,” Tan said.
“Our marketing communications activities in the past year resulted in positive outcomes, with strengthened brand awareness and the most-improved scores in all aspects compared to other drinking water brands. Crystal increased its score by 25 per cent as the “Brand for Me”, increased by 22 per cent as a “Modern Brand”, and increased by 17 per cent in terms of “Clean & Pure” product quality’.”
The new production line at the Natheechai plant in Punpin district, Surat Thani, has a capacity of 36,000 bottles an hour, or 1.2 million cartons a month.
The line has an energy-saving capacity of 397,440 KWh a year. This technology has the potential to reduce greenhouse emissions by an equivalent of 415 tonnes a year of carbon dioxide, the company said.
To celebrate the launch of the new production line, Crystal will offer a promotion with iPhone7 give-aways for consumers in the South.
“Sermsuk is confident that the production expansion at the Natheechai Plant, as well as our marketing campaigns throughout 2017, will help strengthen the Crystal brand proposition in terms of efficient production,” Tan said.
