Tetra Pak aims for 50% growth in Asia food business

The company has identified Thailand as a key growth country and has committed to supporting local producers and government initiatives by developing the food innovation and agro-processing industries under the Thailand 4.0 policy.
To support Thailand’s economic growth agenda, Thailand has been defined by Tetra Pak as one of its focus markets in the region. The company has recently showcased its fully integrated food processing and packaging solutions at ProPak Asia 2017
The growth ambition of 50 per cent by 2020 will potentially add 100 new jobs to Tetra Pak’s regional processing operations team, in addition to the existing 800 employees. Tetra Pak’s expansion plans “show the company’s strong pledge to provide global expertise through local presence to customers”, it said.
In 2016, Tetra Pak Global booked 11.4 billion euros in total net sales from its fully integrated solutions, with 76,000 processing units in operation.

KEY MARKET
 Bosch posts 10% sales  boost in Thailand

Bosch, a global supplier of technology and services, ended its 2016 fiscal year with Bt11.9 billion in consolidated sales in Thailand, representing growth of 10 per cent from the previous year. 
“For the fourth consecutive year, Thailand is once again one of the largest revenue-generating markets for Bosch in Southeast Asia, largely based on the automotive business,” said Joseph Hong, managing director of Bosch in Thailand. 
“We are upbeat about our future growth in Thailand. This is reflected in our investments in connectivity particularly in the automotive business and backed by the government’s national roadmap towards Thailand 4.0.”
The number of associates employed at Bosch in Thailand stood at more than 1,200 as of the end of December 2016, a year-on-year increase of around 8 per cent. This number is expected to further increase in 2017, following the company’s recent investment in a new gasoline systems plant in Rayong to be completed in 2017. The Bosch Group has invested close to 100 million euros (Bt3.8 billion)in Thailand in the past five years –50 million euros alone in 2016. 
Bosch aims to maintain its market leadership position for fuel injection and is building a fuel injector factory in Thailand. It will service Thailand’s growing base of vehicle manufacturers. “This new factory at the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate will produce proprietary injection technology, and will be furnished with connected manufacturing technologies, adopting an Industry 4.0 concept,” the company said.
“The total investment in 2016 also included establishing infrastructure for R&D within the gasoline injection plant and expanding the packaging technology production lines in Chon Buri.”

THE WRITE STUFF
Shopee gets creative in effort to help sellers

E-commerce platform Shopee recently hosted a creative-writing workshop to give its sellers skills to build brand recognition and boost sales. 
Anuchit “Pum” Khamnoi, a media-content creator and founder of the “Kiwtum” Facebook page, led the workshop.
“We believe in empowering our sellers with the right tools and skills to support their businesses,” said marketing chief Agatha Soh. 
“Through Shopee University, we seek to educate our sellers on a wide range of online commerce topics, including photo-shooting tips, marketing and creative writing. We hope to expand these workshops to reach even more sellers and help them grow.”
Content creation is key to reaching target customers, she said. Eye-catching content attracts people and encourages buyers to make purchases. Content was the main topic at the workshop, which drew more than 40 sellers. 
Anuchit shared his ideas and techniques in areas such as establishing an online presence, identifying the target audience, illustration-based storytelling and optimising use of the social media. 
He also shared tips on copywriting, customer service and response management.