Sodexo , Amata eye growth in CLMV markets 

Under the partnership, Thailand will be promoted as Sodex’s ‘hub for growth’ in the region.
Arnaud Bialecki, country president of Sodexo Thailand, said that Amata as a major industrial city developer and operator, has always sought to develop partnerships with other global leaders in their respective fields to provide the best possible services to companies investing in its industrial estates.
With that goal in mind, Sodexo and Amata decided to establish a joint venture ‘Sodexo Amata Services’ in July 2015, to provide integrated facility management services to factories located in Amata Nakorn and Amata City industrial estates.
Sodexo Amata Services has grown rapidly in less than two years and is currently servicing 28 factories with a staff of 250. 
“Encouraged by success, Sodexo and Amata are planning to expand their partnership to fully implement the concepts of ‘Smart city’ and ‘Green city’ in the Amata estates in Thailand before growing our businesses together in Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos, where Amata has prepared ambitious expansion plans while Sodexo already has an established presence,” said Bialecki.
Founded in 1966 in France, Sodexo is a global leader in integrated facilities management services that improve the quality of life, an essential factor in individual and organisational performance. With a global revenue of 20.2 billion euro, Sodexo employs over 425, 0000 people and is now present in 80 countries around the world.
Sodexo’s ambition is to always be chosen and rewarded for making every day a better day.
Sodexo started business in Thailand in 2004, quickly becoming a market leader in the provision of Food and Technical Facilities Management services. Later on, the range of services expanded to include other soft support services such as security, cleaning or receptionist.
“Today, Sodexo Thailand delivers fully integrated facility management services to a wide portfolio of clients including leading hospitals, schools, factories, hotels and oil rigs,” said Bialecki.
He said Sodexo Thailand’s performance was satisfactory last year, with an overall revenue growth of 12 per cent. Although some sectors have suffered from an economic slowdown or increased competition, other sectors, particularly oil & gas and industrials, have more than made up for the shortfall. Based on the current pipeline, Sodexo Thailand can realistically aim to achieve a 25 per cent revenue growth next year.
“Sodexo is always focusing on ways to improve the quality of life of its employees. We are keeping benchmarks on the labour market conditions and adjust our benefits to stay ahead of the industry standard. We believe that investing in our people is yielding returns in better staff retention, better productivity and ultimately better service to our customers,” he said.
Bialecki said that the main challenge faced by Thailand in terms of human resources is the lack of available workforce and the lack of skills to match the ambition of Thailand 4.0. Therefore Sodexo’s strategy is to invest in skills development and technology to improve productivity and provide highers wages to its employees.
“Our market positioning on improving quality of life – for both our clients and employees – is unique and starts getting traction worldwide. In Thailand, we have developed some key expertise in domains such as clinical technology service, or maintenance of medical equipment. Our team is supporting the growth of this business in the wider Asia Pacific region,” said Bialecki.
“Of course, we also have this unique partnership with Amata, for which Thailand will definitely be the hub for growth in the region,” he said.