Bombardier on the fast track to growth in Thailand
Rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation Thailand sees increased opportunity for projects in Bangkok and other cities in Thailand next year, Claudio Tiraferri, managing director of Bombardier Transportation Thailand and Bombardier’s Head of Rail Control Solutions for Asia Pacific, said.
He added that the company is also looking to significantly grow its local team and skillset next year.
The company is the local unit of Bombardier, a leading manufacturer of both planes and trains, with headquarters in Canada.
“For 2020, Bombardier Transportation Thailand aims to secure orders worth several hundred million euros by the year-end in Thailand, comprising both mass transit and mainline projects,” Tiraferri said.
"Our strong presence in Thailand, and highly-skilled local team of over 600 who work on rail system projects in Thailand and across Asia Pacific, means we are increasingly investing in the local supply chain and exporting more competence globally, with 400,000 hours and Bt1.6 billion delivered in export projects in 2019," he added.
"Thailand is an important market for Bombardier, where we have grown from signalling supplier to rail technology market leader. We were the first supplier to recognise the potential of Bangkok as a regional signalling engineering base and we have invested significantly in our team."
He added that the company expects its market in Thailand to grow by almost 6 per cent a year in the next five years, with many opportunities ahead in Bangkok and cities such as Pattaya, and for mainline modernisation. This growth story is reflected in Asia and globally, with urbanisation, digitalisation and sustainability continuing to drive increasing interest in rail transportation.
"Over the last five years, the company has won over 1.3 billion euros of business in Thailand, including to provide the driverless Bombardier Innovia monorail 300 system for Bangkok’s new Pink and Yellow lines and the Bombardier Innovia APM 300 automated people-mover system for the capital’s Gold Line, and we will provide 20 years of services to maintain the new monorails. I was honoured to attend the ceremonies to welcome the first vehicles for both systems recently," Tiraferri said.
"In addition, we are providing our Bombardier Cityflo signalling and wayside integration for the latest extensions of the BTS Skytrain, rail control services for the MRT Purple Line, and our Bombardier Interflo 250 mainline signalling for the Lop Buri-Pak Nam Pho segment of the SRT Northern Line," Tiraferri said.
When asked if the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic was disrupting the company's businesses, Yuwaree Chulya, head of finance Southeast Asia for Bombardier Transportation, said that Bombardier continued to take decisive actions worldwide to protect employees and their families.
"In Bangkok, we have seen minimal impact, with our teams adapting to virtual working and safety protocols at our office. For those involved in our system installation, we have worked closely with our customers, partners and local authorities to ensure safe working practices, especially for the Gold Line and Green Line extensions set to open this year," she added.
