Dharma the guiding principle in Thai Nakorn Patana’s business philosophy

Thailand’s pharmaceutical market is now worth up to 180 billion baht with thousands of drugs competing to become household names. When you ask Thais what names come to mind when they think of an antipyretic or drugs for stomachache, Sara, Tiffy, and Antacil would surely be among the answers.

These well-known medicines are products of Thai manufacturer Thai Nakorn Patana Ltd who has been in the business for 42 years. Founder Winai Wiraphuchong built the company from the ground up using his expertise in sport marketing to push the antacid “Antacil" to be one of the familiar sponsors of Muay Thai boxing in almost every major match.

Today, Thai Nakorn Patana is run by the second generation of the family. Suphachai Wiraphuchong, Winai’s eldest son, has expanded the family business into other industries and beyond the Thailand market, such as TV Channel 5 in Cambodia, managing five hotels in Thailand and Cambodia, as well as the pharmaceutical business in Myanmar and Vietnam.

Suphachai says he has been involved in the family business since he was 14, when his father would take him to explore markets in the northeastern provinces during his two months of school break. He had plenty of opportunities to learn by trial and error, and used the gained experience to further improve his skills, under close supervision from Winai, who also acted as a mentor in management and marketing.

“My father is a great teacher, but I was not a great student. I was always strongheaded and overconfident,” says Suphachai. “Throughout the 40 years of heading the company, I have made so many mistakes, but they are good lessons that helped me learn.”

With Suphachai at the helm for four decades, Thai Nakorn Patana has grown and achieved the milestone of billion-baht revenue per year. As the company heads into its fifth decade, expanding the pharmaceutical empire will be even more challenging, especially due to the Covid-19 outbreak that has affected many industries worldwide, forcing companies to be more circumspect.

Suphachai says one must not “invest hastily and overly” in this day and age. For example, if you have 100 million baht, don’t take on a 500-million-baht project just yet. Such a move could be risky, as it requires borrowing future money that comes with interest, while the revenue is still unpredictable amid the highly volatile market due to the outbreak and other crises, he says.

“Covid-19 has taught us that we should be self-sufficient and not rush to get ahead,” he says. “Business owners must learn to study the situation and adapt to the changing world. Most importantly, one must always be cautious about unforeseeable risks.”

Suphachai says Covid-19 has been the biggest threat he has seen yet, especially in 2021 when cases spiked in Thailand and forced businesses to shut down due to lack of liquidity.

“Our drug sales dropped during Covid as people become more health-conscious and therefore fell sick less often,” he says. “Furthermore, our five hotels with over 1,000 combined rooms have seen occupation rate plummeting from 70 to 3 per cent due to lockdowns and travel restrictions.

“In a situation like this, it’s important to talk to over 4,000 employees to make sure that everyone is on the same page about the obstacles that the company is facing, so that we can come up with measures that will help the company survive this crisis.

“One day this crisis will pass and then the next generation will replace me. However, I want them to continue using the Buddhism’s Dharma to drive the company forward like I did,” he says. “Buddhism teaches me to use consciousness, faith and virtues to guide us towards the goal instead of fixating on when we will get there.”

Suphachai adds that as a company leader, he has always adhered to the principle of Sappurisa Dharma, or seven virtues of a good person: always know the causes of all happenings, know the results of the causes, know one’s own self, know moderation, know to manage time, know the society or assembly, and know the differences of each individual.

“Dharma is the key to expand the family business and strengthen the organisation. It teaches us to separate right from wrong, focus on doing good deeds and avoid causing problems to others,” he says. “A leader also needs to listen to everyone impartially and give justice to all, which will help build trust and unity within the organisation.”

Suphachai adds that in the manufacturing of drugs that involves people’s well-being, the quality of material is the first priority. “This is why we only use raw materials from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, which has the lowest contaminant, to produce Sara paracetamol tablets,” he says.

“Since I was a kid, my father always taught me that we must produce good quality and affordable drugs, as they will help grassroots people stay healthy and be able to provide for their family. Good drugs not only help cure diseases, they also contribute to the betterment of society by ensuring the members are healthy and can focus on doing their jobs,” says Suphachai.