Ecovacs Robotics aims to clean up in Thai market

The company – one of the world’s top three home-robotics manufacturers – has appointed Mentagram as the sole importer and distributor of its home products in the Kingdom, with a strategic plan to launch a strong line-up of several in-home robotic cleaners on to the market in the near future. 

Among these offerings, Ecovacs Robotics’ Deebot floor-cleaning robot features self-emptying rubbish bins, mopping systems and the company’s Smart Move technology. 

Meanwhile, the company’s Winbot, an award-winning window-cleaning robot, is equipped with patented Smart Drive technology, advanced cleaning systems and safety mechanisms. 

“In Southeast Asia, Thailand for instance is an advanced market, besides Singapore. Thailand is one of the biggest markets and most advanced countries in Asean, and has a strong case to be the centre of robotics technology in this region, with its great manpower and knowledge,” said David Qian, president of the international business unit of Ecovacs Robotics.

Thailand could become the top country providing all the business potential for leading robotics brands from around the world, he suggested.

“Thailand’s infrastructure is very strong, so it will not be so hard for the country to become the centre for upcoming businesses, including [those making] robotic cleaning systems, with the support from global companies such as Ecovacs. 

“I believe Thailand is now ready for this. In terms of the government sector, its Industry Ministry visited Ecovacs in April, and this shows that the government is ready to support us in the future,” Qian said.

Robotics technology in this field is now more mature, and will be among the top three most popular industries in the not-too-distant future, he added.

“We at Ecovacs have combined robotics technology with a mobile-phone application and our vacuum-cleaner products. This will make it much easier to operate the cleaners, while they can be controlled not only from home, but also from anywhere around the world,” the president said.

Nattapon Pattamapong, managing director of Mentagram, said Ecovacs Robotics’ household robotics products provided home-cleaning solutions that suited the lifestyle of Thai consumers living either in a house or a condominium. 

“Our target customers are the new generation with an urban lifestyle, modern housewives and general consumers, respectively,” he said.

“In addition to robotic home cleaners, the company plans to launch other products into the Thai market, including an automatic home-controlling system. We can safely say that in the next five years, robotics could account for between 60 and 70 per cent of household work when it comes to cleaning the home,” Nattapon added.