Local brake industry urged to shift its focus to R&D

Jointly organised by Acme International (Thailand) and Compact International (1994), the “Asean Brake Conference and Exhibition” brought together more than 270 participants from the automotive industry, including automakers such as Toyota, Honda, Proton, Mitsubishi, Mazda and MG. Also present were manufacturers of braking systems, brakes and friction materials, raw-material suppliers, chemical and machinery producers, academics, and public-sector representatives, said Boon Teeraprawatekul, manager of Acme’s performance materials business unit.

About 45 per cent of the participants were Thais, while the balance were from other Asean countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, and from outside Asean such as 

 Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Europe and the United States. 

The first Asean Brake Conference also won support from the Asean NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme), a safety rating scheme established by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research and the Global New Car Assessment Programme, Boon said.

Boon said Acme, a supplier of performance material for friction industries, and Compact, one of the largest Thai-owned producers of brake pads, had joined with Dr Seong Kwan Rhee, a widely recognised expert on the world’s braking-system industry, to hold the conference because they realised the Asean region had never had such an event before concentrating on this industry. 

Meechai Sriwiboon, research and development director for Compact International (1994), said the objective was to upgrade knowledge and understanding of entrepreneurs in Asean’s braking-system industry and to build a unified network of the producers in the region. 

“The future of Asean depends on our unity. And we’re talking about a market of more than 600 million people, which is growing in purchasing power.

“Hence we should take a larger view to cover Asean, not just Thailand,” he said.

The braking-system market in Thailand is estimated to be worth Bt6 billion, consisting of Bt2.5 billion for the aftermarket segment, and the balance for the OEM (original equipment manufacturers) segment.

Thank to the success of the first conference, the organisers plan to host it again in Thailand next year, expecting a larger number of participants, he said.

Meechai, whose Compact International started to invest in research and development nine years ago, said enhancing technical knowledge and updating trends were important, so producers could shift away from price competition and pay more attention to R&D.

Boon agreed: “Every maker should start to pay interest to R&D lest they find it hard to survive in the future.”