The global electronics, engineering and transportation giant, Siemens Ltd, is about to deliver a Bt100-million marketing lesson to Thailand's industries, in the form of its mobile solutions exhibition next month.

The exhibition is part of a global road show that began in November last year. Bangkok is the fourth city in Asia in which Siemens is showcasing its latest industrial automation technologies.

"We hope the show will help double our automation and drives business within two years in Thailand," said Udo Puhze, Siemens' executive vice president and head of its automation and drives group.

The road show will be housed in a three-storey mobile exhibition hall with 900 square metres of floor space.

Puhze said the technologies on show were essential systems for corporations wishing to increase their competitiveness.

Two major systems, Siemens totally integrated automation (TIA) and totally integrated power (TIP), are particularly useful to com-panies struggling against high energy costs.

"Investing in TIA and TIP will re-

duce their overall costs in the long

run, including the cost of energy," Puhze said.

Siemens will also use the event to display the entire portfolio of its automation and drives business unit, including electrical engineering and electronics systems. A total of 137,000 product items will be on show.

The exhibition will feature a multimedia show projected by seven simultaneously playing high-definition beams that shine visuals onto a 34-metre prism screen.

Siemens aims its products at companies in various industries at the production, management and logistics levels, Puhze said.

The production level includes in-

dustrial machines and manufacturing execution systems that draw the most out of machinery. The systems are devised for use in the entire production process to help companies better manage costs.

Siemens target industries include chemicals and pharmaceuticals, automotive, food and beverage, petrochemical, oil and gas, glass, steel, paper, cranes and spare parts manufacturers in the print, packaging, plastics, and textile industries.

Puhze said the first three are Siemens' most favoured customers.

Siemens' mobile solutions exhibition will open at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) on May 8. It will be open to the public from May 10 to May 14, and organisers are hoping to attract 10,000 to 15,000 visitors.

The Siemens global road show kick-ed off in November in Shanghai, China, and has since been to Bhusan and

Seoul in South Korea. After the Bangkok show, it will head back to another city in China.

Siemens has a busy schedule for the road show next year, when it is due to visit Russia, Taiwan, and Japan. In 2008, it will go to India, the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Siemens' automation and drives unit recorded sales of ¤984 million (Bt37 billion) and new orders amounting to ¤10.19 billion last year, resulting in a profit of ¤1.2 billion. Siemens in Thailand generated new orders of Bt1.1 billion last year.

Puhze said Siemens' share of the industrial automation market in Thailand's food and beverages and chemical and pharmaceuticals industries is 20 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively.

They are its top target industries. The company's has a 10 per cent share of the ¤300-million industrial automation market in Thailand. 

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation