US firm invests in optical lenses plant
Transitions Optical (Thailand) Co Ltd, a subsidiary of US-based Transitions Optical Inc, has invested Bt540 million to produce coated photochromin lenses at the Amata Industrial Estate in Chon Buri province.
Transitions Optical is a leader in the optical industry with retail sales in excess of US$1.6 billion (Bt61.6 billion) in the US alone. Its president Richard C Elias said Thailand has the potential to be its manufacturing base in Southeast Asia to produce coated photochromin lenses that will be exported to the US, Brazil, Ireland and Australia. The manufacturing plant in Chon Buri will have a production capacity of 5.85 million units and will start exports in the second half of this year. The company's manufacturing plant in Thailand is its sixth worldwide. Its others are in the US, Australia, Ireland, Brazil and the Philippines. The company will receive tax incentives from the Board of Investment Office (BoI). BoI's deputy secretary general Sudjit Inthaiwong said the investment by Transitions Optical in Thailand would create 156 new jobs and transfer technology to produce coated photochromin lenses to its Thai staff. "This development shows that foreign investors are continuing to expand their businesses in Thailand," she said. The Nation
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