Thai Storage expands its battery plant
Thai Storage Battery Plc, the maker of the 3K car battery, has spent Bt120 million to expand its production capacity from 300,000 to 350,000 batteries per month at its plant in the Bang Pu Industrial Estate in Samut Prakarn province.
The new plant is due to begin operations this month and is expected to generate the bulk of the company's revenue for the second half of the year. The decision to expand the production capacity was due to increased demand from both domestic and overseas markets, said Veerawat Korphaibool, the company's director. The company paid for the project with internally generated funds. Exports account for half of the company's sales, in particular to the Middle East, Africa, Australia and Southeast Asian countries. In the first quarter the company recorded sales of Bt909.2 million and a net profit of Bt53.65 million. The company expects sales to grow 10 per cent this year, to Bt3.3 billion. Last year the company enjoyed a 25 per cent increase in sales from 2004. Verrawat put the company's reduced sales growth down to the current economic and political climate. Thai Storage Battery is the market leader, with a 36-per-cent share of the Bt4.2-billion vehicle-battery market last year. GS, a competitor, has a 32-per-cent market share, while FB has 14 per cent and Yuasa and National each have 8 per cent. The rest of the market is divided between a host of small companies.
Somluck Srimalee The Nation
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