The new plant will produce high quality teak flooring materials for the domestic market - a first for the company, which has previously focused on exports.

Last year Sunwood recorded total sales of Bt1.2 billion, all of which came from exports under the brand "Lister".

Taweesak said the company had decided to break into the Thai market because it now has to compete with Vietnam, China and Burma, which have the benefit of cheaper wages and more teak, giving them an advantage in the international market.

Meanwhile, the high-end segment of the teak furniture market in Thailand is still growing and Thai people have higher spending power than before, he said.

To drive its sales in the domestic market, the company yesterday opened its first showroom, on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok, at a cost of Bt100 million.

Taweesak said the company would appoint distributors in the main tourist provinces, including Pattaya, Hua Hin and Phuket, to boost domestic revenues.

The company has set its marketing budget at Bt20 million with the intention of promoting its domestic product under the brand name 'Sunwood' in the second half of this year.

"We expect to gain 5 per cent of Thailand's Bt2-million premium flooring materials market this year," said the chief executive.

He added that 80 per cent of the company's target customers would be in property projects while the remaining 20 per cent were expected to be walk-in customers looking to buy construction raw materials in the retail outlet.

Sunwood recorded total sales of Bt300 million in the first quarter of this year.

Chalida   Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation