South Korea's Kohsan Group, which manufactures air purifiers and other cleaning systems, is to build a US$30-million (Bt1.12 billion) plant to manufacture Scana-brand household and corporate air purifiers in Rayong province, and expects to begin production early in 2008.

The investment decision follows a market study, which shows that although it is tiny at present, the Thai market for air purifiers has good business potential.

The Kohsan Group has been in the Kingdom for nine years, manufacturing filters for the South Korean automobile industry and parts for leading Korean consumer electronic products.

Trading as Kohsan Industry Co Ltd and Kohsan Electronics (Thailand) Co Ltd, its accumulated annual sales here amount to Bt1.5 billion.

The new plant will be located near the group's existing factories in Rayong. Its production capacity has not yet been revealed, but part of it will be dedicated to original equipment manufacturing.

Kohsan Electronics (Thailand) marketing manager Pornthip Vachirangkool said the company had studied the market and found that the consumption potential for air purifiers in Bangkok and its outskirts is two million units.

However, Thais seem to ignore the fact that many areas of the country have serious air-pollution problems that will harm their health, and the situation is getting worse, she said.

Kohsan sees a big opportunity in stimulating people to accept the importance of creating clean air for good health, by using air purifiers to reduce airborne dust and bacteria.

The company formally launched its air purifiers on the Thai market yesterday. They employ a combination of titanium and silver-nano technology for use in houses, condominiums and apartments, and for corporate use in offices, hotels, hospitals and schools.

Initially, Kohsan has introduced only three models, the G.Sol (Bt18,900), the TPS (Bt15,900) and the Omega-3 (Bt6,900). The first two are designed for rooms of 30 to 40 square metres. The G.Sol uses titanium and silver-nano, whereas the TPS uses green tea and vitamins. The Omega-3 is for rooms of 15-20sqm.

Kohsan has set aside Bt40 million for marketing, promotion and advertising before the end of next year, including educating people on the dangers of air pollution and the benefit of using air purifiers.

During the rest of this year, it plans to arrange road shows at office buildings and in major communities.

Before the formal launch, the company arranged outlets at five branches of Power Mall and four branches of Power Buy.

It has appointed about 10 major dealers in Bangkok and expects to have 30 dealers before the end of the year and 45 dealers operating in the city by the end of next year. At the same time it will gradually penetrate the provincial market.

The overall air-purifier market last year consisted of only 15,000 units. The number is expected to double this year, and Kohsan aims to sell 20,000 units, Pornthip said. She estimated that the overall market would grow to 40,000 units in 2007.

There are about 20 brands on the market, from China, the United States and European countries.

Apart from Thailand, Kohsan sells its air purifiers in Korea, the US and China.

After it establishes a firm foundation here, the company plans to launch its air purifiers for automobiles, water dispensers and steam cleaners, Pornthip added.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation