Initially, the company will focus on the tractor sector, which is set to reach 3,000 units within three years.

However, some 100 units have already been imported to open the market.

Iseki's managing director for overseas business, Keichi Takashita, yesterday said Thailand was a major agricultural country in terms of production and exports.

As a result, demand for farm machinery to replace manual workers is growing rapidly.

He added that Iseki's partner plant in Rayong would supply spare parts and batteries for imported tractors from Japan. The strategy will reduce the cost of parts.

Keichi sees Thailand as a major market in Southeast Asia, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia. Vietnam is the next target thanks to its growing agricultural potential.

Teerachai Riensubdee, managing director of Agro Industrial Machinery, said the company's strong network nationwide and after-sales services would support the business alliance.

In the first phase, Iseki will import only the 28-horsepower tractor. A second phase will see the import of automatic tractors, which have onboard computers to facilitate rice seeding. The price is no higher than locally made machines.

Teerachai said Iseki was also interested in expanding its production base here in the next few years. He said the Japanese partner would share space at Agro Industrial Machinery's plant in Rayong, located on 90 rai with production capacity of 80,000 engines per year. "Thailand will become Iseki's production and export base for regional markets in the future," he said.

Chalida  Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation