The company plans an aggressive expansion of its Trilon-brand tile products with the launch of Ha-Huang Trilon Kool, its latest innovation and which claims far higher protection from the radiant heat of direct sunlight.

The new Trilon Kool tiles are expected to enjoy huge growth of almost 100 per cent this year, with Bt550 million in sales targeted.

Executive director Ong-art Techamahaphant said the group would concentrate on improving its No-2 place in the small-corrugated-sheet and Roman-tile markets, with the aim of challenging the market leadership of Siam Cement's Elephant brand. Under its Ha-Huang flagship brand, it will also aggressively expand its sales of Trilon tiles.

He said the company offered two types of Trilon tiles: regular colour and metallic colour.

"The launch of the new Ha-Huang Trilon Kool product is in line with the company's strategy of focusing on development of new value-added products," Ong-Art said. "It will help us broaden our potential customer base and serve tremendous market demand from people wishing to make the most of a warm-weather environment."

The group will promote Trilon Kool as its new flagship product in the near future, strengthening the Ha-Huang brand's "Style on Top" concept and creating new market opportunities for dealers.

Mahaphant Fibre Cement product manager Piyaporn Kalantakapan said the outstanding quality of Trilon Kool was its ability to reflect 70 per cent of the heat from sunlight. Conventional Roman tiles in the Thai market have the ability to reflect an average of only 23 per cent of such heat.

This capability is created using a combination of colour technology and coating technique, giving Ha-Huang roofing-tile products a first in Thailand. Trilon Kool tiles are able to maintain lower interior temperatures in residences and other buildings, he said.

The domestic market for roofing tiles is expected to grow as much as 3 per cent this year.