Grundfos has been in Thailand for nearly 14 years and manufactures a wide range of centrifugal pumps and systems for water applications in industry, irrigation, heating and wastewater treatment.

Group chairman Niels Due Jensen was in Bangkok for the opening of Grundfos' new branch office, product testing centre and pump academy, all of which cost more than Bt200 million.

"We will be making a decision [on the new plant] within the next one or two years, and Thailand is on top of our list, due to the country's long tradition of producing electronic boards and components and the availability here of qualified subsuppliers for electronic equipment and subcomponents," he said, adding that the only worry was the country's political situation.

He said the current uncertainty and the period of the current government would hopefully end this year and that Thailand would return into democracy with a "very honest" government.

"The important factor [in our consideration of Thailand] is a stable political environment. We will also be looking for close cooperation with local subsuppliers that can deliver quality products and produce them in a sustainable way. They will need to meet corporate social-responsibility standards with regard to employees, human rights and pollution," Jensen said.

The proposed plant will supply electronic controls and equipment to Grundfos' pump-manufacturing facilities in Asia and Western Europe. The products will be used to control and minimise the energy consumption of pumps and ensure the efficient operation of their mechanical and hydraulic parts.

With an annual production of more than 10 million pump units, Grundfos is one of the world's leading pump manufacturers. Circulator, submersible and centrifugal pumps are its three main product groups. The company supplies roughly half of the world's circulator pumps.

As well, Grundfos manufactures electric motors and develops and sells state-of-the-art electronic controls and other systems.

The company currently has 15 factories making pumps and pumping systems around the world, including one in Denmark with more than 5,000 employees, one in Hungary with about 1,000 staff and others in the western US and China, where Grundfos has invested heavily in local production to raise its competitiveness.

Jensen said Grundfos sees great business potential in Asia, where it enjoys a growth rate of 15 per cent in sales of pumps and pumping systems. China is its fastest-growing market in this part of the world, with annual growth of 30 per cent over the past five years.

In Thailand, Grundfos enjoys growth of 10-15 per cent.

Jensen said that other up-and-coming growth regions in the world included Eastern Europe, where Grundfos enjoys annual growth of about 20 per cent; and the US, with more than 15 per cent growth. Western Europe, on the other hand, is seen as a market with lower growth, about 5-7 per cent a year.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation