Srithai Superware, producer and distributor of Superware houseware products, expects its annual sales to reach Bt10 billion over the next five years as a result of its diversification into the trading and plastics industries.

Chairman and president Sanan Angubolkul yesterday said the company would spend about Bt400 million this year to expand its trading and plastics operations.

Part of this will be used to buy 100-per-cent stakes in two domestic plastics production plants that supply products to the automotive industry. The rest will be used expand the direct-sales firm it set up a year ago, Srithai WBG.

In last year's third quarter, Srithai Superware mapped out expansion plans for the two businesses. The plastics business comprises industrial and household products.

Last year, the company reported total revenues of Bt4.58 billion. Of this, about 60 per cent came from industrial plastic products, 36 per cent from household products and 4 per cent from its trading business. Exports comprised about 20 per cent of sales.

Its plastic industrial products include battery cases, material-handling containers, plastic pallets and garbage bins. It has six well-known houseware brands: Superware, Vanda, Unica, Flowerware, Melamineware and Ektra.

The company and its subsidiaries "have market shares of 50-80 per cent for all plastic-product categories", said Sanan. It controls up to 80 per cent of the melamine tableware market, he said.

Srithai Superware operates four production plants in Thailand. Three produce industrial products and have a combined annual capacity of 38,400 tonnes. They are located on Suksawad Road in Bangkok, in the Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate in Chachoengsao and in the Bang Pu Industrial Estate in Samut Prakan. The fourth, located in Nakhon Ratchasima, produces household products and has an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes.

It has joint-venture plants in China and Indonesia for melamine products and will invest in a plastics production plant in India next year.

Sanan said the company would focus more on its trading operations and expects sales to grow up to Bt100 million annually.

Srithai WBG, a joint venture with a leading direct-sales firm in Singapore, will push ahead after its various products have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Srithai WBG general manager Chalermphan Srichanachaichoke said the company's products consisted of food supplements, skincare products, healthcare products and bedding. With prices ranging from Bt1,000 to Bt60,000, the products are targeted at the high end.

"The company is targeting nearly Bt100 million in sales this year," she said.

For household products, Sanan said the company had targeted the lower and mid-range of the market for 30 years.

Different sales representatives will be used to sell its household and WBG brands.

Sanan predicted combined sales of Srithai Superware's 18 subsidiaries would reach Bt4.9 billion this year.

The baht's rise against the US dollar has been offset by lower prices for plastic and gains on imported machinery.

Sasithorn Ongdee

The Nation