At present, the company founded by Kridsana Lertcha-paisankul, 33, has master franchisees in Spain, Malaysia and Singapore and distributors of its machines and equipment in the US, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

"Thirty per cent of our sales revenues come from foreign markets, while the rest comes from the local market," Kridsana said.

NHL Technologies machines, carrying the Smart-image brand, are able to transfer any image to surfaces like cloth, plastic cards, acrylic, wood and badges. The target surface can also be developed into various products, such as stickers, sculptured art and rubber stamps.

"Huge markets and tremendous resources are the key factors in the success of the Smart-image machines," said Kridsana.

He said the company delivered low-cost products ranging from Bt100 to Bt500 each and that fine images transferred onto various surfaces were trendy among teenagers, young adults and working people.

People interested in becoming a distributor or franchisee require an investment of Bt30,000 to Bt2.5 million, depending on business size and the formats required. "There's no need for a large space," Kridsana said. "Just 4 square metres is enough for anyone

interested in being a business-owner."

NHL Technologies recently launched a franchise business under the brand name Smart-image Happy Shop, in order to boost its sales networks. It has two kinds of business associates: client units provided with machines and equipment as an operating package; and distribution-centre units selling the machines and given wide support, ranging from management and administrative systems to marketing campaigns and promotions.

However, the company does not charge franchise or royalty fees.

"We focus on selling machines and know-how," said Kridsana, adding that NHL Technologies offered more than 10 types of image-transferring machines and tried to launch a new model every six months.

The company's climb to success began seven years ago, when Kridsana, an electronics engineer, invented a machine that was able to transfer images to T-shirts. At the time, it was an attempt to survive after leaving an international manufacturing firm during the 1997 financial crisis.

The invention was a turning point for Kridsana. With seed capital of just Bt100,000, the machines were produced commercially, and various models were developed. Kridsana's company now has more than 2,000 client units and 20 distribution centres around Thailand.

NHL Technologies has also received many awards, including the Excellent Product Award, the Best SME Development Award, the Management Philosophy Award, the American Corporation BID and the Award for Quality.

"This year, we will focus on managing customer relations, building our brand and marketing and promotion campaigns," Kridsana said, adding that the company was aiming at total sales of Bt100 million this year, double last year's figure.

He believes there is still plenty of room for growth in the image-transferring business, because an estimated 4.8 billion images are created each year, which could become the main resource for his products.

Sasithorn Ongdee

The Nation