After meeting with Shoji Kukita, Nedo's director-general for Asia, Deputy Industry Ministry Piyabutr Cholvijarn yesterday said the ministry had proposed that Thailand's industrial sector needed advanced technologies to cut toxic products in production processes.

He said Nedo had worked with Varopakorn, a local aluminium producer and supplier, to install a blast furnace to produce the metal without releasing any smoke. This technology will help with a 33-per-cent saving of energy in the production process, he added.

Meanwhile, Nedo has also provided cellulosic technology for Thai Rungrueng to turn molasses into ethanol. He said the Kingdom was the third country to use this technology, after the US and Brazil.

However, Piyabutr said local companies also needed to invest in other facilities. Varopakorn spent Bt21 million and Thai Rungrueng Bt250 million on their plants, and these investments would be pilot projects for local operators to develop their production processes in the future, he added.

The Industry Ministry and Nedo will focus more on helping operators reduce their production costs by renewing and recycling resources in their plants, the minister added. - Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul, The Nation