China's Sany Heavy Industry plans Thai showroom, factory

       Sany Heavy Industry, a Chinese manufacturer of engineering machinery, plans to spend US$40 million (Bt1.34 billion) to open a showroom and plant as a production base for Southeast Asia.
       Engineering machinery is used in such activities as general construction, road construction and hoisting.
       This project is in line with China's efforts to expand businesses outside of the country.
       The company has already established Sany Heavy Industry (Thailand) as a regional office.
       Yang Zhihua, assistant to the president of the company, yesterday said Thailand was chosen at this time for several reasons.
       Thailand is centrally located in Southeast Asia. Regional sales have shown impressive growth of more than 50 per cent a year, even during times of recession. And the region has suffered less from the global crisis.
       The business environment here, including infrastructure and skilled labour, is conducive to investing, and Thailand and China have had good relations for several decades.
       Southeast Asia this year is expected to contribute $40 million out of Sany Heavy Industry's targeted worldwide revenue of 30 billion yuan (Bt147 billion), up from 20 billion yuan last year.
       The Sany Group, parent of Sany Heavy Industry, has been ranked as a top-10 competitive and trusted listed company in China for three years running. It markets in 130 countries.
       The first phase of Sany's investment plan involves setting up a showroom in Bangkok next year at a cost of between $5 million and $6 million, while the second phase will entail building a plant in the Amata City Industrial Estate within three years.
       "The Thai production base has the capacity to sell a wide range of machinery worth a combined $50 million per year. Besides Thailand and China, we already operate in the US, India and Germany. We're establishing plants in many destinations, including Europe and South America," he said.
       Zhihua expects Sany (Thailand) to generate revenue of Bt500 million next year.
       Xia Feng, general manager of Sany Heavy Industry (Thailand), said the market for engineering machinery was worth about $400 million, with Caterpillar the leader. Sany expects to acquire a 30-per-cent share within three years.
       Sany's customers include Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction.