Narindej Thaveesangpanich, deputy managing director of the company, which was established in 1987, said the five-year plan had been divided into two phases, with the first taking three years and the second two years for implementation.

“Given that our own product brand, altron, only had a presence in the domestic market until recently, OEM business for both domestic sales and exports is now playing a vital role in our revenue, in a ratio of 30:70 [altron/OEM]. What we need to do at the moment is to focus on ‘Building Strength Within’ under our first-phase plan,” he said.

“We will promote altron to grow continuously in the domestic market, as well as tapping business opportunities in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. We aim to expand the base firmly within the CLMV area, and then move it further into other potential markets in Asean,” he explained.

Narongdej said that in parallel, the OEM export team would secure and grow major channels in South Asia, which represents the main contribution of the company’s overseas sales.

The deputy MD said that as in the ultimate goal for the next five years, Thai Habel Industrial would aim to strategically grow the business in a more sustainable way by having the majority of sales derived from sales of the altron brand, both domestically and regionally.

This would also minimise risk from price dumping and the intensity of competition in OEM business from China and other rivals around the world.

Headquartered in Bangkok, Thai Habel Industrial operates two manufacturing facilities – in Prachin Buri and Nakhon Pathom – with more than 10,000 square metres of combined space.

In 2015, a year after a fire at the Prachin Buri factory, sales were around Bt400 million, of which 25 per cent were from exports.

Ninety-eight per cent of the export value was from South Asia, and the reminder from Indochina.

Most of the domestic sales came from the modern trade channel, for which the company produces exclusive brands.

“Though our company is almost 30 years old, altron is still considered a very fresh brand in the Thai market… Once we steadily set our footstep here, we shall then go for the regional market, where we will firstly target neighbouring countries.

“In fact, implementation of the Asean Economic Community has already impacted our business. Basically, I’m humbly looking at Indochina only, as Thailand is most likely the centre of Indochina. As such, we would get more opportunity not only to be a distribution centre, but also a manufacturing base in this sub-region, thanks to the geographic advantage of Thailand – not to mention being the transportation hub for the CLMV region,” Narindej said.

“Brands which are looking for an OEM facility would probably look for the right place to produce and distribute their products, and particularly so for those brands that already have markets in the region,” he said.

Narindej said that for OEM purposes, the company was currently developing its manufacturing facilities to a higher standard, in order to serve more international brands and those with special requirements.

“Expansion will come at a much later stage, or when capacity has reached its maximum. Investing abroad is not yet in our plans, except that it would always be a back-up plan if the people cost/minimum wage went beyond an affordable level,” he said.

The company has no plans at this time for listing in the stock market, as building the altron brand and generating sustainable sales revenue are the current priorities.

“We are now concentrating more on recovering our company from the losses incurred from the 2014 fire. Getting our company listed would remain a long-term goal, but not one expected for the near future,” Narindej said.