Through this campaign, it aims to become Thailand’s first plastic bag-free retailer within by the end of 2019, in order to improve the environment while also expressing its social responsibility in line with the government’s agenda.

Customers are encouraged to decline plastic bags and instead bring their own bags to earn up to 40 The 1 points. The campaign will run from June 5 onward, with an aim to reduce 150 million plastic bags during 2019.

Nicolo Galante, president of Central Retail Corporation, said, “Plastic waste is a global issue which needs to be addressed immediately. Thailand is the world’s sixth biggest contributor of ocean waste, generating almost 2 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, or 200 billion plastic bags.”

Central Retail announced in a press release on Tuesday that they will take environmental conservation seriously and act proactively.

To that end, they have launched the “Central Love the Earth ‘Say No to Plastic Bags’” campaign, their largest campaign of the year, joined by Central Group’s retail businesses. Led by Central Department Store the firm announced their commitment to be the first plastic-bag free retailer in Thailand, with the launch on World Environment Day, June 5.

The campaign will cover all Central Department Stores, Zen Department Store, Robinson Department Stores, Supersports, B2S, OfficeMate, CMG stores, Power Buy, Thai Watsadu, Baan & Beyond, and Auto 1.

“Customers who say no to plastic bags at participating stores will receive 10 The 1 points as an appreciation for their environmental responsibility,” said Galante.

Its products will be free from antibiotics, hormones and growth stimulants and certified as Raised Without Antibiotics (RWA), it said yesterday.

The company offers over 1,000 choices among ready-to-eat processed foods. A total of 8,000 tonnes of processed food will be produced from the Betagro Central Kitchen in Navanakorn Industrial Estate, Phatum Thani.

Somsak Boonlarp, chief operating officer of food business, noted that 2018 was a successful year for Betagro, thanks to three main activities. First, the company’s largest marketing campaign “Betagro Smoked Sausage” starred Pope Thanawat Wattanaputi as the first presenter. The campaign raised brand awareness for its smoked sausage by 93 per cent.

Second, Betagro continued its commitment in creating awareness and understanding among consumers about the importance of choosing safe and hygienic food through its “Food for Future” campaign. Third, the export market outlook is looking on the bright side for 2019. The company aims to increase its total export volume by 12 per cent, or 97,580 tonnes, by year’s end. The main products are frozen cooked chicken, frozen chicken and RWA certified products under S-Pure and OEM brands.

Last Wednesday, Minor submitted their bidding form titled “Enfranchisement of Commercial Business Management within the Passenger Terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport” to the AOT.

The bidding document was rejected on the same day, on the basis that they did not have adequate experience in the areas of food, beverage and retail business in Thailand, said Chaiyapat Paitoon, the deputy corporate CFO and strategic planning for Minor.

However, he said, as Minor strongly disagreed with AOT’s position and its rejection of their bid submission, the company has sent the letter asking the airport body to reconsider – and expects a response in the next one to two days.

“We believe [Minor] has adequate experience managing these areas of businesses,” Chaiyapat continued. “This is through its own businesses and through its majority and wholly-owned subsidiaries.”

These subsidiaries include Minor Food Group Plc, Minor Corporation Plc, Royal Garden Plaza Company Ltd and the Chao Phaya Resort Company Ltd. Through these businesses, Minor has experience managing department stores, operating food and restaurant businesses as well as managing retail trade, fashion and lifestyle businesses, he explained.

“Details of the aforementioned businesses are clearly set forth in the company’s Certificate of Experience in Operating Businesses, which was submitted to the AOT as part of Mint’s bid documentation,” according to a letter to the press, which was adapted from the reconsideration request sent to AOT on May 24.

“Mint believes that the AOT bidding process is best served by including all qualified bidders in the process and AOT’s disqualification of Mint is contrary to that result,” the letter continued. “Mint has requested AOT to urgently reconsider its decision in the interest of fairness.” Chayapat did not reveal any alternative business plans for Minor in the event that their disqualification from the bidding process is not reconsidered, insisting that they are now waiting for the AOT’s response.

Minor will continue its five-year-plan, he stated, with the company’s growth trajectory and that of its subsidiaries remaining strong regardless of whether they win the bid to manage Suvarnabhumi airport’s commercial activities.

For example, Mint acquired NH Hotel Group, which is listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange in Spain, towards the end of last year as part of their plan to further expand their hospitality portfolio.

Meanwhile, the Minor Food Group, a subsidiary company of Mint, announced back in March that it would double the number of its restaurants in Thailand and overseas to more than 4,400 over the next five years.

The project’s target customers are university students, freelancers, startup entrepreneurs, tourists and Samyan locals as it target customers. Samyan Mitrtown says it has Thailand’s leading retailers as its partners, and they will offer a diverse range of late-night services to fulfil the needs of customers around the clock.

Thiranant Kornsritipa, the executive vice president for retail business development of Goldenland Property Development Plc, said Samyan Mitrtown is nearing completion. The mixed-use project on King Rama IV is billed as a “new destination” for Bangkok and is due to open in September 2019.  Goldenland has a zone that lies at the heart of this modern retail project.

Samyan Mitrtown aims to be an “urban life library” providing customers with new experiences, especially due to the “24 Hours” zone which aims to satisfy the new generation’s lifestyle needs.

With this investment, Schaeffler will create more than 300 additional jobs in the province. Dinh Quoc Thai, chairman of the province’s’s Committee joined Georg FW Schaeffler, shareholder and chairman of Schaeffler Group and Andreas Siegel, German consul general to celebrate the official opening in presence of government officials, customers, partners and other dignitaries.

Schaeffler said in his speech, “Vietnam was the very first location in South East Asia where Schaeffler invested to build local manufacturing capacity. There are many reasons for our continued commitment to Vietnam. It’s strategic location in Asia, a well-diversified, stable and fast-growing economy with talented, well-educated, ambitious population are just few among them.”

Confidence in Vietnam’s potential as an efficient production hub

Martin Schreiber, President Industrial at Schaeffler Asia Pacific said “The expansion of local manufacturing capacity demonstrates our confidence in Vietnam as an ideal production hub in the Asia Pacific region to serve regional and global customers with best-in-class bearing products and systems.”

Klaus Mueller, Chief Operating Officer at Schaeffler Asia Pacific added that we consider this plant in Vietnam as one of the best performance and modern production facilities in our global network.

The new facility, located at the Amata Industrial Zone in Bien Hoa City, about 50 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, will produce industrial bearings and components for a wide range of applications.

Schaeffler first made an investment in Vietnam over 10 years ago when the company started local production of Tapered Roller Bearings (TRB), Radial Insert Ball Bearings (RIBB) and Steering Column Bearings (SCB) in Southeast Asia. With the new investment Schaeffler will increase production capacity of the existing product ranges and add new product lines for extended range of RIBB as well as the flagship product of Schaeffler Group – Needle Roller Bearings (NRB).

Made in Asia Pacific – for global customers

The new plant has been developed on a modular concept with a total building area of 25,000 sqm in Phase 1. “We continue to grow our engineering competency and production footprint with the aim to deliver highest value from our products and solutions to customers in the region and around the world.

This is the second major investment by Schaeffler to expand local manufacturing capacity in Asia Pacific. In 2016, we opened a new plant for automotive products in Thailand and today we are proud to celebrate the opening of this state-of-the-art facility for industrial products in Vietnam,” Mr. Helmut Bode, CEO Schaeffler Asia Pacific said

Products manufactured in Vietnam will be supplied to customers across a wide range of industry sectors including agriculture, construction and mining, power transmission, food processing, textile, paper, steel, cement and two-wheelers (motorcycles).

Industry 4.0 to optimize manufacturing process

The new plant is equipped with advanced production machinery and technologies in line with Schaeffler’s commitment to maintain consistent quality standards worldwide. It is the first plant in Southeast Asia to apply the latest Industry 4.0 solutions developed by Schaeffler. There are 70 Schaeffler condition monitoring devices – SmartCheckTM – installed at key positions inside the plant.

Seunghun Park, Managing Director and Plant Manager Schaeffler Vietnam said “Development of manufacturing sector is a key priority of the Government of Vietnam.

With access to highly skilled workforce and their commitment to deliver best-in-class quality products for our customers, Schaeffler Vietnam has proven to be an efficient production base for the company. In 2018, we achieved the milestone of continuously delivering products without a single quality complain from customers for over two years. Expansion of our production capacity gives us the confidence to achieve even higher standards of quality performance and customer satisfaction while contributing to the growth of the industrial sector in Vietnam,” he added.

The innovative Medpak VIoC solution provides superior temperature integrity, greater convenience and higher cost efficiencies to healthcare customers shipping temperature-sensitive shipments.

The Medpak VIoC solution is a high performance reusable thermal packaging, which comes with energy efficient Vacuum Insulated Panels (VIP) and Phase Change Material (PCM) validated to ISTA (International Safe Transit Association) 7D standards.

The packaging provides 96-hours temperature stability in case of unforeseen contingencies, a critical aspect for temperature-sensitive pharma shipments.

The solution comes fitted with SenseAware®, a sensor-based device, which monitors the shipment location and conditions of the contents and will indicate any deviations from its ideal environment such as temperature, humidity, light exposure and shock events.

This solution is available to customers on a one-way rental basis.  FedEx delivers the pre-conditioned packaging to the customer and transports the loaded box via its global network, which is monitored by an experienced customer service team to track shipment progress.

The solution offers full custodial control from pick-up all the way to delivery of the shipment, including the collection and return of the empty packaging from the overseas receiver.

In Asia Pacific, Medpak VI°C is available to customers in Japan, Korea and Singapore.

Total healthcare spending is expected to surge to US$2.27 trillion by 2026[1] and this has driven up the demand for healthcare logistics.

One of the key challenges faced by healthcare customers is the delivery of temperature-sensitive shipments.  Every year the global pharmaceutical industry suffers a loss of more than US$15 billion worth of products due to temperature variations during transit.

“The sensitive nature of many healthcare products requires strict regulated temperature conditions.  At FedEx Express, we are upping our game by bringing unprecedented levels of visibility and control to the supply chain through innovative means, and at the same time ensuring safety and regulatory compliance,” said Karen Reddington, president, Asia Pacific, FedEx Express.

“The availability of the Medpak VI°C solution in Asia Pacific creates more possibilities for our healthcare customers with its ability to deliver in a cost-effective and consistent manner. Together with FedEx strong global network, this solution will provide customers greater convenience and peace of mind for shipping sensitive packages.”