“Our current production capacity does not appear capable of meeting the huge increase in domestic demand. Therefore, we have decided to put an additional investment into a new facility to enhance overall capacity,” Pattaphong Iamsuro, president of the company’s packaging supply-chain business, said yesterday.
Based in Saraburi province, the new plant will be located on a 95-rai plot covering three sites managed by BJC’s subsidiary, Thai Malaya Glass Thailand.
The manufacturing complex is the second site at which import and export giant BJC manufactures glass containers for beer, other beverages, food, pharmaceuticals and other products.
When fully operational, the new furnace will give the group an overall daily glass-production capacity of 3,800 tonnes, which is seen as sufficient to meet demand from both domestic customers and those in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Pattaphong said 80 to 90 per cent of the planned production capacity of the new furnace had already been booked by existing and new clients, leading the company to strongly believe that the fresh investment would break even within seven years.
As to overall production capacity, he added that 50 per cent was for use within the BJC group and its subsidiaries, with the remainder catering to rising demand from outside customers.
Vichien Rungwattanakit, senior vice president, commercial, at BJC’s packaging business unit said that of the glass-production capacity for the parent company, 25 per cent was for whisky and other spirits, 20 per cent for beers, 15 per cent for carbonated beverages, and 5 per cent for soda and drinking water.
“Apart from new orders from both the BJC group and other big corporates, we are witnessing increasing growth from small-and medium-sized enterprises that are likely to use standard types of glass bottles,” he said.
In the first half of the year, sales from the group’s packaging business were Bt5.356 billion, some 15.7 per cent higher than in the same period last year – with SMEs accounting for 20 per cent of the client portfolio.
Buoyed by this performance, this year’s revenue target stands at Bt11 billion, representing a 16-per-cent rise, he said, adding that this would far outpace the normal 5-per-cent growth of the country’s packaging industry.

TOT won approval from the telecom committee in July last year to use the 60 megahertz of a 64MHz band of the spectrum for fourth-generation wireless service.
However, telecom committee member Pravit Leestapornvongsa said the panel yesterday resolved to ask TOT to submit a better business plan after finding that the bandwidth the agency plans to hold might be excessive for actual operational requirements.
The committee has given TOT the opportunity to defend its right to use the spectrum by asking it to submit the new plan within three months.
Under the existing proposal, TOT planned to set up a 4G fixed wireless broadband network to serve at least 100,000 users within the first year of operation and to expand it to at least 900,000 users by the fifth year. It would operate the 4G network under a wholesale and resale basis.
Pravit said that if TOT sticks to this plan with only a few customers being targeted, the committee believes the agency should return part of the spectrum for reallocation, which could result in higher revenue for the state.
Moreover, the committee decided that it would also take back 4.5MHz of the 470MHz spectrum from TOT as part of the NBTC plan to reallocate the spectrum. Previously TOT operated first-generation mobile phones service on the 470MHz band, which has since shut down.
TOT is conducting technical tests for the proposed 4G-2.3GHz service along certain Skytrain routes and in Ratchaburi.
Recently the TOT board approved a plan to seek a partner for new investment on 60MHz of the 2.3GHz spectrum by sending invitations to international telecom-equipment suppliers and local telecom operators to propose business plans.
There are two parts to this plan. The first is to invite  Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia to submit investment plans and financial terms.
The second part is to survey potential demand for 2.3GHz network capacity by the three Thai telecom-service providers, Advanced Info Service, Total Access Communication (DTAC) and True Group.
TOT is expected to decide on a strategic partner for its 4G-2.3GHz plan by the end of the year. It is in the process of selecting an adviser to seek the strategic partner for the project.
The revenue from the 2.3GHz spectrum would be part of TOT’s survival plan to gain new revenue sources.
TOT forecasts a profit margin from the project of around Bt3 billion a year, starting from 2017.

Quiescent is the first brand in Thailand to offer sanitary napkins made from 100-per-cent US cotton in compliance with Cotton USA’s criteria to assure consumers of premium quality.
In a one-day promotion, each purchase today will contribute to Siriraj Foundation’s funds for poverty-stricken patients and/or medical equipment/hospital construction.
It targets sales to grow to Bt10 million in three years from the target of Bt3 million this year.
Kraipob Pangsapa, Asean representative of Cotton USA, said yesterday that its marketing strategy for this year was to continue broadening consumer awareness of its brand through focused communications on three distinctive benefits of US cotton – purity, quality and responsibility.
The company hopes to reinforce consumer awareness of Cotton USA as the trademark of quality cotton fibre and encourage local consumers to switch to high-purity cotton products.
“The strategy includes growing our licensee categories beyond fashion brands and home textiles by tapping into the non-woven category, which includes sanitary napkins. This expansion will also expand consumers’ perception of US cotton as a high-quality fibre that is versatile for countless applications,” he said.
Quiescent comes in three types with a price range of Bt180-Bt195.
“Fresh in the Morning” is 240 millimetres thick for days with less menstruation, “One Fine Day” is 280mm for heavier menstruation days and “Free to Dream” is 330mm to facilitate sound sleep.
The products are available at 21 stores of Central Food Hall and Tops Market in Bangkok, Tops Market in Chiang Mai, Pattaya Beach and Phuket Festival, and through www.quiescent-life.com.
“The Thai market for sanitary napkins was valued above Bt6.1 billion last year with its year-on-year growth continuing,” said Manusquanchanok Chanpre-chaset, managing director of Aspired Consumer Enterprise Co. “Our marketing plan will be focused on building Quiescent consumer awareness through advertorials and online media.
“We are confident in this segment’s potential for health-friendly sanitary napkins with Quiescent as the first and only brand to market 100-per-cent-cotton sanitary napkins.
“It will receive a favourable market response, especially from prospects who have high purchasing power and look for premium products.
“We expect Quiescent sales from the launch in May towards the end of 2016 to be around Bt3 million and continue to grow to a target of Bt10 million per year within three years,” he said.

VGI reported the acquisition yesterday to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
According to VGI chief executive officer Surachet Bamrungsuk, the Rabbit business will help the company become a “data-centric media hypermarket”. VGI will use the data-analytics capabilities of Rabbit to aid in the creation of an innovative audience-targeted ad-media service.
Furthermore, this will broaden VGI’s reach to 25 million consumers per day and boost its annual revenue-production capacity from Bt3.9 billion to Bt7.3 billion, the company predicts.
Surachet said the company’s board of directors had approved the acquisition of 90 per cent of Bangkok Smartcard System Company (BSS) and 90 per cent of BSS Holdings Co. The investments will require total funding of Bt1.95 billion.
Through this acquisition, VGI will enter the e-payment business that provides the Rabbit Card for travel on the BTS Skytrain and for purchasing merchandise from retailers countrywide.
Additionally, VGI is acquiring an e-wallet business through Rabbit Line Pay, a function embedded in the Line application, which is the most popular instant-messaging platform in Thailand, with more than 33 million active users. This enables users to purchase merchandise from online and brick-and-mortar retail stores, with plans to extend the service to cover online payment for Skytrain fares and retail purchases within Rabbit Card’s merchants network nationwide.
The Rabbit business also comprises other services operated by Rabbit Internet, including Rabbit Daily, which provides lifestyle content through a Web portal, and Rabbit Finance, a licensed financial-products-comparison website previously known as ASK Hanuman.
Currently, VGI manages advertising media in BTS stations and trains, office buildings, residential buildings and airports. The recent acquisition of shares in MACO has allowed VGI to consolidate and expand its out-of-home media network.
Surachet said that although the company had spent nearly Bt3 billion on a series of acquisitions this year, the business was expected to continue expanding.