Automotive production in Thailand is rapidly recovering from the destruction of the 2011 floods with annual output expected to reach 2.5m vehicles in 2015 while parts makers are also aggressively raising production and revamping their factories, a Japanese report said.
Denso is now building a new production facility at a factory run by one of its subsidiaries in Chonburi Province, southeast of Bangkok, and plans to start shipping parts to Japanese automakers by the end of fiscal 2013, the Nikkei reported.
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Suspension parts manufacturer Yorozu aims to more than triple suspension moulds production in Thailand to 700 units per year by 2017. It now makes most at its plant in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, due to quality requirements. However, once production picks up at its factory in Rayong Province, also southeast of Bangkok, Yorozu’s Thailand operations will be able to roughly match its mould output in Japan.
The firm will invest several billion yen in its factory in Rayong, with plans to introduce mould-making tools in summer 2013. It plans to hire more people, expanding its mould production staff from 120 people at present to 200, so it can make moulds that are as good as those it makes in Japan. It will supply these to its factories in North America and other southeastern Asian countries.
According to Nikkei, Akebono Brake Industry has launched production of brake pistons at its revamped factory in Chonburi Province. It plans to replace the pistons it makes in Japan with locally made ones, starting with supplies for Isuzu Motors. Akebono Brake wants to produce all of its brake components in Thailand by the end of the current fiscal year.
Seat manufacturer Tachi-S plans to open a full production line, including the final assembly of seat frames, at its factory in Bangkok from 2014. It currently outsources production of frame parts.
