Business Briefs

Bayer Agri-Solution Research Center in Suphan Buri

Bayer Thai Co., Ltd., officially opened its Agri-Solution Research Center in Suphan Buri Province on 28 October 2022 to further bring innovative agricultural solutions and digital farming technologies to Thai farmers.

GTCC Executive Director Dr. Roland Wein joined the grand opening ceremony which was opened by Ms. JinA Lee, Managing Director of Bayer Thai and Mr. Srinath Bala, Regional APAC Head of Field Solution, Bayer Crop Science APAC. German Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Georg Schmidt, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, Mr. Prapat Pothasuthon delivered congratulatory remarks at the opening ceremony. The Governor of Suphan Buri province, Mr. Nattapat Suwanprateep, was among the guests of honour.

Ms. Lee expressed appreciation to the Board of Investment (BoI) for granting investment incentives to the Agri-Solution Research Center.

The expansion of research and development activities in rice, corn, and vegetables will support Thailand's national agricultural strategy to elevate the agricultural sector’s competitiveness. Mr. Bala said Bayer is committed to helping farmers achieve production efficiency and better quality of life. "Farmers need innovation, not only to grow enough, but to grow better. This center will allow us to deliver tailored solutions to farmers."

Bayer was established in Thailand 60 years ago with its key investment in life science innovation and technology in the area of health care and agriculture, with the vision of “health for all, hunger for none” and mission of “science for a better life". Bayer focuses on continual research and development in innovation as the key foundation to support country and societal development as well as tackle challenges in health care and agriculture.

BEUMER Thailand’s new office in Bangkok

BEUMER Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd. recently opened its new office in Bangkok. BEUMER Group (Thailand), a GTCC member since August 1999, is a leading international manufacturer specialising in material handling systems covering various industries worldwide. The range of products of the BEUMER Group global operations includes conveying, loading, palletizing and packaging technology as well as sortation and distribution systems. Its factory building in Thailand is located in Chachoengsao Province.

GTCC Executive Director Dr. Roland Wein joined the opening ceremony on 1 December 2022 and was welcomed by BEUMER Group Chief Executive Officer Mr. Rudolf Hausladen and BEUMER Group (Thailand) Managing Director Mr. Amir Sinai at the new office.

New cooperation enables Evonik to provide tire industry with silica made from biobased raw materials

Evonik, one of the world’s leading silica producers, has entered a strategic cooperation with the Pörner Group, Austria and Phichit Bio Power Co., Ltd., Thailand, to supply sustainably precipitated ULTRASIL® silica to tire manufacturers.

Silica is the key-ingredient for fuel-efficient tires, reducing the fuel consumption by up to eight percent compared to conventional passenger car tires. With the sustainable ULTRASIL® silica a next step will be taken to reduce the carbon footprint of the silica significantly. The silicate, which is the essential raw material to produce the tire silica will be biobased and made with green energy. The demand for sustainable raw materials in tires is increasing significantly. However, until now only very small quantities of biobased silica are available in the market, despite the rising global demand.

The new collaboration addresses this shortage and the industry’s ambition to increase its use of renewable raw materials. Pörner Group’s pioneering process to generate the silicate from rice husk ash (RHA) uses biomass energy that enables Evonik to deliver a CO2 footprint reduction of up to 30% compared to its standard silica. Phichit Bio Power Co., Ltd. with its existing rice mills and biomass power plants, licenses Pörner Group’s technology and will invest in a new RHA sodium silicate plant in Thailand. This operation will allow a reliable supply of biobased water glass for Evonik. This is required to meet the global tire industry’s demand for more sustainably produced silica.

In picture: Gerhard Bacher, CEO of Pörner Germany, Banjong Tangjitwattanakul, President of Phichit Bio Power Co., Ltd., and Bernhard Schaefer, Senior Vice President Production & Technology of Evonik.

FRANK Legal & Tax Ltd. – 10-year anniversary

2022 marks FRANK Legal & Tax’s 10th anniversary, celebrating ten years of confidence from its clients through delivering excellent support for businesses and investors in Thailand. GTCC Executive Director joined the company’s 10th anniversary reception on 9 November 2022 at the Pacific City Club, to celebrate the milestone with the company’s clients and partners.

FRANK Legal & Tax is a business law firm founded in 2012 by German attorney Mr. Fabian Doppler. It provides legal and tax advice with the aim to act as an excellent choice for large and small businesses as well as property investors. It has its head office in Bangkok and a branch office in Phuket. FRANK Legal & Tax has been a GTCC member since 2013.

“Through our dedicated areas of legal expertise, we create meaningful impact that changes the lives of our clients and partners in Bangkok, Thailand, and globally. This is why we diligently conduct our work, to help businesses grow and investors thrive. We have accomplished much together during our first ten years and empowered many people to overcome their legal challenges. But we are now focused on the next ten years, to become a leading legal and tax firm now, and for many years to come,” said Fabian Doppler, FRANK Legal & Tax Managing Partner.

Lufthansa’s new General Manager Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and the Mekong region

Lufthansa Group has announced that Miss Anh-Thu Van Do (Anlee) has joined its commercial team in Bangkok as the new General Manager Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and the Mekong region as of 1 September 2022.

“Anlee is an avid and energetic airline professional with more than 14 years of experience in the passenger airline business. Besides being an aviation enthusiast, she is also very well acquainted and passionate about the South East Asia region. Anlee began her aviation career as a management trainee in the International Airlines Professional program in Frankfurt, Germany. From there, she continued her career path in many Southeast Asian cities, starting off as a Marketing and PR Executive in Ho Chi Minh City. Next, she moved on to Bangkok, assuming the position of Marketing Manager Thailand & Mekong Region. After spending almost 5 years there, she continued her journey to Singapore, working as a Digital Performance Analyst and later as an Online Sales Manager for APAC. Her last role brought her back home to Vietnam, acting as Country Manager. We are happy to welcome her back to Bangkok for the second time now. With her broad commercial and regional experience, Anlee will continue driving success in this thriving region.”

Allianz Ayudhya grabs HR Asia Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2022 for the second year in a row

Thomas Wilson, President and CEO, Allianz Ayudhya Assurance PCL together with Lars Heibutzki, President and CEO, Allianz Ayudhya General Insurance, representing the company in receiving the HR Asia Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2022.

Allianz Ayudhya has received this award for the second year in a row. It demonstrates the company’s exceptional people management capabilities, particularly in creating excellent working environments, being open to employee feedback, encouraging worker participation, and forging good corporate cultures. HR Asia, the region's leading HR magazine, recently hosted an award ceremony at the Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen's Park Hotel. The decision was based on employee representative opinion surveys on various aspects of corporate relations.