Hemaraj Land and Development The Thai government has set its sights on transitioning the country away from lowcost labor intensive industries and to become one that is knowledge based, generating growth from the creativity of the work- force and the manufacture of from valueadded products. Intrinsic to the success of this grand scheme is the provision of a world class infrastructure and modern logistics systems.
Speaking with Mr. Vivat Jiratikarnsakul, Executive Vice President at Hemaraj Land and Development, and the man responsible for overseeing Hemaraj's Logistic Parks, it is clear that Thailand is ready and competitive within the region, and has much to offer investors.
What started as a project with an initial focus on international procurement offices has now grown into four projects within with the Eastern Seaboard region. Hemeraj also offers ready built factories (RBF) in Hemaraj's Industrial Estates in this region as well as Saraburi and in Kabinburi, which offer the potential for similar growth, which is important for the company as well as for positioning Thailand to meet investor's needs. For one thing, Hemeraj Logistics Park (HLP) offers manufacturers easy access to regional and global markets through the Laem Chabang port, about 20 km away, and Map Ta Phut port, located to the South, connected by a four-lane highway, and within the Eastern Seaboard region. As Khun Vivat explains, investors who come to HLP and RBF quickly discover the cost competitiveness they can enjoy by locating their manufacturing facilities there. Companies coming to HLP and RBF will find a location with all facilities ready to go, including air conditioning and lighting. Non-labor intensive industries look to find locations with reliable utilities and it is that reliability that has created such demand at HLP. So while the initial cost at other facilities may appear lower, HLP is actually cost competitive with buildings that are ready to use and with no hidden costs. Customers really appreciate having the fixed- cost that can readily be calculated, explains Khun Vivat. And in an industry where time is a real factor, having everything ready to go for the customer really does provide a key logistics service and enables customers to quickly emerge in the global market. Not only does the Park offer a turnkey solution, whereby investors can actually begin their operation within a couple of months, but there are also many logistics providers located within the Park to facilitate their delivery needs. More than just in time delivery, HLP offers their clients just in sequence delivery, with a seamless supply chain in operation. This type of operation is especially important to the automotive industry clients located within HLP, and who make up about 34% of the occupants. With the automotive industry rapidly expanding manufacturing in Thailand, with the goal of becoming one of the world's top-10 auto manufacturing countries, HLP offers the best of service. Customers also like the proximity they enjoy to OEMs. Overall, however, there are over 500 distinct customers at Hemaraj. Customers are constantly looking for warehousing, as they wish to maintain their operational area for manufacturing purposes. HLP, like any 21st century logistics park, recognized this need and will provide that service. HLP offers both back loading, side loading raised floor and sunken docks with dock leveler to accommodate containers. They also offer a container yard for storage.
The design specifications of HLP are state of the art, designed floor loading 5 Tons/m2 with 10 meter clear height, with good resistant fiber steel flooring that provides the strength and levelness required for fork lift operations. Just a slight degree off in the incline of a floor could result in damage to material stacked to the height required in a warehouse. In keeping with another of the global trends, and goals of the Thai government, HLP has been designed with a transparent roof to let in sunlight and reduce the energy demand. Hemeraj is also looking at other ways and means to save energy in its lighting system. The make-up of the companies locating within HLP shows that while many are large operations there is a trend towards increasing numbers of small and medium sized enterprises taking up residence. This is particularly noticeable among Japanese SMEs, which are confronted by currency and energy issues at home and the attractiveness of a global supply chain offered in Thailand. At the same time, there are more than a few companies who have located their expansion projects within HLP in response to the 2011 floods in Thailand. The HLP is about 70 to 100 meters above sea level and escaped the damage caused by flooding. In talking about the forthcoming ASEAN Economic Community, Khun Vivat notes that HLP is in a good position to meet the needs of manufacturing companies, and that the AEC will drive investor growth in Thailand, bringing investors to HLP that demand reliability. The government has made considerable investments in infrastructure, although more improvement could still be made to the port facilities, to road networks and to building spur lines into Industrial Estates. Supporting industry growth is the investment promotion benefits that the Thailand Board of Investment extends to about 70% of Hemaraj's customers. In fact, it was noted that without BOI support HLP itself would have been difficult to start. Thailand is and will remain an investor friendly country that is continuously responsive to investor needs and to the changing realities in the investment environment. Looking forward, it is clear that the logistics industry will continue to play a central role in the country's economic development and will remain a focus of government support.