Thailand Motorcycles: Hosting The Best
Founded in 1926, Ducati has been producing sport-inspired motorcycles since 1946. Their product is characterized by their high performance engines, innovative design and avant-garde technology. In the 1983, the company became part of Cagiva group and five years later won the first World Superbike championship. Thirteen years later, in 1996, the company Ducati was acquired by the Texas Pacific Group. Today Ducatis are sold in over 80 countries around the world, mainly in the European, North-American and Asia Pacific markets. Ducati Thailand started in 2011 in Amata City manufacturing mainly for the domestic market, although export volumes are growing. Since locating in Thailand, the company has been experiencing growth, and aims to manufacture over 10,000 bikes per year within next year. Speaking with the Thailand Board of Investment, Ducati notes that its range of motorcycles is divided into model families, which include: Diavel, Hypermotard, Monster, Multistrada, Streetfighter and Superbike. While production in Thailand began with the Monster model, the company now produces almost all models in Thailand. In fact, the company acknowledges that they are impressed with the fast rate of growth they have experienced in Thailand, noting that Thailand represents the main market in Asia and one of the top ten in the world. The company reports that its investment in Thailand is going exactly according the plan. Ducati has received support from the BOI and currently enjoys tax reductions. Ducati is now creating a completely new factory with state of the art of the technology and which is the sole Ducati factory outside of Italy. It is part of a US$30 million investment plan for a plant that covers over 22,000 sqm.
Ducati has noted that thanks to the hard work of roughly 400 people in 6 months they expanded the factory and plan to hire over 100 additional skilled employees in the next 10 months. At its facility, Ducati has several manufacturing processes, such as machining, robot welding, painting and assembly and so it is very important to stay in contact with universities and technical schools in order to recruit and train the best employees.
Triumph began manufacturing Motorcycles in the United Kingdom in 1902 and in 2013 had 6.2 percent of the global market share in motorcycles over 500cc. The company started production in Thailand in 2002, and currently employees over 1,000 people in the manufacture of motorcycle components and assembly of motorcycles. Like many other companies enjoying Thailand as a manufacturing location, Triumph has plans to increase production volumes significantly over the next 5 years. It has already noticed a move toward larger motorcycles in emerging markets, which should benefit their business.
Triumph enjoys a good working relationship with the Thailand Board of Investment and receives BOI privileges for motorcycles. In fact, the company identifies the incentives received from BOI as a reason why Thailand is a good operating base for the company. Also included among the reasons is that Thai staff are hard-working, diligent and offer good value. Thailand is also a good location to retain skilled expatriate staff seconded from the UK parent Company. When asked if Triumph is able to find sufficient skilled labor in Thailand, the company replied that operators and junior staff are quite easy to recruit, although it is more difficult to find engineers and senior managers. In terms of education levels, operators have a high school education and several years' experience, whereas supervisors, managers and engineers have at least a four year college degree and senior staff a Master of Arts degree. Nevertheless, the company does strive for continuous improvement and actively promotes training: technical and English language skills. Every year 6 to 10 employees are seconded to the parent Company in the UK for 6 months advanced training. The Thailand Board of Investment looks forward to a long and prosperous relationship with such stellar brands as Ducati and Triumph, and with all of its motorcycle manufacturers.