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Tel: +66 (0) 2705 1939 Fax: +66 (0) 2 705 1938
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Homepage : www.dzcard.com
Thai-DanishTrade News is published and distrlbuted to selected Thai and Scandlnavian business executives and ofticials with an interest In ThaFDanish relations by Danish-Thai Chamber ol Commerce, Royal Danish Embassy and Scand-Media Corp., Ltd.
Danish-Ihai Chamb$ ot Gommsr@ 14121214Ih Fl., Glas Haus 1 Sukhumvit 25 Road, North Klongtoey, Wattana, Bangkok 1 01 1 0 Tel : (66) 0 2661 7762 Fax (66) 0 2661 7764-5 E-mail: contact@ dancham.or.th
Tom Sorensen President Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce
Prusidonl Mr, Tom Sorensen
Tel.: (66) 0 16567497 E-mail; toms@dancham orth vlcFPrcaldenl Mr Axel Blom Scandinavian Airlines System Tel : (66) 0 2260 6252 Fd: (66) 022606269 E-mail: axel blom@sas,se
Ilâ‚ŹasuEf
Mr Soren Presmann Presmann (Thailand) Co , Ltd Tel : (66) 0 2962 1 151 Fax: (66) O 2962 1152 E-mail: soren@presmann co th Prcg|"mmc Gommittce
'Ask not what your country can do for you - but what can you do for the country' These were the exact memorable words of John F. Kennedy, President of the United States from 1961 to 1963, at his inauguraladdress.
With a slight modification of JFK's statement, we should ask ourselves:
Mr Prasansak Suwanpotipra Danfoss (Thailand) Ltd, Tel.: (66) 0 2379 9800 Fax: (66) 0 2379 9801 E-mail: prasansak@ danfoss.com Forclgn Chambols Goordlnafng Committ8o
Mr Preben Hjortlund Schmidt BioMedTech (Thailand) Ltd Tel.: (66) 0 2643 1 330-9 Fax: (66) o 2643 1340 E-mail: preben @ schmidtthailand com ilcmbershlp Gommltle (Chalman) Mr, Peter Linnemann Maersk Bangkok Branch (66) Tel : 0 2752 9000 Fax: (66) 0 2751 9575-8 E-mail: thamng@maersk.com Membe6hip Commitloe Mr Vitoon Lefort Link'it / VL Intertrade Ca., Ltd. Tel.; (66) 0 2541 6043-7 Fu: (66) 0 2541 5786 E-mail: likeit@likeit.dk (Ghaiman) Mr Jorgen lb Hedes Sun Paratech Co., Ltd. (035) 221 010-8 Fax; (035) 221 019 E-mail: floorings@access inet co th PR Gommittoe
Pn
Comnltle
Mr Allan Jensen APV (Thailand) Ltd Tel.: (66) 0 2367 5341-6 Fax: (66) o 2367 5019 E-mail: ajensen@apv co uk Ex
oflicio
Royal Danish Embassy Tel : (66) 0 221 3 2012#17 Fax: (66\ 0 2213 1752
Exedive lliffi'tor Mr John Svengren Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce Tel.: (66) 0 2661 7762 Fu: (66) o 2661 7765 E-mail: contact@ dancham.oIth
Royal Danish Embassy Commercial Section, 10 Soi Attakarn Prasit Sathorn Tai. Bangkok 1 0500 Thailand Tel : (66) 0 221 3 2021 -5 Fax: (66) O 2213 1752 Ms Tine Hylleberg Commercial Counsellor, Head of Section Mt Attakorn Saropala, Senior Comm Olficer Ms Srisuda Vilyalai, Comm Olficer
GBphlc Pmduction & ltadctitrg Scand-MediaCorp Ltd 4141-42 Moo 3,fhanyakarn Village, Ramintra Soi'14 Bangkok 10230 Tel | (66) 0 2943 7166-8 Fax: (66) 0 2943 7169 E-mail; scandmedia @ scandmedia com
"Don't ask what Thailand can do for you, but what you can do for Thailand". Over the years the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce has played an active role in the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce, the umbrella organization of the international chambers and business associations in Thailand. I dare say that not a month passes without we alone in DTCC or be it together with the Joint Foreign Chambers are in some sort of dialogue with the Thai Government and its Civil Service. Through these contacts we not only have ample opportunities to bring up our concerns and ideas. We are in fact expected to share the sentiments of the Danish-Thai business communitv. Some of the current issues on the agenda include work permit for multiple locations, permanent residence status, BOI privileges, tax incentives for regional head quarters, refund of VAT and valuation procedures by Thai Customs. I would like you to use your membership of the chamber to put forward your questions, your ideas, your concern or whatever it may be direct to me personally. Use my emailtoms@dancham.or.th - our partnership with the other chambers, the access we also have e.g. through the European Chambers of Commerce or the Board of Trade, Thailand will ensure that we continue to engage in a dialogue with the Thai Government that are relevant to your business and that shows a genuine interest in what we can do for'our' countrv.
Tom Sorensen
President Danish - Thai Chamber of Commerce Email: toms @ dancham.or.th PS. lnterested in more on John F. Kennedy ? - check this web site address: http : //www. wh ite h o u se. gov/h i sto ry/p re s i d e n ts/j k3 5. lt t n t I
IxrrRNATToNAL BaccALAUREATE (IB) PA HEnLUFSHoLM KosrsKoLE EN INTERNATIoNAL STUDENTEREKSAME MED DANSKE RODDER
Prus pn. An lzoorTzooz;,
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Pnrsru-r.ec poR INTERNATToNAL B.q,ccRrRunEerr (IB) en
Herlufsholm Skole tilbyder bAde Den danske Studentereksamen og Den internationale
Sfudentereksamen - Intemational Baccalaureate (IB). Dansk studentereksamen er tre-irig, mens IB er en engelsk to-Arig uddannelse,
der aldersmessigt er placeret sanunen med 2. og 3. g. Som indgang til IB har skolen en pre-IB klasse, som svarer til1. g matematisk, hvor undervisningen ogsi er tilrettelagt pi engelsk.
Kn.31.200,-
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os - sA SENDER vr rN-
FORMATIONSMATERIALE OM KOSTSKOLEN OG VORES UDDANNELSER
Hrnlursnorm Grundlagt 1565
Klaus Eusebius Jakobsen
rektor 4700 Nestved
Tlf. +45 55 75 35 00 Fax + 45 55 75 351.4 IB-fax + 45 55 75 35 15 e-mail adresse: rektorkontor@herlufsholm.dk
Eller rektor privat telefon + 45 55 75 35 25 Bnsoc os pA sxorrN
ELLER pA rNrrnNsrrnt www.herlufsholm.dk
Danish tourists
F
coming back The Danes are coming back to Thailand in larger numbers than ever before,
www.dancham.or.th
Website remained a SUCCESS
In average, every Danish tourist
The highly active website of the Thai-Danish Chamber of Com-
spends about 3,353 Baht per day. And the figure is ri,sing.
ast year, the number of
merce remained successful among visitors throughout the
78.728
the Seotember 11 attack on the United States. Danish tourists are good money spenders. In average,
had come to visit the land of
every Danish tourist spends
smiles.
about 3,353 Baht per day. And the figure is rising. Apart from accommodation, most Danish tourists spend their money on shopping, food and drink etc. Most of the Danish tourists are 15-64 year and there are more
Danish tourist traveling to
Thailand dropped 149%. By the end of 2001 , only
This year, however, the Danes are coming back in even
higher numbers than before. From January till May, the immigration recorded 42,262 arrivals from Denmark - an increase of 6,56 % from the same period last year. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, last year's drop in Danish arrivals last year was clearlv due to the effect of
men than woman.
TAT - Tourism Authority of Thailand stress that Danish tourists remain an interesting market for the Thai tourism indusITV.
Among the approximately 80.000 Danish tourists visiting Thailand per year, Phuket has become increasingly popular. Although Phuket is today considered a saturated market with high cost of living, it is still the preferred choice but for quite a number of Danish tourists. Other
favourite places among the Danes are Hua Hin, Pattaya and Krabi. Thai-Danish tourism is not only a one way business. Thais traveling to Denmark is also increasing. Last year, 7.038 Thais traveled to Denmark, - an increase of 16.85 % from 2000.
summer, denying fears that visitors would droo in the traditional Danish vacation months of July and August. Noting only a slight drop of
in average 10 visitors per day, the figures suggest that the website is useful to a far greater range of people than only the current members of the Chamber. In fact, July was the busiest month so far with 1 187 visitors to www.dancham.or.th The success in considered due to the constant posting of a wide range of unique news of bilateral Danish Thai nature sev-
eral times oer week which is
found nowhere else on the World Wide Net. 'Outside' visitors are directed
Increased investment in the Garlsberg brand Carlsberg Breweries introduces new global brand positioning o support Carlsberg's longterm strategy of
in
creasing its share of the
premium beer segment, the Group has invested in a major revitalization of the brand. The development of the new global positioning 'Drink with a World of Friends'- which describes the
emotional feeling consumers should experience when drinking Carlsberg beer - follows a Euro 5 million investment in an international research and brand
revitalization programme. It will supporl the already fa-
6
mous'Probably the best beer in
world gets smaller, consumers
the v.rorld' line, which will con-
enjoy meeting people with simi-
tinue as the brand's slogan. More than 70 key managers
lar values around the word. Great beer brands offer good moments with friends, and
working with the Carlsberg brand
worldwide were involved in the process. Consumers in eight key markets participated in in-depth research, which gave a deeper insight into the way consumers think and feel about Carlsberg.
Carlsberg thus makes them feel part of a bigger world. To refresh the brand further, packaging, point-of-sale and advertising material have been
The research found that
renewed to give the brand a more stylish appeal and reflect
whilst the quality of Carlsberg was recognized, and in fact so established that the beer often is described as 'the definitive
the new positioning. To ensure that the oositioning is consistently implemented on a global scale, all marketing
beer', there was an opportunity
directors attended two-day seminars held in Copenhagen, Porto,
to add a stronger emotional dimension to the brand experience. lt revealed that as the
Kuala Lumour and lstanbul.
to the site mainly via a search on the search engine Google or the joint google-yahoo partnership. Next comes visitors being
transferred from the website www.scandmedia.com - the site of the Chamber's webmaster and the websites of the other two Thai Scandinavian chambers, www.swecham.or.th and www.norcham.or.th A further analysis suggests
that currently too few visitors reach the site through a search on Danish search engines. Consequently a drive to position the
sites better with Scandinavian search engines is planned by he Chamber's office.
Another initiative launched this autumn is to invite all members to forward oress releases for free publication on the websito.
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Many visitors showed up to see the Jirst
A
to
ECCO shop on it's opening day. Another 39 shops will now gradually follow all over Thailand.
ECCO shoes enters local
retail market with own shop Denmark-based firm guns for top-three spot in brown-shoe sector within 5 years
The ECCO shop was oJJicially opened by Danish Ambassador (center) Mr
Ulrik Helweg-Larsen.
CCO, a Danish footwear brand. ooened its first local retail shop yesterday
be increased from 3 million pairs
at present to 6 million. Globally, ECCO ranks seventh with 5 oer cent of the world
and announced it had plans for 39 more company-owned outlets as it seeks to reach domestic sales of Bt600 million within five years. The Danish firm said it would also invest Bt1 billion over the period to double the production capacity of its local factory to serve its predominantly Asian sales expansion.
der consignment contracts. The first shop was opened at Central Pinklao with another scheduled for Seotember at Central City Bangna. ECCO (Thailand) has only just embarked on domestic retail sales even though it was founded in 1994. Up to now, all
ECCO (Thailand) is also considering the possibility of
tory has been shipped to cen-
of the output of its Ayutthaya fac-
Hush Puppies ranks first in the local casual shoe market with a share of about 10 per cent, followed by Dapper, Nine West and
Clark.
"With our local production,
we can sell our products at prices 20-40 per cent cheaper than our competitors. Most of
erlands for distribution mainly to
their products are imported and the import tariff runs as high as 40 per cent," Kitti said Prices of ECCO shoes sold
the United States and Europe.
here range f rom Bt1,000 to
franchising its stores as part of ECCO's global policy, which was launched two months ago, managing director Kitti Chaiwattanatorn said. Of the 40 planned company-
tres in Denmark and the Neth-
now exoects to become one of
run outlets, a dozen would be ECCO shops costing Bt10 million to Bt15 million each, while the remainder would be retail
impoded from ltaly next month lo serue customers here.
the top three players in the
ECCO targets domestic
brown shoe [casual] market in
sales of 30,000 pairs this year
five years," he said, adding that the casual footwear segment is worth BtS billion a year.
with a target of 250,000 pairs in five years.
space in depaftment stores un-
I
cusing on the Asia region after its success in the United States and Europe, the annual output of the finished product factory in the Saha Rattananakorn lndustrial Estate in Ayutthaya would
"ECCO has never distributed
our products here before but
813,000. Some styles would be
To serve ECCO's policy of fo-
market behind international brands such as Clark, Timberland, Sketchers and Doc Marten.
Through deeper penetration into the Asian market, the Danish firm hopes to boost its sales
by roughly a quarter this year compared to only 8.7 percent growth last year. "The Thai factory will be the only facility that ECCO will expand over the next three years," he said, adding that the parent company also operates a shoe parts factory in Indonesia, while a Chinese factory is run on a pro-
duction-contract basis by a locar company.
Nareerat Wiriyapong The Nation
Nordic optimism
rtgX'i
The little boat these youngsters are sailing is called an optimist. Our little optimists make a common sight during the summer. \While having fun these children are developing their own sense of judgement and learning how to analyse 'We situations. at Nordea are aware that the success of our
region is dependent upon our attitudes and ideas, of seeing
opportunities. It is these skills that Nordea is building its future upon. 'We are a reflection of our region, and its most important natural resource, ideas. \(e are looking forward to doing business with you ... the Nordic way.
Nordea is the leading financid services group in the Nordic and Baltic Sea region with more thm l0 million customers. \7ith 3.1 million e-customers the Nordea Group is a world leader in Internet banking. Nordea operates through three business areas and hm a Dresence in 22 countries. w.nordea.com
Nordea2,
Nordea Bank, Singapore, Corporate Banking, 50 Rafiles Place # 15-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623. Tel: +65 6225 821 1 , singapore@nordea com
Jorgen Ib Hedes 70 Years Jorgen lb Hedes has brought Sun Paratech from nothing up to a production of more than a million square meters of three layer parquet since his arrival to Thailand twelve years ago.
We have four truckloads of sawdust leaving the factory every afternoon. Every week we ship '15 container loads full of parquet to our dealers in Eurooe and America. That gives you an idea of the size of our ooeration today," Mr. Hedes proudly explains. Today, the turnover of Sun
Paratech is over 800 Mill. Baht and the company employs are more than 400 people. Most of the employees work in the fac-
By Gregers Moller hen Jorgen lb Hedes
arrived Thailand in 1990, Sun Paratech
tory underthe supervision of fac-
tory manager Khun Kumpol, who has been a member of
was only a plan about to be realized. The factory floor had been cast, but the design of the buildings not yet finalized. The production machines were ordered, but the staff to operate them not yet employed. The product was decided. Sun Paratech should produce wooden floorings, three layer cross laid parquet, for the world
Jorgen lb Hedes' management
market. "l was there because my old
as he calls it.
friend John Dyrholm, whom
team since the beginning.
"Thailand is the perfect place for production. The workers do what they are told fr nothing more, nothing less. However,
sometimes things may still go wrong," Hedes says, using the drying oven to recall a situation where the workers 'did the wrong thing forthe right reasons'
"We had a backlog and
until you tell them to change. They don't stafi experimenting with otherways of doing it, which
would make it easier for them but make the job of the next man in the chain imoossible."
Further down the oroduction line, the wood is cut into shape for assembly into the three layers of the parquet. These three layers are joined in a process, which first adds glue to the layers, then places them on top of each other and finally presses and hardens them in an advanced high frequency press. "These presses work much like a kitchen microwave oven just on a large scale at 18 Million Hz," Jorgen lb Hedes points out. Apart from pressing the parquet together and squeezing the glue into all small cavities of the parquet, the high frequency ra-
Hedes explains. Celebrating Jorgen lb Hedes 70 year birthday on September 3, 2002, is impossible without celebrating also the success of Sun Paratech, which he has
doors." "They knew they had to perform the tests. They didn't know that they became insignificant if not taken from reoresentative
brought from nothing up to a pro-
dried." However, in most cases the Thai worker is good for industrialized production for exactly the same reason, he adds. "lf instructed properly to do their part of the process in a cer-
to 85 seconds. "lt means that for a one time investment of 1 Mill. Baht we were able to in crease yearly earnings with 10 Mill. Baht provided of course we can sell the increased capacityj' he explains. Coming back to Thailand as a 59 year old where had worked thirty years ago as a young EAC employee, was for Jorgen lb Hedes the chance of a lifetime to establish a new factory from scratch. His first decision was to do all machine installations, administrative procedures and market penetration by the book. Lots of books. Technical books,
tain way, they do exactly that
economic books, machine
duction of more than a million square meters of three layer parquet since his arrival to Thailand twelve years ago.
"We receive seven truckloads of rubber wood coming up from SuratThani every morning.
he has even re-phrased the well-
known Maersk slogan "This company does not accept losses
which could have been prevented through due diligence" into his own "This company does
not acceot unscheduled downtime".
An example of 'pre-emptive
with a Danish engineer.The system measures among others the energy consumption of each single machine. When the energy needed to run the machine rises, it is typically a symptom of a more serious oroblem like a saw in need of sharpening or a
needed to dry a lot of wood. So
olaces around the wood to be
says using one of his many idioms, which he applies all over Sun Paratech today. "l always stress the importance of 'pre-emptive maintenance'," says Jorgen lb Hedes. To drive home the message,
ing the eff iciency in these presses which brought down the pressing time f rom 105 seconds
the workers filled uo the ovens to the last square centimeter. in all the sample pieces right in
symptom," Jorgen lb Hedes
maintenance' is an elaborated monitoring system of the machinery which Jorgen lb Hedes years ago developed together
I
the front before closing the
name it, he read it. "l wanted to avoid the typical pitfall of cutting corners to fix a solution - which always means cover uo a more fundamental problem.Treat the cause not the
diation hardens the glue. Recently, Hedes and Khun Kumpol implemented an investment of 1 Mill. Baht in increas-
have known since my early days in EAC, had introduced me one year before to the owner, Khun Santi Vayakornvichitr during our vacation to Thailand," Jorgen lb
Then last minute, they squeezed
manuals, market reports, you
roller needing new ball bearings.
A mechanical workshop takes care of most of these in-
ternal repair jobs, including sharpening the band saws and
fitting hard metal tips on the teeth of the saws. A typical pitfall is to believe the machine ooerator when he suggests you to modify the ma-
chine to hide the symptom, claiming that it was never meant to work under such extreme conditions as in Thailand.
The production at Sun paratech works like a clocl<work built on the principle oJ thoroughly explaining the Thai workers how to do their part ofthe process - knowing they will do rutthing more nothing less until instructed otherwise.
10
"This of course is sheer nonsense," Mr. Hedes says. "A well-maintained machine has no oroblems neither with the
temperature nor the humidity of Thailand." Another pitfall is to believe, that you don't need to be able to speak Thai to work as a for-
eigner in Thailand. Here, Mr. Hedes is assisted by his early years in Thailand where it would have been unthinkable that you did not learn Thai as your main working language. "lmbedded in the language you also find the key to the culture and the way of thifiking of the people for whom the language is the mother tongue," Mr.
Hedes says., recalling an episode from his early period in
-
Thailand, where his tutor took a long detour in explaining something. When Jorgen asked him why he didn't just put it straight away, the reply was: "Oh no, Sir! You see, we Siamese never go straight to the
',1 .:'l t: r.l::,.
,
ooint."
When back in Copenhagen after his first home leave a few years later, he was called in for a meeting with Managing Director of EAC, Haakon Christiansen, who had himself spent several years in Thailand. Among others Mr. Christiansen asked him if he dreamt in Siamese. "l believe I do," Mr. Hedes answered a bit surorised. "Good, then you will never forget it!" This proved to be true, when thirty years later Mr. Hedes ar-
rived back in Thailand for his current task. The sound of his Thai is like a machine gun rattle leaving no doubt that this is not
a translation but a sentence which is born in his brain in Thai - before later maybe being translated into English to the benefit of the visitor. "lt simply won't do with a sec-
retary to translate your mail if you want to know what is going on around you," he,says. "Mail and messages will in-
variably be screened and rephrased a little bit in keeping with
the Thai tradition of not talking
Continuetl on puge I-i
,1
.
tl-..ti,
The stainless steel cabinet
of
th newly introduced MP3 player takes on an appealing patina the more it is used, gaining character from
sharing the pocket with keys, coins and the like.
B&O new MP3 player introduced in Thailand Fl
used, gaining character from
'GC at ffir.eclnrtyinvrteoallscanD L/ dinavians in hailand to
The smooth stainless steel cabinet and absence of sharo
sharing the pocket with keys,
edges allow BeoSound 2 to slip
coins and the like. BeoSound 2's
beamongthefirsttoexpenence E a new cool B&O oroduct - the
comfortably into the pocket - and
robust construction supports
prevent it from disturbing you
Bang & Olufsen's commitmentto quality and ensures a long physical lifetime. Six pre-recorded digital music samoles are included on the
ano & Orutsen Tnarrano
AAA
MP3 player BeoSound 2.
The launch presentation in Thailand took place on Friday July 26th at Siam Discovery Center. BeoSound 2 draws upon the computer as a source for musical enteftainment and allows the
user to enjoy MP3 files purchased or downloaded from the internet. "Digital music has proven itself to be an important player in today's world of musical enter-
tainment. BeoSound 2 harnesses the strengths of these file
tku pfgvlew
All DTCC Members were on Friday 30 August invited to a preview on the Bang & Olufsen Fair at the Gallery Hall,
Hilton lnternational Hotel starting on Saturday 31 August.
Jorgen Lunding, the B&O Regional Director and his team together with Kitchen
Tech
-
B&O's distributor in
Thailand - greeted the members and gave a quick presentation of the B&O vision forThailand and world wide..
formats and combines them with
Bang & Olufsen skills within ease of use, craftsmanship, design and sound quality. Whilst physically small, the BeoSound 2 experience is large - where integration with additional Bang & Olufsen products plays an considerable role", says Bang & Olufsen President & CEO Torben Ballegaard Sorensen. "BeoSound 2 is a shining ex-
ample of how Bang & Olufsen outs the user situation ahead of industry hype.We aim to provide
t2
simplicity and clarity in the othenrvise swirling sea surrounding Internet music, just as we do in the field of home entertainment," continues Sorensen. Fitting comfortably into the palm of your hand, you navigate simply between tracks or adjust the volume in your accompanying Bang & Olufsen earphones without ever needing to glance down. Utilizing a minimum of buttons. BeoSound 2 orovides you with both audible and tangible feedback during operation.
when on the move. BeoSound 2's musical expe-
riences take olace in close cooperation with BeoPlayer, Bang
& Olufsens web music organizer, which can be downloaded
free of charge to a computer from www.bang-olufsen.com or directly from the website http:// www.beoplayer.com/
BeoPlayer automatically sorts all your digital music by adist, genre, song title and album title, as well as allows you
to create your own specially composed playlists. Just dragand-drop your songs from BeoPlayer to BeoSound 2, and you are on your way out the door.
Two-way communication between BeoSound 2 and the computer allows BeoSound 2's software to be updated simply
and easily. In this fashion, BeoSound 2 endures as an uD-
to-date and relevant music player, benefiting from the rapid
evolvement of the Internetbased music arena.
Additionally, the stainless steel cabinet takes on an aopealing patina the more it is
128 Mb SD memory card that accompanies BeoSound 2. Approximately four hours of tunes may be contained on this size card, and additional cards may be purchased separately.
Furthermore, your digital music can also be moved about in your home with Bang & Olufsen's Beolink PC 2, which utilizes your computer as a source
in a Beolink?
system.
BeoPlayer again takes care of all file organization, providing
you with identical operation whether in the home office, kitchen or on the go.
Jorgen lb Hedes 70 Years about an unpleasant subject,
"l remember standing on the
ing out door advertising, which
hoping that if you just sweep it
deck of the ship when we approached the harbour of Bangkok. The only building I could see was the customs
at the time was rather unknown.
under the carpet it may go away".
As a boy Jorgen lb Hedes initially dreamt of a career within engineering following in the foot steps of the great Danish engi-
neering companies
like
Christiani& Nielsen. But his high school grades in physics and mathematics wouldn't allow that. Instead Jorgen lb Hedes decided
for a commercial career with East Asiatic Company where he started on 16 July 1951 . In 1953
he passed the final test and when he returned to the company after 16 month of military service he was told right away
house and some wooden huts. I had signed a contract to remain in this place for a minimum of 4 to 5 years."
Mr. Hedes was appointed Assistant Manager at EAC's saw mill on Charoen Krung close to the location of Hotel Maenam today. After the contract period of four and a half years, Jorgen lb Hedes was allowed one vacation back to Denmark. During this vacation he married his wife, Bitten, and together the couple
During the home leave by the end of 1963, the couple decided to stay in Denmark where he had been offered a good job. His way back to working in Thailand is an anecdote in itself. "We were in Thailand on a trip arranged by Lions Club to support the handicap institution Sataban Saengsawang and the
volunteer work, which Aks Ammundsen was doing for the institution. We of course also had to meet my old friend John Dyrholm and he introduced me to Khun Santi." Ten month later when back
to apply for a visa to Thailand. "The voyage to Bangkok was an amazing experience at that time compared to the 11-hours
travelled back to Bangkok for
in Denmark, John Dyrholm
another oeriod with EAC in Thailand where Jorgen lb Hedes was promoted Manager of the saw
over night flights we have become used to today;'Jorgen lb
mill. "Bitten nevercould sit idle for long," Mr. Hedes recalls.
called him from Thailand. "Jorgen, wouldn't you like to come back to Thailand to work for the man I introduced you to?' he asked. That was the exact right offer at the exact right time. The 59 year old Mr. Hedes packed his bags and in 1990 arrived Thailand to work with Sun Paratech. His initial 2-year contract has since been ex-
Hedes recalls.
First he went by train to Livorno in ltaly. Here he boarded the MS Malacca for a 30 days sea journey via the Suez Canal to Singapore. Finally on June 18, 1955, he arrived Bangkok.
Within short she had secured herself a job selling Thai silk in a local shop. About 10 months later, she left this position for a challenging opponunity with an advertising agency sell-
BAN G KO K
H
tended again and again. Today,
he is Senior Executive Vice President of the company. "lmagine returning to work in Thailand after that many years it is difficult to comprehend that there is room for this in one person's life time. The Thailand I knew then and the antique saw
mill I was managing and the country and the factory I am working with today are worlds apart."
This article is an abbreviated version of a full afticle available
on
www.
scandasia.com/dk12/
hedes.htm
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13
t
r a Danish legend lives on in Thailand "The name Christiani & Nielsen has today an equally good an image in Thailand as it ever had in Denmark," says
By Gregers Moller significant chapter in the historyof one of the most lprominent Danish construction and engineering companies, Christiani & Nielsen, is about to be written.The decision
/\ t-f t
w
Managing Director Danuch Yontararak.
to formally close down its last re-
maining office in Denmark has finally been taken and will soon be executed.
on the initiative of
Founded in 1904 by Civil En-
gineer Rudolf Christiani and Captain Aage Nielsen, Christiani
& Nielsen was one of the past century's most prominent Dan-
and the Faro Bridge.
ish engineering and construction
Christiani & Nielsen was also pioneers in taking Danish expertise abroad. lt established itself very early on in countries as far away and exotic as the Kingdom of Siam, which in 1928 Budolf Christiani visited for the first time
companies. The bompany has left a legacy in the Danish land-
scape with outstanding construction projects like the hanging bridge over Lillebalt - at the
time the longest in the world
14
-
H.N.
Andersen, the founder of East Asiatic Company. He was quick to realize the potential of the country, which was rich in natural resources but technologically decades behind Europe and with a poor infrastructure. In 1930 the company Christiani & Nielsen Siam Ltd. was established. Among its shareholders were members of the Royal Fami[ and EAC which at
the time enjoyed an almost
semi-royal status both in Thailand and in Denmark. This year 70 years ago, the company delivered its first project - a locomotive remise for Hua Lampong Railway Station. While Christiani & Nielsen is today history in Denmark, it remains an active engineering and construction company in Thailand with 3000 employees working on ten projects of various sizes and on various stages of completion. The company employs a staff of 330 people of whom about 200 are civil engineers or construction engineers. This situation is the result of
a unique buy-out in 1992, in which the Thai shareholders boughtthe shares ofthe descen-
dants of the Danish founders. The owners are today purely Thai. Siam Commercial Bank is
I
Christiani & Nielsen is well knownfor a number of significant assignments, among others the construction of the Democracy Monument, one of the most important national Thai symbols. Above is the opium museum build honour in of Thailand's late Princess Mother HRH Sri Nagarindra, where the Thai government in September held its 'mobile cabinet meeting'.
the main shareholder wilh 43"/".
The Royal Property Bureau holds 28 "/". The company is listed on the Stock Exchange of
Thailand and the remaining shares are owned by a wide range of individuals and institutional investors. Although the company is as such a Thai company there are no plans to change the name to something with a more "Thai" sound to it. "The name Christiani& Nielsen has today an equally good an image in Thailand as it ever
had in Denmark," says Managing Director Danuch Yontararak. "We are the oldest existing construction company in Thailand. We are well known for a
number of significant assignments, among others for the construction of the Democracy Monument, one of the most important national symbols of Thai-
land. Danish construction engi-
neering know-how still has a good reputation in Thailand so our company name is one oi our strongest assets," Danuch Yontararak says.
companies pleading their banks
its former core business area
for refinancing arrangements
It was previously maintained
was so long that the processing had almost come to a stand still and only the very large companies received any attention."
road construction. Between 1998 and 2000 the company
mostlyfor nostalgic reasons, but with the board decision to focus on Thailand, the umbilical cord of Christiani & Nielsen is now finally about to be cut. Shortly afterthe buy-out, the company ran into serious financial problems, almost forcing it out of business. The company had in the mid-9O's ventured into
investments in Berlin, the reunited capital of Germany. This was the fist time the Thai operation entered a prolect overseas. "We did a major mistake.We have learned an important lesson and we will never attempt this again," says Danuch Yontararak. The company filed for bank-
Apart from its company name and historical background there is, however, today nothing
Danish about the company. A few foreigners are employed in
build 10 kilometers of the fourlane expressway between Lampang and Lampoon in the North of Thailand. The mountainous stretch of highways was difficult because 28.000 cubic meters of rock had to be blasted and the
company further had to con-
key positions, among others
struct 9,600 cubic meters of pro-
Business Development man-
tective walls against mudslides and falling stones.
ager Neil Hutchinson and Commercial Manager David Greenbank, but there are no Danes among them. Having in 1996 reduced its
machinery and car fleet, the company is now cautiously expanding.
Christiani & Nielsen is currently completing an opium mu-
ruptcy in late 1995 and then
seum in honour of Thailand's
worked hard on a reconstruction plan during 1996 to induce new capital into the company. The benefit of this disaster was that when the general Asian crisis broke out in 1997, Christiani & Nielsen was already refinanced and could start operating where other companies went bust.
late Princess Mother, HRH Sri Nagarindra on top of one of the highest mountains in Thailand, Doi Tung. The largest prolect which the
of the Danish origins of the com-
"lf we had filed for bank-
pany does, however, not change the fact that the company recently decided to close down its
ruptcy one year later, we wouldn' t have been here today. At that
company has been involved with over the past couple of years is the new faculty forThammasart University. The project includes six office buildings and an underground parking lot - a total of 56.200 square meters.
time the queue of construction
Another project was within
His recognition of the value
-
last office in Denmark, a representative office in Copenhagen.
The company is equally proud of a reference in Rayong,
the assembly plant for General Motors of 146.000 souare meters completed in 1999 - which was incidentally designed by the Danish architects Ove Arup &
Partners. And in the deep sea port Laem Chabang, the Danish company Mermaid Maritime Co.,
Ltd. has recently contracted the company to build an assembly hall and a service facility. Here, the company intends to build
and repair rafts and other life saving equipment on license for the Danish company Viking. "We won the job on ordinary commercial terms, but lwouldn' t be surprised if our Danish roots have given us a preference with
the owners," says Neil Hutchinson.
15
Building on chopsticks Danish designer in Chiang Mai sells his chopsticks in his own shop in Bangkok and around the world. By Lasse Norgaard
ot
many business
people have anything nice to say about the crisis in 97. The exception is Hans B. Christensen, the owner of "Rice" in Chiang Mai and co-
owner of the three "Cocoon" shops in Bangkok. "The crisis released a lot a creativity. Staff from advertising and marketing agencies were suddenly made redundant, and many of them stafied to design home decor and furniture. At the
same time mosl Thais were aware, that increased export was the only way out of the crisis, and soon after some of the big buyers from abroad started to come to Thailand". Hans B. Christensen had
Today, the designs of Hans B. Chris-tensen cover much more than only chopsticks.
founded his company a few months earlier. He had designed beautiful chopsticks and rented a small stand at an export fair in
Bangkok. lt was definitely a niche-production considering chopsticks are not frequently used in neither Thailand nor in Hans B. Christensen's home-
Scandinavian style management, Hans
But he hit an new market with an emerging interest in
B. Christensen finds it natural to lend s hqnd when
Asian food and design.
packing.
land Denmark.
He sold all his stock, filled the
order book, and founded "Rice". The first year 80 pct. of the income came from chopsticks. Today, four years later, he has more than 35 employees
designer who manages to combine East and West. His ceramic bowls were re-
and a Thai textile designer. The insoiration is from back
cently on a full-page photo in
and "Rice" oroduces a wide
Airways described as "avant
parents were farmers in Vester Skjerninge on Funen, but his father has always been very inter-
range of decors from nice giftboxes to roseshaped candles,
garde design with vivid colours and modern shapes" and a few months later, he and his de-
from small scented animal shaped bags to coconut shell with gold. And pottery. In fact, this is was he has become famous for, his design of bowls
Sawasdee magazine from Thai
signer colleagues f rom "Cocoon"
were featured as "style-gurus",
shaped as unfolding leaves from
no less. "Rice" exports to a number of shops in Denmark through a
a lotusjlower.
company in Odense with the
Hans B. Christensen and
same name, whereas the three
his design has been featured in
"Cocoon" shops in Bangkok and a 4th recently opened in Amsterdam - is a joint venture with a Swiss furniture designer
the book "Contemporary Thai" and in Asian Wall Street Journal,
where he was portrayed as a
16
home. Hans B. Christensen's
ested in Danish furniture design,
so as a child, Hans and his father traveled to exhibitions and auctions around the country. "l always knew I would work with design or architecture" he says. After college in Denmark he went to London and studied for three years at a private school. Later he worked for Morris Angels & Son, producing costumes for movies. But he wanted to live in Asia
and he moved here working for a Danish and later a Malaysian company, before he started his own with the chopsticks in Chiang Mai. He sits on the floor and lends
a hand packing, when the containers needs to be shipped to USA or Europe, and he is obviously a popular and relaxed boss. "Yes, I hope so. I have never run a company in Denmark, but the Danish mentality about giving people responsibility and let
them grow and develop in the company, is something I have brought with me, and it works well. Apart from that, I think the big difference between running a company in Thailand and at
home is, that there are fewer rules and regulations, costs and taxes here. With the limited capital I had to start, I would never have managed to establish a company in Denmark".
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17
Watch out for the parcels! Danish owner of MPA - a major security company in Bangkok says, the screening of air freight and courier mail is too fast.
Henrik Hansen inspecting a security team. MPA guards pass a rigorous training before being albwed to take up duty on their Jirst real job.
By Lasse Norgaard ne year after the September 11 it is hardly
its peak.
mercial flights are still not that safe. Several journalists have proved that it remains possible to smuggle dangerous articles on board without neither metal detectors nor security personnel noticing anything. However, this
Thailand with over 3000 employ-
easily be very dangerous - although the snake in itself may
ees and a further 1400 guards employed in Cambodia and 1000 guards employed in a re-
be harmless. MPA guards pass a rigorous training before being allowed to
cent department in India. The company has grown ten
take up duty on their first real job. About one third of all applicants
times since Henrik Hansen
is probably not where the real
bought it in 'l 984 and among his customers are both leading airlines, factories, chemical plants, as well as private individuals, embassies and retail centres. "ln the airport, it is our duty to check the interior of the aircraft to ensure that the oassengers disembarking during stopovers don't leave anything behind and see to it that the cleaning staff don't forget anything either," he explains. "We also check the catering to make sure there is no bomb hidden among the sandwiches. We have of course accumulated a considerable expertise in this
drop out during the physical training alone. The rest are trained in personal protection,
any secret that com-
danger lies. "The highest security risk in-
volves air freight and courier mail," says one of the leading Danish experts in this field, Henrik Hansen, MPA Security in
Bangkok. "The passenger risk is reasonably under control, I would say. Freight and courier mail, however..." When you look at him in disbelief, asking if not all parcels and all mail is screened and Xrayed, he elaborates: "X-ray, oh well.... actually I am more concerned with the human factor. We all know how fast it has to go. Most people
largest security company
in
field, but our staff is trained in following the different airlines'
expect their courier mail to reach the recipient within 24 hours." Some airlines have adopted
own security prescriptions as to
a rule that they will only carry
One of the more oeculiar tasks in Bangkok International
mail from trusted courier comoa-
nies they know well. But these are typically the larger and well respected companies guaranteeing speedy delivery and there is no guarantee that they will check themselves that the content is in fact what their customer has specified in the papers.
As for ordina'ry suitcases, security personnel has in average seven seconds to screen each item. Seven seconds. MPA Security is the second
18
how and how thoroughly they should check."
Airport is to keep an eye on especially Koreans. Some of them have come to Thailand to pur chase certain soecies of snakes either to keep them as pets or
eat them for their alleged improvement of male potency. "They will dope the snakes before going on board. But if such a snake wake up during the
trip it may easily create some panic. And if all passengers huddle up together in one side or one end of the aircraft it mav
fire fighting, first aid, heart mas-
sage and TOFAH, a Japanese maftial aft which also the regular national oolice force of several countries. Having completed the training they are deployed as guards for embassies, factories or retail outlets. "Most of the guards come
from the lsaan provinces of North Eastern Thailand," Henrik Hansen explains. "They are in Bangkok to make money for their families. They are at the same time loyal and have a high level of endurance. They may even stand up for 12 hours a day. They only sometimes complain that they must take one day off per week. That makes a cut in their income, but that's the law." ln average a security guard will make about 7000 Baht per
month. Before receiving his training, he is checked for abuse of narcotics and it is checked if he has a clean oolice record. Actually, Henrik Hansen has not a completely clean police record himself. He was detained
for three weeks in Vietnam 1968 for visa overstay. And
in in
case you should wonder, then you are quite right, 1968 was the year the war in Vietnam was at
"l went there to experience the war close up. In a historical sense wars have always been my interest and at the time it was possible to travel to Vietnam and
find work there." Henrik Hansen worked for a company selling diamonds to
American soldiers who didn't know what else to spend their money on. He lived in the northernmost part of South Vietnam and experienced closely the famous Tet offensive in 1968. He managed to witness one and a half years of action before he was arrested and put in jail. "That was tough. We slept on a concrete floor, a hole in the floor was our toilet and we were given black, spoiled rice to eat. But I lived together with some interesting personalities, among
other an army officer in the South Vietnamese army who sold weapons to the Vietcong, a
Philippino specialized in faking
the signature of then President Ferdinand Marcos, and a couple
of Koreans selling "black" diamonds.
"l got many good tips and some interesting suggestions should I ever want to enter a criminal career."
Henrik Hansen chose the opposite when he was released and left for Thailand. His security company has a yearly turnover of 60 mill. Danish kroner. Among his plans for the future is to rebuild a plane, he bought, into an ambulance plane. And there are still places
in the region, where he could consider establishing new subsidiaries of MPA.
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19
The fi rst anish-Thai Chamber of
Commerce was conceived by Ambassador Mogens lsaksen, Royal Danish Embassy; Peter Miller, Maersk Bangkok Branch, and Poul Weber, Berli Jucker Public Co., Ltd.. This idea was first launched at
a meeting, chaired by PoulWe-
ber, at the Royal Danish Embassy on May 14, 1991. About 30 Danish businessmen attended the meeting.
The meeting had been called, because of the growing activities of Danish companies and the feeling that we needed to make our presence felt. We
1
also needed a platform for promoting Danish business via official channels, together with the other chambers, of which the American, British, German and Japanese were the most active. The meeting discussed the
of association, by-laws, rules,
lations. Gregers Moller helped
etc. etc. Other members of this
with PR, etc.
interim committee was Jon Plate, Maersk, Gregers Moller, Scand Media, Niels Lumholdt,
Board meetings were held in
the old Maersk offices
Aviation Services,
on Sathorn Road, as well as at the offices of Berli Jucker, at the
pros and cons of setting up a Danish Chamber - originally it was established as Danish
Ole D. Madsen, Scaneast,
ish Embassy.
Svend Andersen, Christiani & Nielsen and Steen Poulsen,
Chamber of Commerce - and it
Sabroe.
The fact finding committee presented their findings at another meeting at the Embassy on October 9, 1991. Here, the decision to set up the chamber was confirmed. The registration process of
Ole Freudendahl, Bergsoe Metals,
Everybody chipped in to ensure a good start. The logo
was overwhelmingly decided it was a good idea. An interim fact finding committee with Peter Miller as President and Poul Weber as Vice President was formed to set up the Chamber, including articles
e.g. was the idea of Niels Lumholdt. Maersk helped with a.o. legal advice from their lawyers to ensure we were acting in conformity with laws and regu-
Board members around the lunch table durinp the Annual General Meeting in 1993, clockwise Anna Sogaard Madden (back to camera), Ytt Prabha Vivadhana. Ole Madsen, Niels Lumholdt, Hans Ulrich Hansen. Allan Jensen, Michael Schulz and
Poul Weber
Polo Club and at the Royal Dan-
the Chamber was quite slow, but we finally got approval from the
Ministry of Commerce on June 18, 1992. Following this, an inaugural meeting was held October 15, 1992.
The first formally elected board was headed by President
Peter Miller, Maersk Bangkok Branch, and Vice President Poul Weber, Berli Jucker Plc. Axel Blom, SAS, today Vice President, is the member wno has been on the committee for the longest - he was first elected at the inaugural meeting in 1992 and has been a member of the
board ever since. He has oredominantly been the Treasurer of the Chamber from 1992 until 2000, trying to make ends meet
LIST OF PRESIDENTS/VICE PRESIDENTS 1991.2002 PRESIDENT 1991 (under formation) 1
992
1
993
'1
994
1
995
1
996
Peter Miller Maersk Peter Miller Maersk Peter Miller Maersk Poul Weber Berli Jucker Poul Weber Berli Jucker Niels Winther EAC Poul Weber
1997 1
998
1
999
2000 2001
2002
20
TWF Poul Weber TWF Anders Nielsen Maersk Anders Nielsen Maersk Tom Sorensen DFDS Transport Tom Sorensen DFDS Transport Tom Sorensen DFDS Transport
VICE PRESIDENT Poul Weber Berli Jucker
Poul Weber Berli Jucker Poul Weber Berli Jucker Flemming Dahl Pedersen Maersk Niels Winther EAC
Poul Weber TWF Anders Nielsen Maersk Anders Nielsen Maersk Kamthorn Ounhirunskul Kamthorn, Surachet & Somsak Kamthorn Ounhirunskul Kamthorn, Surachet & Somsar Anders Normann EAC
Axel Blom SAS Axel Blom DAJ
with our limited funds. Actually, at one stage, we had to go out and ask Maersk, SAS, Carlsberg, Jebsen & Jessen and
EAC to each give us Baht 50.000.- to tide us over a difficult period. We also owe thanks to the Royal Danish Embassy, whose representative - typically the Commercial Counsellor - attends Board Meetings as an observer. The Embassy has given valuable suppon to the Chamber during all the years - among others by hosting all the Annual General Meetings of the Chamber for the nine eight years. Our former Executive Director, Monica Holmgren, also contributed greatly to the success of the Chamber. She left Thailand in 1990 to be succeeded by our current Executive Director John Svengren. The start was quite slow and we did not have too many mem-
DTCC bers but thanks to interesting activities, membership grew. We early on started publishing the magazine Danish Thai Trade News, which has become very popular with the member-
ship, as well as a yearly Business Membership Directory. By the end of 98/99 we had about
Baht 1 mill. available in cash assets and the Chamber is now in a stronger position than ever before with more than 100 members. Some of the highlights during the years have been meetings with Prime Ministers. Ministers. Chief Executives of Danish companies, the Royal visit
Herlufsholm graduates Two Danish-Thai students and one Danish-
Vietnamese student graduated this year from the Danish boarding school Herlufsholm,
which has consistently Tanya is the eighth girl from teft in the second row. Nina is the shown interest in servtLt'e right lsabet Andersen is ins the Danish expatriate community in Thai-
:z:z:if:!;';*t;:,';";:wm
land and elsewhere in South East Asia overthe pastthree years. Tanya Jensen, the daughter of Allan Jensen of APV, and Nina Moller, the
dia, graduated in June as International Baccalaureate students together with lsabel Andersen, daughter of Jorgen Jensen of uNlcEF in vietnam who has previously been daughter of Gregers Moller of Scand-Me- posted to ESCAp in Bangkok.
and dinner with Crown Prince Frederik in 1997, the State Visit of Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik in 2001 plus regular luncheons/meetings with the Joint Foreign Chambers,
where we have been active since we stafted.
The Danish Thai Chamber of Commerce was involved also in the start-up of the European Community Business Association ECBA in 1993, of which Poul Weber was the first Vice President and then President. The idea was to have an entity which
could compete with the American Chamber and JETRO.
Over the years, several unsuccessful attempts have been made to create a Nordic Chamber. However, together with the Swedish Chamber of Commerce from the beginning, and
later also with the Nonruegian Cham-
ber of Commerce, a joint Chamber Office has been established.This cooperation has worked very well over the years.
In 1997, we donated
Baht
500.000 to a strawberry project under His Majesty The Kings Royal Project Foundation in the North. The money was raised during a Gala Dinner for HRH Crown Prince Frederik and HRH Crown Princess Sirindhorn in 1997. An article in Thai Danish Trade News described the success of this project. In 1991, when H.M. Queen Margrethe visited the Royal Project Foundation near Chiangmai in 2001, she was serued strawberries from this
very project.
Poul Weber
21
Danish Dry-Bag moving into the Thai retail market anapol Vanich Co., Ltd. the exclusive distributor
of the Danish product Dry-Bag - is moving into the retail market. So far, the company has mainly focused on Thai exporters and the Thai shipping sector, where Dry-Bag is used to keep the expon products dry all the way to the customer overSEAS.
Dry-Bag is composed of a special clay available in Denmark, mixed with calcium chlo-
on valuables like rare col-
ride. Comoared to other so-
lectibles and documents, leather
called desiccants
materials
wear, music instruments, elec-
which are able to pick up moisture from its surroundings - this
tronic equipment, iewelry,
-
special, envi ronmentally f riendly
mixture is able to pick up more moisture from the air than any other known natural desiccant. The household version of Dry-Bag aims at keeping moisture sensitive products like photo
equipment dry but it has also
watches, cars, guns, metal tools and accessories. "We market Dry-Bag through some selective outlets and communicate to the target group via product brochure and point of
sales as well as advertisement in mass media," Mr. Nipat Ung-
other applications. The initial tar-
pakornkaew, Managing Director of Tanaool Vanich Co.. Ltd. ex-
get group is high-income con-
olains.
sumers which could be the first
to try out a product which pre-
Specialty stores like HomePro, Siam Drug, Taywin (leather-
vents bad smell and mildew and
wear), leading gunsmiths, pro-
rust formation when placed in the drawer. For a tropical country with 65-75% Relative Humidity (rH) as Thailand , the undesired
fessional golf stores, larger
moisture is among the main
cause of mildew formation and
photoshops are among the first outlets selected. Soon the car accessory department of Robinson Deoartment Store will also provide shelf space forthe product. Tanaool Vanich is confident
of the products future in the Thai
market, even they are launched in comoetition with other desic-
the time in which Denmark holds the Presidency of the EU
cant products from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and a local product made in Thailand. Most of
been decided by alphabetical ro-
based on chemicals. "Consumers have to use them with extreme cautions and strictly follow the guide of chemical waste disposal. Unlike DryBag, it is quite difficult for people
to safely use these chemical products at home," Mr. Nipat explains. "Dry-Bag is 100 % harmless
and environmentally friendly since it is made from Moler Clay in Denmark. lt can be disposed of as ordinary household waste after use." Dry-Bag is capable of absorbing up to 75 % of its own weight in moisture and will keep the rH on the comfortable level of 55-65%. No more or less. When Dry-Bag absorbs the undesired moisture, the odor particle attached to the moisture vapour is entrapped as well. As a result, it simultaneously prevents the formation of mildew rust and purifies the air as the bad smell reduces and disappears. With normal use, Dry-Bag
will remain active for 90 davs or more.
Vagn Pedersen moving to Sweden Vagn Pedersen, Maersk Logistics (Thailand) Ltd. - will as per October 1st, 2002 start in a new iob as Managing Director of Maersk Logistics Nordic Service AB. He will be based in Gothenburg and will be responsible for all activities of Maersk Logistics in the Nordic Region which covers Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. His sucessor as head of Maersk Logistics (Thailand) Ltd. will be Khun Kiattichai, formerly regional manager of Sealand Logistics covering Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Khun Kiattichai has since April 1, 2000 been in charge of four service segments of Maersk Logistics (Thailand) Ltd, namely: Air{reight, Customs Clearance, Warehousing & Distribution, and Seafreight Forwarding. Vagn Pedersen's position at Siam Shoreside Services Ltd. will as for the Trucking activity be taken over by Khun Nattavut while Thomas Gullacksen will be in charge of Terminal, Warehousing, and Equipment Maintenance & Repair activities. During his years in Thailand, Vagn Pedersen was among others member of the Board of Directors of DTCC where he was responsible for Thai-Danish Trade News.
22
Chambers in Thailand Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce through its PresidentTom Sorensen holds the Chairmanship of the European Chambers of Commerce in Thailand during
these products are, however,
bad order in home theatre, car, wardrobe, cabinet, storage, carpet, cuftain, yacht, and weekend house.The humidity is also hard
DTCC head of the EU
The chairmanship has so far tation. The outgoing Chairman is Claude Crespin, President of the Belgium-Luxembourg Thai Chamber.
The European Chambers was originally formed many years ago to supervise the management of the European Business Information Centre (EBIC).
Since the closure of the EBIC project there has been a need to formalize the role of the European chambers in Thailand and some enthusiasm among representatives of the European
Chambers in Thailand to create a formal organization to represent EU businesses in Thailand.
The role of The European Chambers are to provide a fo-
rum for exchange of views among members of European Union Chambers of Commerce based in Thailand, cooperate in
organizing Joint European Chamber events such as lunches, dinners, breakfasts, trade missions and networking events not conflicting with other European events, to promote the numerous EU-f unded schemes and projects among members, to work closely with representatives of the Thai government to resolve issues affect-
ing EU companies in Thailand and to cooperate with the Thai government in promoting trade and investment in Thailand. Membershio of the European Chambers shall comprise
the European Chambers of Commerce based in Thailand and, by invitation, business rep-
resentatives of those EU countries without a chamber of commerce.
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SCAN DINAVIAN
TURNING
23
Danish officer aThai hero 13th of October he had reached an area few kilometers south of
lOO years ago, a Danish
soldier in HM King Chulalongkorn's service was killed while securing the North of
Phayao. As his troops needed rest he continued himself with his lieutenant and 23 men on the
next morning. When about to cross a small stream they noticed some of the Shan in the
Siam. n October 14, 1902 a
jungle on the other side and
young Danish soldier in the service of HM King Chulalongkorn was killed in the
opened fire which was returned.
Captain Markvard Jensen and his lieutenant were standing behind a tree directing the fire when he was hit by three
line of duty while fighting Shan forces in the North of Siam acting in covert cooperation with the British forces in Burma hoping to take control over all of the Northern provinces of the King-
shots in the chest. When seeing
their officer falling the men retreated but only to return the next
day in full force. They retrieved
oom. Celebrating the 100 year anniversary of his deed, a special ceremony will be held at a monu-
the body of their commander and brought it to a temple in
ment erected in Phayao where he fell in Dursuit of the insur-
kidney to eat in keeping with their animistic beliefs. The body was put in a coffin and later collected by another Danish Caotain Halfdan Trolle who took it to Lampang where he was buried with full honours at the Presbyterian Churchyard.
Phayao. The Shan had cut him open and removed his heart and
gents.
Captain Hans Markvard Jensen had arrived Siam two years before to serve in the Provincial Gendarmerie established by the likewise Danish General Schau to unite the Kingdom under His Majesty King ChulalongKOrn.
Previously, the five small states of Chiangmai, Lampun, Lampang, Phrae and Nan were under the command of local regents with their own regime in a more loose alliance with the King of Siam. The people paid taxes to the local regent in the form of goods or labour, but now the provinces
The Monument of Captain Hans Markvard Jensen originally erected in Phayao today stands at the Protestant Churchyard in Chiangmai. At the site where he fell a wreath is every year laid down in commemoration of the Danish soldier who was killed while defending the Kingdom of Siam, Photo: Allen Jensen.
and killed most of the oendarmes.
the Royal Thai Government in Bangkok. Many Shan people living in the prov-
The local commander was later degraded in front of his remaining men, his shoulder distinctions torn off. his sable broken and his uniform burnt in from of the camo. Following their victory, they next overran the prison where they freed the prisoners and shared the loot of 40.000 ruoi. Some of this money was used to issue a reward of 300 rupi for the decapitated head of anyThai person. After the victory at Phrae the Shan turned their attention to Lampang where the young Captain Markvard Jensen had been posted only a few days before on the 29th of July f rom Chiangmai together with a force of one
inces had immigrated from Burma and were consequently considered British subjects. Still, they were required to pay taxes to the King as they were considered residents of Thailand.
The powder keg blew up when a village headman was ambushed by a group of Shan
hiding in the hills east of Lampang and robbed of 1000 Baht in taxes he had just collected. The Thai commissioner pursued the bandits with a mixed force of soldiers and gendarmes,
but when camping on the night of July 23, 1902, the Shan attacked and the soldiers and oen-
Shortly after the Second World War the Churchyard was removed. On the initiative of then British consul in Chiangmai,
darmes fled in panic leaving all their elephants, mules, weapons and ammunition in the hands of the Shan. The Shan saw this as their chance and on July 25 they conducted a surorise attack on the camp of the gendarmerie in Prae
were required to pay four Baht per inhabitant to
I
lieutenant and 54 private soldiers. He now manned the city's barricades day and night.
At dawn on August 4 the Shan attacked. Many of the private gendarmes fled but Markvard Jensen managed to hold the barricades and push back the Shan force.The heads of the killed Shan rebels were put on sticks outside the house of the Northern Prince. In his report, Markvard Jensen writes that he counted 19 killed Shans and later another six were found. ln the local orison another 26 Shan
were kept under arrest. Fearing
their escape they were all decapitated thereby doubling the loss of the Shan.
E. W. Hutchinson, the monument erected on the grave and the remains of Hans Markvard Jensen was moved to the Protestant Churchyard in Chiangmai, where it maintains today.
HM King Chulalongkorn honoured Caotain Hans Markvard Jensen with an annual pension of 3000 Baht which was received by his mother every year until her death in 1936.
Eleven kilometers south of Phayao a sign in Thai language directs visitors to the site, where
Hans Markvard Jensen was killed. Here, a wreath is laid down every year on the 14th of October by the local Police and Military commanders. This year,
By now, major reinforcements had arrived North Siam
a special ceremony is under
from Bangkok and other places and the Shan were repulses and fled across the border. In early October, Markvard Jensen heard that a rebel force was closing in on Lampang from the North. He immediately made
of the 100 Year Anniversarv of
preparations in commemoration the incident.
A total of 101 Danes has over the years served in the Royal Thai Army. Of these, 21
served in the Provincial Gendarmerie. Four of the Danes
off for Phayao with a force of 270
were killed in the line of dutv in
men to engage them. On the
Siam.
24
I
I
I
Tove Wihlborg Andersen (left) and her son Simon listening
to the Ambassador's speech.
Three Embassy
staff left Thailand About a hundred close friends and embassy colleagues gathered at the Royal Danish Embassy on Wednesday evening, 16th of July, to bid Farewell to Mrs. Tove Wihlborg Andersen, Mr. Claus Mogensen and Mr. Jesoer Vibe-Hansen.
In a personal speech the Ambassador Mr. Ulrik HelwegLarsen addressed each one of them, wishing them all the best of luck wherever they were going. ForTove Wihlborg Andersen it was back to Denmark after a total of fourteen and a half year at the embassy, he noted. At first she had been employed as local staff.Then she had been employed by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in Copenhagen. Then she had been assigned head the
consular section of the Royal Danish Embassy in Bangkok -
a position she had held until leaving.
She has been replaced by Mr. Ulrik Holt Sorensen who some years back serued at the Royal Danish Embassy in Singapore. For Mr. Claus Mogensen it was also his second term at the embassy, which was coming to an end. He will not be replaced but his duties have been taken over by Mr. Karsten Gasseholm.
Agricultural Counsellor Jesper Vibe-Hansen had at the
time of departure not yet reached an agreement with another employer, but hoped to be working with exports to the regron.
Vi har Danmarks bedste priser og biludvalg til dig som udlandsdansker. Ring, fax eller e-mail og fA et godt tilbud pA din feriebil i Danmark. Avis ReservationsCenter Telefon: +45 33 26 80 80 Telefax: +45 33 26 80 81 E-mail: reservation@avis.dk
AVIS 25
DTCC Members at ProPak Asia 2002 Some of the members from
Next to the national Danish pavilion tvvo more Danish exhibitors, APV and Carnitech, had
DTCC recently exhibited at the ProPak Asia2002 fair at BITEC convention center. As usual the Royal Danish Embassy had made a joint Danish pavilion.
established their own
Presmann (Thailand) Ltd. had
stands.
their stand in the Pavilion. Other
DTCC members such as APV and Carnitech had - due to the magnitude of their activities their own stands next to the Pavilion.
Lunch with EAG's Mark Wilson More than 60 Danish-Thai
Chamber
situation had been realized.
The long awaited lunch
Commerce members and their guests joined on June 5, 2002 a
did not disappoint the many
lunch with EACis Mark Wilson, the Chief Executive Officer of East Asiatic Com-
EAC hands had interesting ' inside'questions for Mr. Wilson.The lunch also revealed
pany.
Michael Ascot with Mark Wilson at the DTCC luncheon.
of
In his
participants. Several old
informative
that along his career path,
speech, assisted by a power point show, Mr. Wilson exolained the current situation of EAC and how this positive
Mr. Wilson had in fact once been'headhunted' by one of
the Chamber member,
Mr.
Michael Ascot.
Christmas coming up Planning ahead, Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce has scheduled this year's Christmas Lunch forWednesday the 4th of December. For some it mav be
too early, but not for the Danes, who has a tradition for hosting a Santa Claus World Congress at
the Bakken, Europe's oldest amusement park. So book the
date in your calender now to make sure you keep the day and the next which is HM The King's Birthday - free from other appointments.
f L
BECOME A MEMBER OF THE DANISH.THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
--l
I
Contact Name:
Mail or fax the coupon to:
Company name:
Danish-Thai Chamber of Commercs l402l214thFl., Glas Haus
Address:
Telephone:
I
Fax:
Fill in this coupon to receivefurther information and afulL applicationformfor membership
n-26
Sukhumvit 25 Road, Norlh Klongtoey, Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Tel.: (66) 0 26617'762 Fax: (66) 0 2661 1164-5 E-mail contact@dancham.or.th
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