Danish-Thai Trade News September 2011

SEPTEMBER 2011

(c) Søren Nielsen

Good Design is Good Business

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DANISH-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 34 C.P. Tower 3, 9th Floor Tower, Phayathai Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400 Tel.: +66 2 354 5220 Fax: +66 2354 5221 E-mail: contact@dancham.or.th Executive Director: Savija Pannark Korslund PRESIDENT Mr. Peter Emil Romhild Sr. Executive Vice President Berli Jucker Public Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 367 1111 Fax : +66 2 367 1000 E-mail : president@dancham.or.th VICE PRESIDENT / TREASURER / ALUMNI / HR Mr. Søren Presmann Managing Director Presmann (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 962 1151 Mob : +66 89 668 7840 Fax : +66 2 962 1152 E-mail : treasurer@dancham.or.th CHAIRWOMAN EVENTS Mrs. Mai Ellegaard General Manager Euro-Center (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 696 3626-27 E-mail : chair event@dancham.or.th EVENTS Mr. Thomas Nyborg Managing Director Pandora Production Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 728 7200 E-mail : event@dancham.or.th LEGAL ADVISOR Mr. Santhapat Periera Partner Tilleke & Gibbins International Ltd. Tel : +66 2 263 7700 Fax : +66 2 263 7710 E-mail : legal@dancham.or.th CHAIRMAN MEMBERSHIP/ MEDIA SUPPORT Mr. Jacob Bojsen Tel : +66 2 630 6994-8 E-mail : contact@dancham.or.th FOREIGN AFFAIRS / MEMBERSHIP Mr. Stig Vagt-Andersen General Manager Ben Adisti Co. Ltd. Tel : +66 2 168 7206 E-mail : foreign@dancham.or.th CHAIRMAN MEDIA / EVENTS Mr. Kenn Thaysen Managing Director Designers Field Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2652 5200 E-mail : chair media@dancham.or.th EVENTS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS Mr. Klaus Stove Managing Director Tropical Focus (Thailand) Ltd. Tel : +66 2646 2548 Email : stove@tropicalfocus.net EMBASSY REPRESENTATIVE Mr. Bo Bjerregaard Rasmussen Commercial Counsellor Royal Danish Embassy Tel : +66 89 204 9098 E-mail: borasm@um.dk

Peter E. Romhild President Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

Dear Readers Welcome back to all of you who have been on holiday the past months. We are now back in full swing at the Chamber, and a new issue of Trade News is out. We continue with our themes, and this time we cover something that Denmark is very well known for - Danish Design.

Whether we go back to Georg Jensen, via teak furniture from the seventies, Arne Jacobsen chairs, Poul Henningsen lamps, Saga furs or even Piet Hein’s egg shaped forms to Pandora’s jewelry charms, Denmark is known for exquisite and tasteful design, that has appealed to people all over the world. But whereas many products were also produced in Denmark, today most of the manufacturing takes place by skilled workers mainly in Asia. And Thailand is a great example of very high quality production at affordable prices.

You will be able to learn more about both the design, innovation, even legal aspects, and outsourcing to Thailand of Danish products, from the many interesting articles in this Trade News. You will also learn that design is more than product development, but also used in strategic thinking and in a more holistic and human centered approach.

Denmark is known for educating designers, and many become internationally known eg. in fashion. Denmark has two dedicated design universities, Kolding School of Design (DK), and The Danish Design School Copenhagen (DKDS) as well as a number of other very good schools with an open approach to design concepts. And the Danish Government continues to support and promote the design society with the “2020 Design Vision”. Read more about this vision in this issue.

Our new Executive Director took office already at the beginning of July, and Savija and her team of Grace and the new intern Jeanet have already arranged many interesting events for the rest of the year.

I wish all our readers good hunting with the Trade News.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ms. Savija Pannark Korslund Executive Director Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce Tel : +66 2 354 5220 Fax : +66 2 354 5221 Email : director@dancham.or.th

Peter E. Romhild President

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The 2020 Vision for T ”Design, stripped to its essence, can be defined as the human capacity to shape and make our environment in ways without precedent in nature, to serve our needs and give meaning to our lives.”

John Heskett

By Steen Poulin Nielsen

6

he word ´design´ is a somewhat fluffy word.

Many people will understand it as visual appearance, others the combination of form and function. But design is much more than that. John Heskett, Chair Professor of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, defines design as: ”Design, stripped to its essence, can be defined as the human capacity to shape and make our environment in ways without precedent in nature, to serve our needs and give meaning to our lives” Also the Danish government recognizes the value of design. The government expects design to become an even more powerful driver of innovation in the future. In the 2010, the government asked a group of six people to articulate a vision for the future – “Design 2020”. The purpose was to suggest how design can be strengthened and used in order to contribute to growth, productivity, and innovation – areas in which Denmark faces substantial challenges.

The report, The Vision of the Design2020 Committee, was released in June 2011. In short,

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

the Committee envisions that, in 2020, Denmark is known worldwide as the design society.

A society that, at all levels and in a responsible way, has integrated the use of design to improve the quality of people’s lives, create economic value for businesses, and make the public sector better and more efficient.

The chapters in the report are about design as a driver of innovation, design competencies, design research & knowledge sharing and branding of design from Denmark.

Branding Danish Design

According to the report the benefit of successful branding and a known brand is an established fact – with the right attributes, a brand can create the perceived value needed to outperform competition. In order to become known as the design society, it is necessary to make use of a variety of branding tools to portray what design from Denmark can offer to the world. But the branding of design from Denmark calls for a clever and balanced approach, an understanding of what is possible and what Denmark’s is capable of doing.

The committee acknowledge

that Denmark can not compete with Asia when it comes to the investment in design promotion.

If Denmark is to become known as the design society in 2020, it is necessary to develop further and brand the unique Danish design DNA in order to differentiate the country from other countries with strong design heritages, such as Finland, the Netherlands, the UK, Singapore, and Korea. A clear and positive image is crucial in the effort to attract international design talent and investments from design companies.

The term “Danish design” primarily refers to Danish product design from the ‘50s and ‘60s.

“Danish design” is widely known and internationally recognized, but the term does not entirely reflect recent developments in the field of design in Denmark. It is necessary to develop further the holistic, human-centred Danish design approach and also to apply it to new and emerging areas such as strategic design and design thinking. Since these new disciplines focus on the very same aspects, it should be possible to revitalize and update the image of design from Denmark and Denmark as a leading design society. Thus, the image of design from Denmark needs to be brought up to date, while, of course, sustaining and promoting the already existing strengths of form-based design, which are very effective branding tools.

The committee says that one must acknowledge that Denmark is a small country and that our image – especially in distant parts of the world – is unclear and, to some extent, outdated.

In order to increase the awareness of design from Denmark in, e.g., Asia and South America, it could be instrumental to join forces with other Scandinavian countries with which we share a great deal of our design DNA. “Scandinavian Design” is already an established brand, and Denmark should not hesitate to use this brand as a vehicle for promoting design. Branding will only truly succeed if we can of-

Danish Design fer something that other countries finds relevant.

How design from Denmark should be perceived in 2020 The committee suggest that the world should understand Danish design as: • Denmark is a global showcase for how design can be used to improve the quality of people’s lives, to create economic value for business, and to make the public sector better and more efficient. Design professionals, university students and faculty, executives, and policymakers from all over the world will come to Denmark to experience the benefits of design throughout society.

• Denmark is a global design hub, attracting international design talent and companies in need of new solutions.

• “Design from Denmark” is an internationally-recognized brand that combines the well-known story of Danish product design, characterized by simplicity, form, function, and aesthetics, with a new story of how Danish companies in collaboration with the public sector and education and research institutions have created a unique capability to

implement human-centred design as a driver of innovation.

Tell the story of “Design from Denmark” and Denmark as the design society

The Committee’s vision of “Denmark as the design society” should be at the centre of future government marketing activities.

A new communication platform should be developed and made available for all companies and institutions that brand design from Denmark. The platform should focus on design as an important element in a certain Scandinavian lifestyle or experience in which design is a central element, such as architecture, fashion, food, and social behavior, as well as the very fabric of the welfare state model. Furthermore, a special focus should be put on attracting international decision-makers (politicians, executives, investors) and design talent (students, researchers, design professionals).

Coordinate existing and future branding activities • The government should – in close collaboration with companies and institutions that

brand design from Denmark on an everyday basis – continue to strengthen its coordination of activities that brand design from Denmark globally. The coordination will increase impact by utilizing the synergies between different branding activities and by aligning the various images of design from Denmark being portrayed abroad.

Use multiple and diverse communication channels • It is important for Danish design to communicate to all relevant audiences and interest groups internationally. Denmark should, thus, seek to host designrelated events, arrange visitation programs to Denmark for international design VIPs, participate in high-profile design events abroad, and make extensive use of the Internet, social media, and new mobile communication devices. The communication activities should be tailored for the relevant target groups, taking into account their geographic location, cultural background, and age.

Host international design events • In 2010, Denmark’s participation in EXPO, Shanghai, was praised for its presentation of

Danish values, including an iconic architectural pavilion. The Municipality of Copenhagen is considering whether to apply to host the “small” EXPO in 2022.

If Copenhagen is selected, designed solutions should be made a central part of the EXPO theme.

• The World Design Capital seeks to highlight the accomplishments of cities that are truly leveraging design as a tool to improve the social, cultural, and economic life of cities through a year-long program of designrelated events. Designating Copenhagen as World Design Capital in 2020 would further strengthen Denmark’s international position in design.

• Finally, the possibility of creating a Danish event focusing on design-driven solutions to societal challenges should be investigated. The event could be based on a competition, inviting leading design schools and design companies from all over the world to develop solutions to particular challenges. Potential synergies with INDEX: which also addresses societal challenges must, of course. be taken into consideration.

September 2011

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Thai-Danish Creative Design Workshop The Thai-Danish Creative Design workshop was held in May this year as a joint venture between the Royal Thai Embassy in Copenhagen, the Thailand Creative Design Center and the Royal Danish Embassy in Bangkok.

By Steen Poulin Nielsen

The KNAX coat and hat rack, launched in 1993 and now marketed worldwide

O

ne of the invited speakers was the Industrial designer Thomas Harrit from the Danish design company, HarritSørensen. There where workshops on the evolution and trend of Danish designing products, particular industrial and furniture design, as well as the Danish approach to marketing designed products to the world arena.

The participants were lecturers, students and business operators.

Thomas Harrit talked about the typical Danish approach to industrial design. ”In Denmark we go deeply into the situation where the endproduct will be used. It is function before form,” Thomas Harrit says.

According to Harrit, this approach is different from what is seen in most other countries, where the designer and his ideas are in the center, and he firmly believes that Thailand can benefit from working with Danish designers. ”I had a great time in Thailand, made quite a few contacts with potential costumers and now I am planning to go back and meet again with some of them,” he says.

One of the challenges for Danish designers when it comes to doing business in Thailand is a huge difference in salaries.

Even if he lowered his salary significantly, the potential

The Greenlight traffic signal was awarded the Danish Design Prize in 2000 8

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

costumers seems to stumble a bit, he explains. ”One way to cope with this obstacle could be to sell our services at low prices and then get royalties from the sale,” Thomas Harrit says.

Design with a business approach

Bo B. Rasmussen, Counsellor at the Danish Embassy in Thailand, held the opening speech at the workshop in which he presented some of the current trends in Danish design which he claimed is renowned for simplicity, functionality and timeless elegance. Bo B. Rasmussen also told the audience, around 30 Thais, that Danish designers were very good when it comes to working together with other people in an organization. That Danish designers are used to integrate production process and cost when designing. A business approach to design.

Another comparative strength is that Danish designers work with a high degrees of user involvement. When a need is identified, the designer goes deep into the details in the situation where the product will perform, even if it a chair in hotel lobby or a piece of medical equipment for an ICU. After the workshops the Danish designers team paid a visit to Thai Taiyo and Index Furniture companies. They also met with the executives of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion to discuss business opportunities and ways to materialize cooperation between Thailand and Denmark in designing industries in the near future.

Driven by Passion Jannie Mari is the CEO of Lommé, a manufacturer of high-quality bags. The company is founded in Denmark but the design and production is in Thailand, where Jannie Mari is developing products and oversees the production.

By Steen Poulin Nielsen

T

he CEO tells that Lommé products should be timeless design with a high degree of handcraft, a minimalist and functional mix. Using old techniques with many handmade details as a result.

“I had a small project with a Danish fashion photographer.

We saw a market for bags for Apple products. But our project stalled because we were from far away from production,” Jannie Mari says.

Herself as a member of the “creative class,” one of Apple’s target groups, Jannie Mari found that there was no products to match the minimalistic design of Apple.

“Mostly You can only buy neoprene, plastic and bright colors. It does not match the Apple design. We want to make something more minimalist and simple, a typical Scandinavian approach,” Jannie Mari says.

Jannie Mari´s father is traveling to Thailand on a regular basis and runs a company here.

Three years ago, when Jannie Mari returned to Denmark from a longer stay in France, her father invited her to Thailand.

She gave notice to her tenant and one week later she left Copenhagen for Thailand.

“I started to look at raw materials, production facilities and for sourcing of goods.

The textiles was the first thing I investigated,” she says and continues: “I met a Danish guy, René Chu, who lives here and who once had a bag project too.

We mixed our ideas and one month later we were in business. René is now the Production Manager. We set up a workshop where we coated canvas and started the first collection made of our handmade and waterproof material, which was very well received by the market. I gave some of our product to Danish stylists and very soon the shops asked for the products and we got a nice coverage by the press.”

When the sales continued to grow Jannie Mari realized that the production was too expensive so she decided to outsource. Now a prototype is made in the workshop and the production takes place elsewhere. Lommé still runs a

Cultural difference has to be learned, but now I have learned the lesson and then it works just fine.

10

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

September 2011

11

smaller in-house production such as handmade details and all handles.

As the sales continued to grow Lommé went from the handmade materials to more common fabrics and leather.

“We now have agents in Denmark taking care of Scandinavia. Our outlets are high-end clothing stores carrying accessories. Through our strong network at the Danish fashion scene we have had a nice start of our adventure,” she says.

Now Lommé is offering two different lines, a basic and the main. The basic line, mostly made of canvas, are sold at lower prices and is offered to both the high-end fashion outlets and to more mainstream shops in the smaller cities. This fall, the Apple accessory line will be launched.

We have our own workshop here in the heart of Bangkok, where we have all the raw materials and the tools and machinery. We work with two factories, one for canvas and one for leather products. We are very focused on the raw material.

We find and buy our leather as quality of leather is essential for us. We deliver our raw materials to the factory,” Jannie Mari says.

Why Thailand?

It is not just because of her father that Jannie Mari decided to establish her workshop and

12

production in Thailand.

“It is easier to start production on a smaller scale here compared to China. Minimum orders are lower and I believe that we have a closer relationship to our manufacturer than we would with a Chinese manufacturer. That means a lot to us as a new and still small brand,” she says.

Cultural differences between a European business culture and a Thai is present but not considered a problem.

“Cultural difference has to be learned, but now I have learned the lesson and then it works just fine,” she says.

Jannie Mari tells that the factories are good at keeping deadlines as they already have experience with western clients.

When the prototype is done at the workshop and ready for production, the CEO takes the item to the factory and discuss the production and the price.

When agreed they do we make a detailed contract. The factory then creates a prototype which Jannie Mari approves. Together with the prototype made in the workshop, the two items will be packed together with the signed contract and stored. If a dispute occurs later the prototypes will be compared with the reason for the dispute.

The DESIGN process

One of hallmarks of Lommé is the two-colored zipper, imported

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

from Switzerland. The minimalistic design can be spiced up a little with colourful accents as well.

I have a long term passion for handbags. There is a bag universe, it’s not even lie. There are websites where you can debate bags and them I used a lot. I am inspired by many things. I can see a cheap, Thai product that has a cut I can look for me in our black leather. But other everyday items can also put ideas in motion. I write many notes when I get ideas as I have focus on functionality. Minimalism and functionality is most important when creating a Lommé product,” Jannie Mari says.

Branded as Scandinavian

Lommé is marketed as Scandinavian design. The CEO tells that this most certainly a selling point, on the U.S. market, but also in all of Asia it is an advantage. The first Asian distributors was in Singapore and Shanghai, they accepted the products because of the Scandinavian heritage considering we were a completely new brand at the time.

“When I have the idea for a product, I go back to the workshop and draw in my description that I’ve put into my iPhone. I sit down with Rene and begin to fold, cut and sew. Both the description, drawings and the materials are important when

making a new product. We also approach the production process when we design a new product,” she says.

“We have our passion that drives the business. We want to grow Lommé quiet and solid, so it will last for many years. We often say no to requests from retailers, it is not all outlets we want to carry our products,” Jannie Mari says.

In five years the company has launched products in the Chinese market and the Apple retailer in Thailand is already well established. The Lommé fashion line is mainly targeted for Europe and the company is working on agreements with agents at present.

“I hope that we have spread ourselves well on the fashion side in Europe and the USA and well on the Apple side here in Asia,” she says.

Extra

Our starting point is a timeless craft, where the minimalist and functional mix. We try to develop with old techniques in mind, too, and therefore we have handmade details on many designs.

Our Victor / Victory - iPad / Laptop - case is a unisex design that is made from an old-fashioned look and comes from very old satchel. It’s a clean design to suit all lifestyles.

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8/29/11 1:57 PM

Design Matters for A Novo Nordisk is a global health care company with 88 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care.

By Steen Poulin Nielsen

ccording to Novo Nordisk, the company is a health care company and a world leader in diabetes care and with the broadest diabetes product portfolio in the industry, including advanced products within the area of insulin delivery systems.

In addition, Novo Nordisk claims to have a leading position within areas such as haemostasis management, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy.

Novo Nordisk was founded in 1989 through a merger between two Danish companies Novo Industri A/S and Nordisk Gentofte A/S. With a headquarters in Denmark, Novo Nordisk has employed approximately 31,400 employees in 74 countries, markets its products in

180 countries and has production facilities in seven countries.

Sales totalled to DKK 60.8 billion in 2010.

Novo Nordisk’s B shares are listed on the stock exchange in Copenhagen and measured on value. Novo Nordisk is the biggest company in Denmark, approximately as big as A.PMøller-Mærsk, Danske Bank and Carlsberg altogether.

A new corporate headquarters are in planning, Henning Larsen Architects has designed the new corporate centre for Novo Nordisk in collaboration with SLA landscape architects and the engineering company Alectia. The corporate centre has a total of about 50.000 m2 and iks situated in Bagsværd, Denmark, and will house the company’s top management and 1,100 administrative employees.

R&D Bagsvaerd

insulin

In 1925 Harald Pedersen designed a special syringe - the Novo syringe - with which the patients could inject themselves with insulin. In 1985 Novo Industri introduced the first NovoPen® 14

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

Novo Nordisk Design is an integrated part of the Novo Nordisk business model

Novo Nordisk Devices Vice President Jens-Peder Pedersen tells that the company has a long tradition of thinking design into their products. In the 1980’s Novo Nordisk shook the competition with the launch of the NovoPen®, a milestone for the company and a pillar of the industry.

“NovoPen is an injection system similar in appearance to a fountain pen, with replaceable insulin cartridges. It was an instant sales success as the improvement from the traditional syringes was significant and highly appreciated by the users,” Jens-Peder Pedersen says.

All staff involved in R&D at Novo Nordisk has to inject themselves in order to understand what such a process meant to the users. Over the years the needles are becoming shorter and thinner, and today it is very much less painful to inject a needle into your flesh, says the VP. Another milestone is the new improved NovoFine(R) Autocover(R) needle targeting the health professionals.

“We know there are around 1000 cases of serious infections to health professionals due to using needles, and we want to prevent such incidents,” JensPeder Pedersen says.

NovoTwist

Intake of insulin involves injections and to offer the best

treatments in a very competitive market, Novo Nordisk has continuously developed a new “easy to handle” treatment regime with optimised injection devices and packaging concepts.

According to the designer of NovoTwistTM, Mr. Scott Allen, Industrial Designer from MøllerJensen Design, needles has not radically changes in the past 20 years. So, what to you do when you want to improve a needle?

“We exchanged ideas and information with the people closest to the product. In short, NovoTwist was developed in response to physicians, nurses and patients feedback and cooperation,” Scott Allen says.

NovoTwist is a result of the Novo Nordisk commitment to providing better designed products to meet real patient concerns. Innovative technical solutions developed by the Novo Nordisk engineering team are combined with user interface and product visual identity input from Møller-Jensen Design to create a product that improves patient’s treatment experience.

“In short, NovoTwist offers an optimised handling when mounting and removing the needle from an injection device.

This is done five times a day in average, and often very discretely.

NovoTwist also offers some radical new functional, ergonomically visual elements in the housing near the needle tube.

But above all, it is considered

as a new ‘product standard’ that will be implemented on all future products, and connects existing products with the future,” the Industrial Designer says.

2010 GOOD DESIGN™ Award

The GOOD DESIGN™ Awards are chosen annually by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in cooperation with The European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies. They were founded in 1950 and as such are the world’s oldest and among the most coveted awards for design and innovation.

The award is ´judged based on design innovation beyond what is considered ordinary, and on whether a product can enrich society and people’s lives´ and in 2010 NovoNordisk succeed with NovoTwist.

According to Novo Nordisk, the NovoTwist was designed exactly for this purpose.

Conventional screw thread needles can be difficult to attach for those with limited manual dexterity, and now patients around the world can benefit from its simplicity and user-friendliness. NovoTwist needle has a novel bayonet fitting that allows simple ‘just twist’ attachment and detachment to compatible pens. When used with FlexPen®, three out of four patients prefer NovoTwist to conventional needles, and patients find NovoTwist easier to use, less time consuming and more

user-friendly than conventional needles the VP says. NovoTwist has been launched in US, UK, Italy and Thailand.

“Thailand showed great interest in the device from an early stage and that it varies a lot how fast new products and devices are sought after from country to country,” he says.

Workshops

At all markets, the company is working with patients and health professionals on improving devices and other products.

Often in workshops were 10 to 12 people invited to work on different issues and to show Novo Nordisk how the products are performing. The input from such workshops are collected and kept, even if the ideas are impossible to put into reality at present time.

“It is of vital importance to Novo Nordisk that we learn about how our products functions among patients and health professionals,” the VP says.

According to the VP, Novo Nordisk has a big and dynamic R&D department. Designers and Engineers are working on the ideas born in the workshops or in-house, but external designers are also used by Novo Nordisk.

“We find it important to get new ideas from other industries; what is new on the material side and other trends that can be picked up from designers working with other industries than ours. That is why we work with both, our own and external designers,” the VP says.

2010 is the 25th anniversary for NovoPen® which was the first insulin pen ever produced

September 2011

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Asian Design with a Sca

By Steen Poulin Nielsen

H

ans Christensen, 48, is based in Chiang Mai and runs a company called Rice For Asian Design Co., Ltd. The business now has got three divisions.

“My main company is called Rice For Asian Design Co., Ltd., that was the company I started in 1997, and through this company we conduct our export and manufacturing. In 2003 we started The House which is our restaurant arm and a year later we started Ginger which is our retail division. So totally we have 3 companies that employs a total of 150 people,” Hans Christensen says.

Hans Christensen has shops in Chiang Mai, Phuket and in Bangkok, a mix of own shops and ‘shop-in-shops’ in malls as Siam Paragon, Emporium, Discovery Center, The Loft and Central Chidlom. ”I have been educated as a tailor and a men’s wear designer in London. I have been living and working in Asia for 20 years now ever since I was sent out by a 16

Danish company as a consultant for a NGO in the Northeast of Thailand. The project I was given was to relive the old tradition of weaving silk and try to give it a more commercial approach,” Hans Christensen says.

Hans Christensen came from London to Thailand, remembers the feeling very well. ”One day I was in London having a good life and the next day I was sitting in a wooden shack in Ubon; my shower was a bucket, my toilet was a squat one, mosquitoes kept attacking me and the rats were eating my soap. I asked myself ‘what the hell am I doing here?’

However, after a few weeks I adjusted. I really learned about Thailand from an purely authentic Thai way. I got Thailand under my skin in a best way, I think,” the founder says.

The early days

In 1997 Hans Christensen launched the company with a few employees and himself.

“I started the business with two

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

employees and myself working hard to set up the company. We did not have a lot of money so it was a question of survival in the early stage. As a very last minute decision, I joined a trade show in Bangkok. I only got my hand at a booth due to a cancellation and in less than two months I finalized my first collection.

I got my first clients for my chop sticks, which was the right product at that time as Asian food was getting increasingly popular in Europe. It was a big seller and people even began to call me the ‘King of Chop Sticks’,” Hans says.

The Thai economy saw a melt down around that time. When Hans Christensen calculated his selling prices for the trade show, he calculated in US Dollars. At that time 1 USD was around 25 Baht, but just after the show the dollar shot up to around 50 Baht.

According to Hans, that was very much welcomed as it doubled-up in pricing for the company giving it small company an unforeseen opportunity to speed up the growth rate.

“At that time we were a pure export business. Slowly we moved from chop sticks to homeware. In 1999 I got involved in some local retail business. I was invited to join a local Thai person in a 250 m2 shop located in Gaysorn Plaza, Bangkok. We called it Cocoon and it was a very big success.

There, out of the wide range of products we sold were cushions, home wear, ceramics and furniture.

It was a good thing because India and China had then become very strong competitors, so we felt a bit of a pinch on the export side,” Hans Christensen says.

Thai designers and Danish corporate culture

Around six years later, Cocoon had closed down. Hans explains that it was because the owners ran out of energy to renew the concept but he said that he did not stop developing his commitment to local retailing.

The emerging power of Asia had its impact in the company’s retail stores, which initially was catering for expats and tourists but

andinavian Touch

had recently turned into the direction of serving local consumers.

The company is now focusing more on the taste and need of Asians but is keeping a Scandinavian approach to the design and the designing process.

One of the bestsellers are the range of kitchen product made of melamine called “The House of Ginger”.

“We employ several Asian designers but unfortunately there is no such thing as a real design education here in Thailand. Thai designers have good technical skills, but they are not trained in creativity.

The way I see it, it is outcome of the school system where there is a monologue, teachers talk to students, and not a dialogue where healthy debates are encouraged.

We invest a lot of time and money in our staff because we want them to speak out and explore their ideas,” Hans says.

The founder is keen to bring the best from both cultures into his company. He pays a lot of respect to the Thai culture but he requested

of his staff to speak out and debate on ideas. He also delegates responsibility evenly. When Rice For Asian Design reached it’s first 50 people, Hans Christensen realised that he needed to get his company organised.

One of his staff is a hardworking young man from a very poor family in the North-east of Thailand. A few years ago the founder had to go to the hospital for a couple of months which is when he appointed the young man giving him full responsibility to run the company.

He did excellently with the responsibility he was given. Later, he married a very smart woman and today, they are business partners. The wife is now the General Manager of Rice For Asian Design and Hans Christensen is left to develop, design and bring a Danish feel to the corporate culture of his companies.

“We introduced staff meetings on a regular basis because the staff has to learn not to take things personally. Business is not personal and it is important that mistakes

need to be addressed. It is about bringing issues to the table to be discussed.

Today we discuss issues and opinions openly in the company.

My HR manager relates this matter to every new staff she hires. We cannot accept it if things are not addressed. It is a major part of our business culture,” the founder says.

Hans Christensen has a clear vision for the future of his company: ”I want to take advantage of the growth in Asia, so our local retail is increasingly important to us. Domestic and regional business opportunities are in focus and we downscale our focus on export,” Hans Christensen says.

September 2011

17

Danish Design in Patpong

D

esigners Field is located in Patpong, one of the most vibrant and colorful areas in Bangkok, an upcoming district for creative companies.

Designers Field was founded

by Julie Ploger and Kenn Thaysen and in February 2011, they opened their showroom.

“We wanted to find a central location close to the BTS station with an affordable rent.

When we entered the room, we saw a New York style office, with 4 meter high ceiling, large windows with black frames, with a nice view over the sky train,” Kenn says.

With this platform Designers Field showroom was a reality.

Initial idea

The initial idea about Designers Field was to export interior design around the world, but very soon the founding couple saw great interest from the local marketers in Thailand.

“It’s amazing how Thais

18

“It is very exciting to run a business here. It seems that everything is possible. The high cost in Denmark puts hold on many good ideas, while we can afford to concentrate on innovation and product development here in Thailand,“ says Kenn Thaysen.

love Scandinavian designs.

However, quite often the pricing for them here is too high. We offer nice design and good quality at affordable prices. That is why we are now supplying both Index Living Mall as well as SB Furniture in Thailand,” Julie says.

Creative process

The design process is focused on consumer insights. The company collects information about consumers and market trends then based on that, Designers Field creates the Mood boards,

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

a tool to help define the direction for the company.

“It’s a creative process. The Mood board is a very important tool to create bestsellers,” Julie says.

Three main trends

Designers Field has identified three main trends in the market. Kenn says that one of the basic trends we see in the market place are products being ‘simple’ and ‘useful’ and functionality is becoming more important now.

“Before the financial crisis, people bought products only because they looked nice. Now consumers will buy a product if they know what it is used for. This shows that demand of a product now does not only depend on its nice design but also the functionality.

Another feature that consumers would look for in a product is how ‘Environmentally friendly’ it is. Consumers want greener products and are looking for a proof that items are easy on the environment. For instance, Designers Field provides recycled products, such as furniture made of wood from old houses.

The third trend spotted in the market over the past six months are ‘Recycled, recyclable, renewable’, products. Designers Field has had more inquiries from consumers seeking products that ‘look old’. Also because of the financial crisis, consumers don’t want to increase waste from new materials. Designers Field has a collection of chairs that combine old and new looks.

In October, Designers Field will participate in the BIG Bangkok and MEGA Hong Kong trade fairs. The BIG Fair in Bangkok is open for public on 22 and 23 October, in Bitec venue.

“This is a great opportunity to meet all the design companies from Thailand,” Kenn says.

scandinavian agents wanted

stock sale puji living by designers field, are selling out all stock products to affordable prices at big+bih in october.

BIG+BIH bangkok international gift fair and bangkok international houseware fair october 2011 Public days: 22-23 Oct (10-21). Venue: bitec, bangna Hall EH 101, booth no. B12-B14.

showroom by appointment, 109-111 silom rd./patpong 1, 3rd floor, bangrak, 10500 bangkok, phone +66 (0) 26 52 52 00, kenn@designersfield.com www.designersfield.com

lifestyle

Scand-Media Still Gaining “The first Danish graphic house in Thailand, Scand-Media, celebrates 17 years of serving the Scandinavian community this year. Despite growing competition in the news, publishing, design and print industry, Scand-Media continues to gain new ground as it builds on over one and half decades of experience and success.”

By Steen Poulin Nielsen Photos by Disraporn Yatprom

We have always developed in terms of meeting our clients’ requests.

At the same time, we have constantly followed technical innovations to be ready when clients started requesting new products.

T

he graphic house Scand-Media, now at the end of its teens, is still growing business.

The Managing Director, Gregers Moller tells why: “Our clients repeatedly tell us hat they appreciate our ability to produce international quality design at a local cost. Another strong point is our ability to save our client’s face by producing the materials they need in an very short time”.

Being able to produce international quality at a local cost goes not only for design - it is also true for writing, re-writing, editing, and proof reading in English, Thai and any of the Scandinavian languages.

Established in 1994

Scand-Media was established in 1994 as a Scandinavian news agency and publishing house.

In the first year it started their own magazine called Scand Asia, then later it produced the magazines for all the Nordic Chambers of Commerce and soon also magazines for other Chambers of Commerce.

ScandMedia saw the need for a publishing house that could bridge the gap between the foreign managed organizations and local Thai printers. The print quality was often excellent but few printers spoke any English and they had no understanding of what foreigners liked in terms of graphic design.

Ms. Patcharee Lae-Ya, Marketing Director 20

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

Ground in Thailand “It has been a rewarding experience to be ‘your partner in print’ as our slogan says. Some projects that we have accomplished over the years still stand out as quite exceptional achievements. One year, for instance, we produced nearly 20 percent of all printing jobs for the United Nations Development Program,” Gregers Moller says.

“In the process, it has been one of the most wonderful experiences for me that the staff in the company has been able to maintain our entrepreneurial and company spirit. As a result, we work very much in an environment of equals among equals, where everyone knows their role and lives up to the expectations of the team,” Gregers adds.

lucky that Woraporn is expert in production and Phaisan is expert in the creative design, and his English is excellent,” Patcharee says and adds: “A few Scandinavian companies who have started using our design and printing services include Nordfab, DISA, APV, Danfoss, Stable Lodge and EAC. All kind of jobs are welcomed. Right now we have at least 10 Scandinavian customers in hand, but I’m still hungry for more clients because I know I can do the best job for many others.”

Building on a strong reputation

At present Scand-Media does a great deal of publications

for international organizations, NGOs, Thai companies, foreign companies, and embassies.

The reputation the company has built up over the last 17 years is a major advantage when attracting new clients, who often hear about the company through word of mouth.

“In the past we have been a good vendor and supplier to international organizations and companies in Thailand and abroad. Then, through building our reputation, embassies in Thailand began approaching us to manage their publications.

Recently we did the first Finland Guidebook in Thai language for the Embassy of Finland. We also did the Finnair Guidebook for Finnair Plc. I count these

among the finest successes of the company, and attribute it to having built a strong reputation,” Patcharee says.

“I would like to express my feeling to all the Scandinavians who live in Thailand, or elsewhere in the world, that we are here to help you find the best solution for your design and printing needs; when you think of design and printing, please think of Scand-Media as your partner. You can be sure that your job is in the best possible hands with services provided at a premium quality,” Patcharee says.

New technologies bring new opportunities

When changing times brought changing technology, ScandMedia adapted, creating new strategies and looking for new services and opportunities to grow its range of services.

“We have always developed in terms of meeting our clients’ requests. At the same time, we have constantly followed technical innovations to be ready when clients started requesting new products, such as interactive CD ROMs, banners, roll-ups, stickers, kangaroo backdrops and booth set-ups.”

“Our core service for many years ahead will remain printed materials, but new opportunities are coming up at a faster and faster pace. For example, we just received our first request for a mobile phone app. It’s fun and challenging,” says Gregers with a smile.

Team work: The way to success

Scand-Media is comprised of a small group including Marketing Director, Ms. Patcharee Lae-Ya. Patcharee was assigned by Gregers to start the design and printing division together with former staff Ms. Woraporn and Mr. Phaisan.

“The three of us have complementary experiences. I’m

Gregers Moller and Ms. Patcharee Lae-Ya September 2011

21

Protecting Intellectual Outsourcing is a complicated matter even if it is done in your own country and outsourcing to a country in a different part of the world with different culture, legal rules and regulation can make a lot of problems to any CEO. How to protect the company’s design when outsourcing to a country where counterfeit products are a part of the reality is a priority and seeking legal advice in an early stage can ease the next steps of plan for outsourcing.

By Steen Poulin Nielsen

B

aker & McKenzie is a multinational company with 3900 lawyers in 39 countries and is a specialist in the area of intellectual property.

Mr. Dhiraphol Suwanprateep is a partner at Baker & McKenzie.

“I have been with Baker & McKenzie for more than 20 years and I oversee the Intellectual Property area together with my partner, Say Sujintaya. Overall, the legal protection in Thailand is under the international framework of the Paris convention and the global treaty under WTO´s Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement. We meet the minimum standard in terms of legislations but the enforcement is another issue,” Mr. Suwanprateep says.

When a Scandinavian company is planning to outsource to Thailand, often the intellectual property is the main asset.

It is better to concentrate on the copyright protection.

“Under the copyright scheme a drawing of a product is clearly protected, so the company should prepare the drawings of their products. In order to have it ready for protection in Thailand, such a design should be recorded with the Department of Intellectual Property. You can get the stamp in less than a week at the cost of less than 100 USD,” he explains.

According to the lawyer, getting the stamp alone will not protect the design but also proving the time of when the product was introduced in Thailand.

Thailand and the Scandinavian countries are all members of the Berne Convention where all members have to protect the copyrightable design from all countries. According to Mr. Suwanprateep, the fact is that a design is protected as soon as it is offered to the market.

Protecting design or copyright

The Design act

“When a foreign company is coming to Thailand to produce designed goods, they must be prepared how to protect their intellectual property. The legislations involved in outsourcing of design products can involve two acts. The first one is design, the second one is copyright,” Mr. Suwanprateep says.

The lawyer says that the first act, about design protection is really not the way to go. It can take between five and 10 years to complete and the product will be long out of its life cycle before the protection is in effect.

22

“If the company decides to look into protection of design, it requires registration locally in Thailand. In order to qualify for such registration, the product must be new and must contain a novelty. If the product has been available in any market, it means that it has lost its novelty and cannot be qualified as a new design. So most of the designed products cannot be protected by this act,” Mr. Suwanprateep says.

The Copyright act

“Copyright is different here in Thailand, at least compared to

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

the UK. This is because in the UK some physical commercial product can be protected by copyright protection while here in Thailand it can be arguable whether the design of a unique chair can be protected by the copyright protection,” he says and adds: “We have a lot of claims going on in the legal system here in Thailand. Not as much for physical products but especially for digital media. However, there are very little for clothes, furniture, etc.”

Claiming your rights

If a company sees that their product has been copied and will like to stop it, there are two ways to go. One way is to file a civil claim, go to the court of Intellectual Property and the International court and file for a civil claim against those who committed the infringement but according to Mr. Suwanprateep the court system, like in most other countries, takes a longer time and cost a lot of money.

So in most cases, right holders will not benefit for taking this route. Usually it is recommended to take the second route, which is the criminal route. As violating intellectual rights in Thailand is a criminal act, the company can go to the police or to the court and file a criminal charge.

Usually it is better to go to the police because it is faster and cheaper. It takes no more than two weeks for the police to gather the evidence and then around six to nine months for the police to prepare the case and hand it over to the Public Prosecutor.

The Public Prosecutor will take

around another six months to file the case in court. Once the case goes to court, it can take the court first instance one or two years if the case is argued upon.

If the infringer admits its guild it will only takes a few months to finalise the case, Mr. Dhiraphol Suwanprateep tells.

“When a company decides to outsource production of designed items, it is most important to make a detailed contract with the manufacturer. Baker & McKenzie can draw up an agreement for the Scandinavian company, a confidential agreement between the Scandinavian company and the Thai company securing that information delivered by the Scandinavian company to be treated as confidential by the Thai company, he says.

Even though the Thai government is encouraged by the US and the EU to fight piracy for more than 10 years, Thailand still has it as an ongoing issue, especially with digital medias.

“We mush admit that Thailand is a source of piracy in many fields. Expensive software can be bought here in Thailand for less than a few US dollars, which is completely unacceptable for the right holders. But Thailand is not capable of producing counterfeit of high-tech products. If any Scandinavian companies wants to outsource products, the companies have to prepare themselves well and make sure that they protect their intellectual property.” Mr. Dhiraphol Suwanprateep says.

Property

We have a lot of claims going on in the legal system here in Thailand.

Not as much for physical products but especially for digital media.

September 2011

23

new necklace design from pandora

This season pandora launches a unique new necklace concept. it is a patented design that enables as many as eight pandora necklaces to be linked together and layered up into a multitude of distinctive looks.

This exciting new approach epitomises pandora’s brand concept of excellent, interchangeable jewellery.

Create and Combine There are 20 sterling silver necklace styles to choose from, including lustrous and shiny; oxidized and edgy; multi-textured or simple. all of them are beautifully feminine, superbly hand-finished from genuine materials.

The necklaces end in rings that slip onto pandora’s new s-lock, a patented design that

enables women to combine and layer up the necklaces for a personal and customized look.

The s-lock is secured with any of the decorative pandora clips.

This season clips are offered in raw, sculptural shapes, including a geometric one playfully mimicking studs on a leather jacket. all the clips dress up the layered necklace look even more.

The new necklace concept offers women inspiring opportunities to create and combine fashion statements of their very own with superb jewellery. inspired by the pandora Charm braCelet The necklace can be combined with one of pandora ’s new sterling silver bracelets. one is designed to hold one traditional or new decorative clip, the other as many as five. it’s an idea inspired by pandora’s popular charm bracelet which women customise by selecting interchangeable charms and clips.

like the pandora charm bracelets, the new sterling silver pieces are interchangeable in that they hold any of the decorative clips in the entire pandora universe. as with those charm bracelets, women select clips for their new sterling silver bracelets that signify very special experiences in their life – it’s a creative way to express and share personal stories through excellent jewellery.

about pandora pandora designs, manufactures and markets hand-finished and modern jewellery made from genuine materials at affordable prices. The pandora jewellery is sold in more than 55 countries on six continents through over 10,000 points of sale, including close to 500 pandora branded concept stores. founded in 1982 and headquartered in copenhagen, denmark, pandora employs over 5,000 people worldwide of whom 3,600 are located in gemopolis, Thailand, where the company manufactures its jewellery. pandora is publicly listed on the nasdaQ oMX copenhagen stock exchange in denmark. in 2010, pandora’s total revenue was dkk 6.7 billion (approximately eUr 895 million). for more information, please visit www.pandoragroup.com

New

arriVals

This season is inspired by nosTalgia wiTh a dash of rock everyone has their own unforgettable moments. recapture yours with genuine, hand-finished charms – create and combine for your own unique look. find inspiration in our two-tone star pendant charm in black, oxidised sterling silver and 14k gold, set with a diamond. be inspired to create your own nostalgic look. be inspired at pandora.net

Tailored Interior Design Solutions The CABINET Interior Design Co Ltd is a company providing turnkey interior design projects. The company has close to 100 employees, has the head office in Bangkok and a branch in Hua Hin with a 1300 square meter showroom, a furniture factory together with a support divisions in design and construction.

By Steen Poulin Nielsen Enoc, CABINET’s Spanish designer with founder Janeric Hogane.

T

he CABINET was established in Bangkok in 1996 by Apinya and Janeric Hogane. Apinya have a long background from the furniture business in Thailand and Janeric has a background as a manager with IKEA in Sweden as well as from other furniture companies in Thailand.

Mr. Janeric Hogane is continuously developing the company.

“We have provided interior solutions for many Scandinavian Companies, mostly in Bangkok.

Just now we also renovate a quite big office in Mapthaput, and with our highly professional

26

Thai-Scandinavian team we are equipped to undertake interior design projects of any size,” he says.

Multilingual company

The company has people mastering Thai, English and Swedish and now also Italian and Spanish as Enoc, a designer from Spain, is hired as the manager of the design team.

On top of the interior design company, the CABINET has a construction company.

“With our team of around 20 people we have build a few houses but mostly we concentrate on renovation for offices, condominium and houses,”

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

Janeric says.

The kitchen is an important area for the CABINET and a big part of the company’s success, according to Janeric.

“We have an advantage to other companies when we can adjust the design and sizes to the customers need. We produce all kitchens in our own factory and we are able to make the kitchen fit into every kind of home, matching the rest of the home interior design,” Janeric says.

Taking care of customers

According to Janeric, It is not easy for consumers to compare kitchens from different suppliers.

“It can be confusing for the customer when different product quality have the same name. For example is quality ´High Gloss´.

High Gloss can be painted a similar way to a car lacquer and this is quite expensive. But ´High Gloss´ can also be a foil, a lower quality and much cheaper.

We can deliver both qualities,” he says.

Also own-made furniture are offered by the company. Build in own factory it gives the costumers the chance to fit the furniture into the home interior design.

Build-in furniture are another strong seller from the CABINET. “We have a wide variety of fabric, from Jim Thompson as the top quality to canvas at a very affordable price,” Janeric says.

The coming launch of IKEA in Thailand is welcomed by Janeric.

“Their presence will be very good for the market in Thailand.

They will give all of us a lot of inspiration. Many of our other big competitors now concentrate on giving them a hard time but they will succeed. They will offer standard solutions at low prices while we are offering tailored solutions.

We will get a better opportunity to show that we are different.

Of course Apinya and I will visit when they open to eat meat balls, bay chocolate, hot dogs and some snaps,” Janeric says.

Interior Design/Build

Kitchens

Furniture

Renovations

Offices

We design and build offices and other interior design solutions to your exact specifications.

Head Office: BANGKOK Tel 0 2322 2202 Fax 0 2720 2928

www.thecabinet.co.th

Showroom: Hua Hin Tel 0 3250 2290 Fax 0 3251 3806

info@thecabinet.co.th

Georg Jensen of Chia

Founded in Denmark more than one hundred year ago on the creative vision of one man, the factory in Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand is now making the designs of Georg Jensen available to the global market.

By Steen Poulin Nielsen

28

I

n 1904 Georg Jensen opened a small silver-smithy in Copenhagen and soon his design, founded in the Danish silversmith’s skill for refinement and organic splendour, was asked for by customers worldwide.

The clean, timeless aesthetics of Georg Jensen have defined the master silver house now a globally renowned design phenomenon.

The Dane Lars Rensch Nielsen is the General Manager of Georg Jensens factory in Chiang Mai.

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

”In 2004 I came to the company. At that time we had 160 people working, today we have 620. It has indeed been an interesting journey and I really like my job and my life up here,” Lars Rensch Nielsen says.

Christmas collectibles, watches, jewellery and silverware

Georg Jensen is now owned

by Axcell Group and is turning the Georg Jensen into a lifestyle and luxury brand without forgetting the classic handcrafted Scandinavian designs. The 620 employees in Thailand are manufacturing the jewelry in gold and silver while approximately 35 people in Denmark are making bowls and silver hollowware icons.

Georg Jensen´s Christmas collectibles are manufactured in Denmark as about 90% of those products are sold in Denmark.

Georg Jensen are selling products in steel like candle-holders, trays, jugs and tins manufactured for the company by suppliers in China. Watches are in the portfolio as well, manufactured in Switzerland.

The idea behind Georg Jensen’s presence in Thailand was born back in the 90´s. The company found it difficult to maintain a profitable production while the sales grew. As many other companies Georg Jensen began to look for opportunities for production outside Europe.

“The company narrowed the candidate countries down to Mexico, India, China and Thailand. Thailand was eventually chosen due to the good infrastructure, and the member

of the board, Jens Werner, took a trip to Thailand looking for the right place to start,” Rensch Nielsen says.

Jens Werner found a nice spot up in the North of Thailand, in the city of Chiang Mai. According to the General Manager, Jens Werner found it more attractive to be a major company in a smaller city than a minor company in Bangkok. But more importantly, Chiang Mai was chosen because of its long gold and silver smith traditions which had created a high level of craftsmanship that Georg Jensen could build on.

In 1998, Georg Jensen obtained its first BOI contract and the first overseas operation was a reality for the old Danish company. It was yet too early to do any manufacturing but in the year 2000 Morten Bjerg Christensen, a foreman from the Danish factory, arrived with a staff of five people starting the process of planning and setting up the production facility. This took about a year to complete.

Opposing the decision

The people in Georg Jensen back in Copenhagen were not too pleased with the boards decision to outsource production to Thailand. They believed that it would be impossible to maintain the high quality of the handcrafted jewellery. The discussion went on for quite some time until Jens Werner finally called for a big meeting.

“Jens Werner collected a number of products manufactured in both Denmark and Thailand, he placed all of them on one table, and asked the

angmai Above: Lars Rensch Nielsen, General Manager of Georg Jensen in Thailand, To the left: Stages in the production.

Far left, bottom: One of Georg Jensen’s highly talented silversmiths at work. critics to sort out the products.

To tell which of them were done in Thailand. They could not and that was the end of the discussion,” Lars Rensch Nielsen says.

The wheels start turning

The first Georg Jensen products to be manufactured in Thailand was the Heritage jewellery.

These collections are some most popular Georg Jensen jewellery collections and at the same time not a too complicated design to produce.

According to the General Manager it went very well and the company decided to buy more land for building purpose to secure a future growth. In May 2004 the new factory was build.

“Today, the factory employes 624 people,” Lars Rensch Nielsen says.

Respect local culture

”As a Danish company operating in Thailand we need to respect the culture here. We do have our own house temple and have five ceremonies per year keeping the ghosts friendly.

Before we start working in a new building monks will arrive blessing the building,” the General Manager says.

The company has decided to implement most of the Danish rules and regulations. When the smoking ban was due in Denmark, they banned smoking in the factory in Chiang Mai and build a sala for the smokers.

The regular working week in Thailand is a six days week with 50 hours. At Georg Jensen it is a five days week with 40 hours. There is a library at the

site and Georg Jensen spends 5000 Baht per month to buy new books.

The workers get six sets of uniforms per-year for free, two daily meals for free and health insurance covering for them, their children and parents.

Every year there will be safety days educating the staff how to prevent accidents at the factory.

Annual Sports Day and popular Children’s Day

The annual Sports Day is another regular non-working day in the company, all the staff participates. To engage the female workers in sport, the company calls for an Aerobic instructor three times per-week.

“At our Children's Day we want to do something for a village in our area, the criteria is that one of our employees has grown up in the village. We will arrive in about 30 trucks loaded with toothbrushes, towels, pencils, paper, ice and candy.”

“We will distribute the goods to the people and in every village we have this tradition of implementing a solar panel at the school providing light so the school can teach both early morning and late afternoon,” Lars Rensch Nielsen says.

Georg Jensen participates in the ”To Be Number One" project, which aims to promote the prevention of and solutions to drug problems. Random drug tests are carried out in the factory and the General Manager tells, that four serious cases of drug addiction have been found during the eight years.

The company pays for full-time

treatment while paying the employee in full, and securing the employee’s job at the company after treatment.

Lead time and stock reduction

Nielsen tells, that before the beginning of the financial crisis in 2009, most production facilities was looking for huge series to optimize the production. ”After the crisis there is no such thing as a huge series.

Now it is all about optimize lead time and reduce stock.

First, I was thinking that we did what we could in this matter as our figures were quite similar to the competition, but when we looked into it, we found a number of ways to improve,” he says.

One of Lars Rensch Nielsen’s tasks in Thailand has been to optimise the production - both in term of production time, cost and quality. Without compromising the high quality standards of Georg Jensen, the jewelry has to be produced in a competitive way. That means that the lead time from a customer orders a product to the customer receives the product has been reduced extensively. The same goes for the production cost.

Also the scrap percent - the number of products not meeting our quality standards - has decreased.

“The competencies of the Thai goldsmiths are outstanding.

They are really good at what they do. And the attitude is also in a special league. They take so much pride in their job,” Lars Rensch Nielsen states.

Going green

The Thai workshop has made a decision to be CO2 neutral.

According to the General Manager, the main concern is the electricity and he looked into ways to supply the electricity.

Wind power is out as the wind is insufficient source in Chiang Mai. Solar Panels are not cost effective at the moment so instead, the company in 2009 decided to plant trees. The company calculated CO2 emission and planted 13.700 trees.

Another working day turned into a team building even planting the trees in the mountains where local farmers will take care of the trees.

Staff work ethics

When asked about the difference working with Thais compared to Danes, Lars Rensch Nielsen point out that Thais seems a bit more appreciative when it comes to work.

The sick leave is below one percent every year. Another difference is Thai approach to pension savings. Georg Jensen just introduced pension scheme as part of the employee benefit package. ”If you ask Thais if they will like money now or having a pension plan, more than 90% of them will go for money now. We were only able to push the pension plan through because we did so instead of an increase of the salary,” Lars Rensch Nielsen says.

September 2011

29

Member of the month:

Customized Software Solutions

NXTGENSYS consults with clients on a project basis and assists them in developing strategies to embrace emerging technologies and map their requirements to innovative solutions.

By Jeanet Callesen

30

P

eter Andreas Moelgaard is the Managing Director and founder of NXTGENSYS which was established in Denmark in 2003 as a Software Development Company. It expanded to the Asian market through establishing partnerships in Malaysia, Singapore and now an office in Thailand where they are employing 5 people in administrative and executive positions.

According to Peter, NXTGENSYS found out quickly, that every project and organization were unique and requirements as well as vision and objectives for the future, were different. So to serve the clients best, they have opted out of specializing in any particular technology and instead focused on mastering the skill of assembling the optimal methodology and solution. Only by adapting and customizing the approach for each project, and by distinctly utilizing the very best experts from all over the world, both private and companies, the results NXTGENSYS targets on behalf of its clients can be achieved.

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

To be successful

Peter says that the possibility for a project to succeed, is determined to a large extent by the expertise of the team executing the project. They have therefore deselected to have staff that are specialists, but instead maintain a small core group of a few generalists with fully comprehensive grasp of global technology and the latest within innovation across the board. This is both cost beneficial as well as helping them to stay agile and open for new opportunities.

NXTGENSYS has done and is doing projects all over the world and they vary from 1 month to 5 years with most projects lasting between 1 and 6 months.

The company is devoted to strengthening its clients and help them grow, by using emerging technologies and the innovative solutions that have become their trademark. Peter says that to achieve this goal, not only for the duration of the project but on a long term basis for the client, they have designed a fine tuned strategy to secure and stabilize the knowledge of technologies

within the client organization.

This enables the client to make better technology related decisions, even after the project is complete.

Working directly with the client’s own technical staff, and by offering them training and mentoring, we encourages cooperation and stimulates enthusiasm to embrace the change instead of resistance.

To do business in Thailand

NXTGENSYS has their mind set on expanding operations in Thailand and is determined to do their part to strengthen the research, development, and innovation in Thailand and bring knowledge from all over the world to benefit not only Thailand, but the entire region and neighboring countries by contributing to the innovative community as focusing attention from around the world and help the region in its entirety attract more investment targeted at research, development and innovation.

New Director at Thai-Danish Chamber of Commerce

By Steen Poulin Nielsen

S

avija Pannark Korslund took over the Chamber’s office in the beginning of July ready to lead the daily operations together with the Board and prepare the Chamber for the future.

“I am so excited about my job and ready to serve our members,” Savija says.

The new Director is fluent in both Danish and Thai language, and her new job is not her first job in Thailand. She worked at the Danish Embassy in Thailand from 2006 to 2010.

Starting her career as a Junior Assistant with PricewaterhouseCoopers (now ”pwc”) in Denmark, Savija then decided to pursue studies in the field of business. She graduated with a BA from Aarhus Business School in the summer of 2006 and then made her move back to Thailand. After a break away from study books, and having immersed herself in her job at the Danish Embassy in Bangkok, she later earned her Masters Degree at Chulalongkorn University (graduating 2010), while still working at the Embassy.

Despite her upbringing in Thailand and a background in both Thailand and Denmark, the new Director describes herself as being mainly Danish, but with a deep rooted sense of her cultural heritage.

“I believe I think mostly like a Dane,” she says.

New tasks are waiting, one of the things to look into being strengthening the relationship with the Danish Embassy in Thailand.

“Maybe a joint Alumni project will be a good idea.

There are a number of students in exchange programs that we might be able to assist better for mutual benefit,” she says.

Also the relationship with other Chambers of Commerce

can be developed more, she already has received invitations from several Chambers to have a look at joint projects, like the Young Nordic Professional networking meetings which was an instant success.

“But I would like to say, that I will – as being very new in the organisation – spend a little more time to get to know the members, get familiar with the daily operations and the culture of the Chamber before I prepare

new projects. It is important for me not to change something that has proven itself right,” she says.

The new Director looks at the Chamber as a professional organisation for business people but recognises the fact that the Chamber also has to facilitate social events.

I believe I think mostly like a Dane.

September 2011

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Nordic Chambers Breakfast Seminar on August 23rd Why should I work for you?

Source : DanCham, Jeanet Callesen

W

hy should I work for you?

That was what Tom Sorensen, leading headhunter and partner of Grant Thornton, asked about at Tuesday morning’s Nordic Chambers Breakfast Seminar. Over 30 people had decided to spend their morning at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, to get the answer of this question.

Tom talked about Employee Value Proposition and had some very interesting points what employers can do to attract talents and make them stay.

Furthermore he pointed out the differences between different age-levels; as an employer you should have in mind that the labor market dynamics are changing and talent have multiple options in the workplace. Employers must refine recruitment and retention strategies and embrace concepts like becoming an Employer of Choice.

Thanks to Tom Sorensen for his interesting presentation and to Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit for providing excellent service and a delicious breakfast buffet.

We hope to see you at future events. Keep yourself updated on the website and don’t forget to add DanCham on Facebook Until then, enjoy a few pictures from the seminar and Tom Sorensen’s PowerPoint presentation.

The Nordic Chambers Met Up Before The Holidays

Source : DanCham, Christian Skaarup Rasmussen

32

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

A

round 90 people met up at Westin Grande, Sukhumvit on Thursday June 16th. It was the last networking event before the usually quiet July.

Furthermore was it the last networking event for our Executive Director, Katrine Præst and the DanCham trainee, yours truly.

Peter Bjørk, The Swedish Executive Director welcomed everyone, and thanked everyone for showing up. He also thanked Colliers International, who was so kind to be the main sponsors for this event, and after an interesting presentation on the current and future real estate market in Thailand, people really seemed to enjoy this joint Nordic networking. With plenty of food, soft drinks, beer and wine we were happy to send people off to a quiet July in terms of business and networking.

Hua Hin Blue Lagoon, sponsored 2 vouchers each worth 2 nights for two persons at their property, including breakfast. Congratulations to the two lucky winners.

During the networking, DanCham Board member Jacob Bojsen took the opportunity to thank Katrine Præst for her excellent work as an Executive Director at DTCC. She received much applause, and as Jacob Bojsen said: “We all wish her the best of luck in the future.”

A big thank you to Colliers International for being the main sponsor for this event and also thanks to Hua Hin Blue Lagoon for sponsoring two vouchers for the lucky draw.

We hope that everyone enjoyed themselves at the event and will join us again in the future. Any feedback is very much appreciated, since we want to provide our members with the best service possible.

24/7 Assistance

DanCham Networking sponsored by Maersk Line Source : DanCham, Jeanet Callesen

O

ver 80 people joint the first event after the summer holiday at Four Points by Sheraton on Wednesday August 17th. The reunion for members and nonmember was also the first networking event for DanCham’s new Executive Director, Savija Pannark Korslund and the DanCham trainee, Jeanet Callesen.

Søren Presmann, the vice president of the board, welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming. Furthermore he thanked Maersk Line for sponsoring the event and an interesting PowerPoint presentation was shown. Maersk Line has just had their 60th anniversary and we congratulated them with a big cake, decorated as a Maersk Container Ship.

Thomas Lindy Sørensen, managing director of Maersk, was called to stage and he had to blow out all 60 candles on the cake.

Moreover we had special visit from Denmark. 13 students and one lecture from Business Academy Copenhagen North also jointed the event. In collaboration with Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, they have developed an elective course “Doing Business in Thailand” and with their trip to Thailand, this event was a great opportunity to meet people whose everyday life is to do business in Thailand.

The whole evening people seemed like they enjoyed the joint networking and a lot of talking were made. With this event a new term has started and we look forwarding seeing you to future events.

A big thanks to Maersk Line for being the main sponsor for this event and once again, congratulation with the 60th anniversary.

We hope that everyone enjoyed themselves at the event and will join us again in the future. Any feedback is very much appreciated, since we want to provide our members with the best service possible.

• International Air & Sea Freight Forwarder

• NVOCC Services / Consolidator

• In-house Customs Clearance (In & Out Bound)

• Charter

• Customs Broker (Licensed)

• Cargo Insurance & Project Cargo Handling

• Door to Door and One Stop Service

Bangkok Head Office 3195/12 7th floor Vibulthani Tower 1 Rama IV Road Klongton Klongtoey , Bangkok 10110 Thailand Tel: +66 2 684 8100 Fax: +66 2 684 8198-9 Email: info@th.dsv.com Website: www.dsv.com/th Managing Director

- Mr. Stephen Lee Henry

: steve.henry@th.dsv.com

General Manager Seafreight - Mrs. Lawan Sarajoti

: lawan.sarajoti@th.dsv.com

General Manager Airfreight

- Mr. Kittisak Chokpipatporn

: kittisak.chokpipatporn@th.dsv.com

Seafreight Export Manager

- Ms. Supaluk Srasarika

: supaluk.srasarika@th.dsv.com

Airfreight Export Manager

- Mr. Thanachart Srithiwan

: thanachart.srithiwan@th.dsv.com

Seafreight Import Manager

- Ms. Pornphan Khamentketgarn

: pornphan.khamentketgarn@th.dsv.com

Airfreight Import Manager

- Mr. Pongsakorn Patcharapaisarn : pongsakorn.patcharapaisarn@th.dsv.com

Sales Manager

- Mr. Chakree Chaiwattanakul

: chakree.chaiwattanakul@th.dsv.com

Airport Office Room 117-118, Building 303 Free Zone, Suvarnabhumi Airport 999 Moo 7, Racha Thewa, Bangplee, Samutprakarn 10540, Thailand Tel: +66 2 134 7520 -26 Fax: +66 2 134 7553-4

Laem Chabang Office 198/21 Moo 9 Tungsukhla, Sriracha, Chonburi 20230 Thailand Tel: +66 3 840 1684-7 Fax: +66 3 840 1681 Laem Chabang Branch Manager

- Mr. Kan Chittaputta (kan.chittaputta@th.dsv.com)

… One of the leading suppliers of worldwide transport and logistics solutions …

September 2011

33

New Members Corporate :

Individual :

Amino-Lab Co., Ltd. Level 9 Zuellig House 1 Silom Road, Bangrak Bangkok 10500 Tel: +66 2231 8295 Fax: +66 2231 8296 Email: info@amino-lab.com Website: www.amino-lab.com/asia Mr. Casper Jacobsen Finance Director Mr. Rob Zeman Operations Director

Lookpetch Nielsen Transpeed Co., Ltd. 3360/6-8 Soi Manorom Rama 4 Road, Klongton Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 2249 9001 Mobile: +66 8 1614 8836 Fax: +66 2249 9731 Email: lookpetch@hotmail.com

Car-O-Liner AB Alignment Systems Hulda Mellgrens gata 1 SE 421 32 Västra Frölunda Sweden Website: www.car-o-liner.com Mr. Per Lyngsaa Madsen Area Sales Director

Per Lind Suite 916, 2355 New Petchburi Road Makkasan, Bangkok 10400 Mobile: +66 8 1110 7667 Email: pclind@yahoo.com

Crowne Plaza Bangkok Lumpini Park 952 Rama IV Road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 Tel: +66 2632 9000 Fax: +66 2632 9011 Email: info-cpbkk@ihg.com Email: marketingservice.bkkcp@ihg.com Website: www.ichotelsgroup.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/bangkok/bkkcp/hoteldetail Mr. Mark Winterton General Manager Mr. Felipe Gotor Director of Sales and Marketing

Calendar Coming Events : DanCham Networking - Sponsored by Saxo Capital Markets

Sep 15, 2011

Nordic Breakfast Seminar “Business Networking - Invest in your Social Capital” with Judith Coulson, BNI.

Sep 20, 2011

NYP joint Networking with GOYP at Siam Kempinski Hotel

Oct 6, 2011

DanCham Networking - Sponsored by Nordea

Oct 19, 2011

Nordic Networking – Sponsored by Nordea

Nov 9, 2011

Christmas Lunch at the Royal Danish Embassy – Sponsored by Jyske Bank and PANDORA

Nov 25, 2011

34

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce

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