Asian Trucker also met with Ted Göransson to find out more about the investment into the country and how Scania will put it all to good use.

Scania has identified Thailand as one of the key markets in Asia and is expanding its industrial and commercial presence in the country. A new assembly facility for trucks and bus chassis as well as a manufacturing facility for truck cabs will be established in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, including staff for production, logistics and purchasing as well as research and development. The total investment is EUR 21.2 million and operations are scheduled to start in 2018.

In addition, regional headquarters will be established in Thailand to support Scania's distributors in Asia and Oceania in developing business in their markets. Positive market trends and good connectivity to the region and the head office in Sweden were the basis for the decision to anchor the headquarters here.

"The new establishment will bring all industrial and commercial functions in Scania even closer to our customers in Asia in general and in Thailand in particular," says Ted Göransson, Project Director for the new establishment. "By increasing our local presence, we will be able to quickly respond to customers' demands and make sure that we provide the best transport solution for each customer."
The establishment is a part of Scania's strategic focus on Thailand and complements the already announced expansion of Scania's service network in the country from currently 10 workshops to 18 workshops in 2019.

The total investment of 800 Million Baht is mainly for the assembly and manufacturing facility itself, as well as equipment needed. One of the major investments will be for cab welding and painting equipment, which are not present in the current facility. According to Göransson, this is also an opportunity for Scania to consolidate resources into a regional headquarters with a stronger presence as support functions currently are spread between Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand. In addition, product related resources from Sweden will be relocated to Thailand. Göransson estimates that the establishment of the regional headquarters will be made gradually over the next couple of years.

"We want to come closer to our customers, that is the underlying principle for this move. By strengthening our industrial operations locally, we can service our customers better," he elaborated. In his view, the political situation in Thailand has stabilised and now is a good time to proceed with the plan. Opting for a location near the Bangkok Metropolitan area as opposed to ports was motivated by the intention to be closer to the existing Scania operations and many of the customers which are located in or around Bangkok.

The investment into the new assembly and manufacturing facility and regional headquarters, paired with the expansion of the service network are in expectation of an increased demand for Scania vehicles. "We already see a good trend in the demand for Scania vehicles in Thailand and the demand for quality trucks and buses is increasing in general, which helps further. The strengthening of the local presence also shows that we are serious about Thailand, which in itself also might attract customers."