New Scania production facility opens in Thailand

Scania says it aims to grow rapidly in Thailand and the wider Asian region, with the establishing of a new production facility in Bangkok serving as a major step in realising its ambitions.

"With this industrial investment as a major first step, Scania's future in Asia is beginning to take shape," says Gustaf Sundell, Managing Director for Scania Group Thailand.

The new plant is already producing trucks and buses, and includes a manufacturing facility for truck cabs and a regional headquarters for the brand's operations in Asia and Oceania.

Scania says the new business, Scania Group Thailand, is fully cross-functional, comprising employees from the company's Production and Logistics, R&D, Purchasing and Sales and Marketing organisations.

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"This new factory in Bangkok gives completely new prerequisites for Scania"s growth in the ASEAN region," says Sundell.

"By having a full cab factory and several local suppliers, we can now build a Scania presence according to global specifications with Thai and thereby ASEAN origin, which gives us completely new prerequisites for our growth in the region."

The industrial operation in Thailand is important to Scania’s overall strategy for Asia, as it means Scania now is part of the ASEAN Free Trade Area.

Project leader for the new business, Ted Göransson, says the decision to locate the Asian factory in the Bangkok area was easy.

"Thailand has a very large domestic market, with great potential," he says.

"The supplier base is well established, as is the automotive industry, which makes it easier to find competent personnel with the right experience. Thailand also has very good connectivity with the other countries in the region."

Scania has also developed a solid supplier base in Thailand.