20 November 1997: By changing the mixture of raw materials it uses, Thailand“s Thai-Asahi Glass Plc intends to reduce its costs by 10% and thus improve its competitiveness in an over-supplied glass e…
20 November 1997: By changing the mixture of raw materials it uses, Thailand“s Thai-Asahi Glass Plc intends to reduce its costs by 10% and thus improve its competitiveness in an over-supplied glass export market. 20% of Thai-Asahi“s total raw material costs come from sodium carbonate and soda ash imported from the United States, and the depreciation of the Thai currency, the baht, had pushed the company“s costs up even more. Thai-Asahi has to rely on the distribution network of its parent plant, Asahi Corp., in Japan, to help increase its exports because of the strong competition from Indonesia, where labour costs are low. In 1998, Thai-Asahi aims to double its annual exports of glass from the present total of 80,000 tonnes. Annual capacity at Thai-Asahi“s production facilities amounts to 331,000 tonnes.