Epson launches robotics innovation centre

The centre will serve as a venue for exhibitions, demonstrations and training related to the use of Epson robots. Workers from industrial plants and system integrators are welcome to take the course. The centre’s first course will start in November.
Established to educate Thai entrepreneurs about robotic-arm technologies, the centre promises to enhance Thailand’s manufacturing sector for its Thailand 4.0 vision.
Yunyong Muneemongkoltorn, general manager of Epson (Thailand), said that Epson robots have been used in many of the major industrialised countries around the world, including the US, European nations, Japan, China and South Korea. In Thailand, Epson’s robotic arms have been a part of the manufacturing sector for well over two decades now. Major users here are multinational firms that have set up a manufacturing base on Thai soil. As their parent companies are familiar with Epson technologies, they have chosen Epson robots for their plants in Thailand.
In the past, Epson’s regional headquarters in Singapore handled the distribution of robotic arms in Thailand because of the slow pace of growth here. But after the Thailand 4.0 vision and the Industry 4.0 policy spurred interest in robot technologies and automation systems, Epson Thailand has taken charge of conducting marketing activities for and distributing robots in the Kingdom. It plans to woo small and medium-sized plants while maintaining its customer base of multinational firms. At present, most of its existing customers are in the automobile, electronics and electrical industries.
Yunyong said Epson Thailand would appoint more distributors later this year, choosing them on the basis of their solid expertise in robotics and the industrial sector with the aim of expanding in the Thai robot market. Target customers are factories in the automobile, electrical and electronics industries.

MILESTONE 
Expanding KSS doubles 
capital to Bt1.35 billion 

Krungsri Securities (KSS), a subsidiary of Bank of Ayudhya, has reached a new milestone with doubling of its registered capital by Bt750 million to Bt1.35 billion.
This is aimed at strengthening KSS’s financial position to support its mid-term business plan for 2018-2020.
KSS said it received full support from the Bank of Ayudhya, the Krungsri Group and the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan’s biggest financial group and one of the top five largest financial groups in the world, to expand further and serve demand from all customer segments.
Udomkarn Udomsab, managing director of KSS, said: “The recent achievement of KSS is clearly evidenced by a significant increase in average monthly trading transactions.
“In addition, we received a credit line worth Bt750 million from the Bank of Ayudhya in case extra funding is needed to promptly support our business as a result of a rapid growth in transaction volume.”
He added that KSS plans to expand into investment banking, with both foreign and domestic institutional customers, as well as serve individual customers.
“KSS’s investment banking business is growing rapidly thanks to the collaboration between the company and Bank of Ayudhya to provide services to a large number of the bank’s medium to large corporate customers and efficiently serve the diverse needs of Krungsri Group’s customers.
“Since the beginning of this year, KSS has been an underwriter for the IPOs of six companies. We are also in the process of handling an additional six or seven IPO deals. As for two or three of them, we expect to be the lead underwriter with an estimated fund-raising value of Bt3 billion in 2018.
“For individual customers, we have invested to develop financial technologies to enhance the investment efficiency and serve their changing lifestyles.”
This included the launch of two mobile apps, StockRadars and Krungsri Stock Expert, plus the development of new investment tools and enhancements to the KSS website.

FREIGHT FORWARDING 
Logistics firm JWD takes 
over Ocean Air International

JWD InfoLogistics Public Co Ltd (JWD) said JVK International Movers Ltd, a subsidiary of JWD, has acquired 100-per-cent ownership of Ocean Air International Co Ltd, a Thai freight forwarding firm that specialises in international sea freight and airfreight services.
Charvanin Bunditkitsada, chairman of the executive committee and chief executive officer of JWD, said the Bt83-million deal will lead to the target firm becoming a new subsidiary of JWD and transform JWD into a so-called “total logistic solutions provider”, with capabilities to provide marine and air logistics services in addition to the existing inland logistics services.
As part of the deal, JWD has acquired a management team with expertise in freight forwarding. For the inbound segment, it will be able to offer a comprehensive range of services, including freight forwarding, customs clearance, cargo transport and warehousing and cargo delivery. 
The outbound segment will be capable of providing cargo transport, warehousing, handling (eg repackaging), customs clearance and freight forwarding services.
JWD also will enhance its competitiveness by offering freight forwarding services to its existing customers.
The CEO added that, after completion of the acquisition, JWD will realign its business by having JVK International Movers Ltd take care of both household and office moving and freight-forwarding services. Led by CEO Terapol Klayoo, Ocean Air International Co Ltd will explore further opportunities to invest both locally and internationally in order to continue its expansion in the airfreight and sea freight forwarding business.

HYDROPOWER 
PDI plans investment 
for two more Lao plants

Padaeng Industry Public Co Ltd (PDI) plans to further expand its capacity to generate renewable energy by signing a memorandum of understanding to jointly invest in two hydropower plants in Laos with a total capacity of 114 megawatts.
The investment objective is to help PDI acquire solar and hydropower plants in Asia with total capacity up to 200MW within two years.
Francis Vanbellen, PDI’s managing director, said the company is moving forward to expand its renewable energy business. PDI signed an MoU with EDL-Generation Public Co on October 4 in Vientiane, for joint investment in two hydropower plants – Nam San 3A (69MW), and Nam San 3B (45MW). 
The two hydropower plants are located in Xieng Khouang province of Laos. They have been in commercial operation for two years with a 27-year electricity sales contract with Electricite du Laos. PDI Energy, a subsidiary of PDI, has set its goal to take a major stake in both hydropower plants.
“The investment in the two hydropower plants in Laos is in line with our strategy to expand the renewable energy business for PDI. We expect to sign a share-purchase agreement within 2017, and this will enable PDI Energy to operate several solar and hydropower plants in Asia with a total capacity up to 200MW within only two years,” Vanbellen said.
Currently, PDI has seven solar farms in Thailand – in Tak, Prachinburi, Khon Kaen and Samut Sakhon provinces – with a total capacity of 37MW. Besides this, it has two solar farms in Japan with a total capacity of 13MW. The Nanao solar plant has been in operation since October last year while the Nogata solar plant will begin commercial operations in the first quarter of 2018.