17 minute read
Highlights of 2021
GTCC recorded yet another eventful year in 2021 with about 166 events and activities. A selection of the highlights is listed below.
Featured events
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GTCC BUSINESS LUNCHEON: THAILAND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 2021
GTCC organised the eight Thailand Economic Outlook Luncheon on 23 February 2021 at the Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. The luncheon attracted about 100 guests from a variety of industrial sectors. They were asked to participate in a live survey that was a shorter version of the AHK World Business Outlook survey conducted in October 2020 among the members of the network of German Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHKs). Mr. Wirat Uanarumit, Vice-Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), who is also Chief Executive Officer and President of Thai Oil Public Company Limited delivered a keynote speech on “the current situation of Thailand’s economy and its prospects and challenges amidst fundamental changes in the global economy and uncertainties in the post-covid era”. The panel discussion on the challenges ahead for 2021 was moderated by Ms. Thira Nuntametha, Senior Representative, Commerzbank AG Representative Office Bangkok. The panelists included: Mr. Roland Folger, President and CEO, Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) Limited, for the automotive sector; Mr. Tomasz Mazur, CEO, Siemens Mobility Limited Thailand for mobility; Mr. Bjorn Schoon, Managing Director, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar, Kuehne + Nagel Limited, for logistics; and Mr. Papong Pramoj Na Ayudhya, Managing Director, BayWa r.e. (Thailand) Co., Ltd., for the topic of energy.
MEETING WITH THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION
On 3 December 2021, the GTCC Executive Director together with the GTDEE Project Director participated in a meeting with German Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Georg Schmidt, and Thailand’s Minister of Education, H.E. Trinuch Thienthong. The topics of discussion included the introduction of the German-Thai Dual Excellence Education (GTDEE) project by the GTCC. The German Ambassador handed over Thailand’s first mechatronics engineering textbook based on German standards, produced by GTCC, to the Minister of Education. With the support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), the textbook was translated from “Fachkunde Mechatronik” (6. Auflage, 2019, Europa Lehrmittel) into Thai by a team of experts from King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB).
GTCC YEAR-END COCKTAIL RECEPTION
About 130 distinguished guests, including German Ambassador H.E. Georg Schmidt, GTCC members, their spouses and friends, joined the GTCC Year End Cocktail Reception on 16 December 2021 to celebrate the completion of 2021 together. The event was held in the wonderful ambiance of Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok surrounded by the spectacular skyline of Bangkok at night. Thanks are due to Event Partners Hansen Beck and Scheuco, Food and Beverage Partners KCG and Serenity Wines, as well as Venue Partner Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok, for their great support.
GTCC BUSINESS WOMEN NETWORKING: “GENDER EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE”
Women have proved themselves as strong and competent leaders and have put great efforts into driving work progress and supporting their teams. Women’s representation in the workplace has improved, but in many companies there is still a lack of gender equality and respect. Thus, businesses need to recognise this equality and prepare employees at all levels to fill the gap.
At the GTCC Business Women Networking event organised on 1 December 2021 at Altitude, The Westin Grande Sukhumvit, GTCC Acting President Khun Waranya Pratumtin as well as Directors of the GTCC Board Khun Thira Nuntametha and Khun Suwannee Singluedej shared their experiences and perspectives as female leaders on how they overcome the challenge of gender equality. More than 30 participants engaged in an open discussion of the effects of professional gender equality, and their perspectives as women leaders on gender equality in workplace.
GTCC YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWORK EVENING ON “E-MOBILITY IN BANGKOK’S URBAN CANAL SYSTEM”
GTCC held the first GTCC Young Professional Network Evening of 2021 on 18 March 2021 which was a success, with the participation of about 80 guests. The chamber would like to express its sincere gratitude to Mr. Marcus Magiar, President and Managing Director of Torqeedo Asia Pacific Ltd., for sharing insightful information and his experiences in E-mobility in Bangkok’s urban canal system. This includes Thailand’s first electric passenger ferry fleet powered by Torqeedo and the potential of electric ferries for a greener future of Thailand. The chamber also would like to thank GTCC Board Member Khun Waranya Pratumtin for the warm support as master of ceremonies. In addition, special thanks to Venue Partner, 64 Restaurant, for supporting the event with a very nice venue and good food and drinks.
GTCC CONNECTS: WELCOME NEW YEAR 2021
GTCC’s first networking event of 2021, GTCC connects was amazingly successful with the participation of about 180 guests who are GTCC Members, partners and friends. The event was held on 11 March 2021 at Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel Bangkok and started with welcoming remarks by GTCC Vice President Mr. Michael Welser.
The chamber appreciates the generous support from the Event Partner, Mazars in Thailand, the Venue Partner, Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, and the Beverage Partner, Supreme Beverages Asia.
Membership activities
GTCC SITE VISIT TO CONTINENTAL TYRES (THAILAND)
Thirty-seven GTCC members gained valuable experience and insights into the world of quality tyre production during a chamber site visit to Continental Tyres (Thailand) Co., Ltd., on 19 March 2021. Mr. Vignesh Devasenapathy, Plant Manager of Continental Tyres (Thailand) and his team welcomed the visiting group and guided them to explore the company’s world-class tyre manufacturing facilities and processes. Continental, which is one of the world’s technology leaders in tyre production, offers a broad product range for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and two-wheelers.
THE LAUNCH OF GTCC CAI WEBINAR SERIES AND THE WEBINAR ON BOSCH MOBILITY
Following the launch of “GTCC Clean Air Initiative (CAI) Series – Green Solutions from Germany” to introduce state-of-the-art technologies and solutions for air pollution issues from Germany, GTCC kicked off a successful webinar in the GTCC CAI series on 13 July 2021. The event attracted about 70 participants, including key representatives from relevant Thai governmental organisations and educational institutes. Mr. Andreas Richter, GTCC CAI Working Group Chair/Director, GTCC Board of Directors, delivered opening remarks and introduced the series.
The webinar discussed various topics on clean air technologies and mobility solutions by the speakers from Robert Bosch GmbH: Mr. Dirk Naber, Vice-President, Engineering Diesel Engine and EGT Systems; and Mr. Stephan Gröger, Head of Product Management Business, Field Electrification and Market Segment Electric Vehicles.
GTCC OPEN FORUM
GTCC Open Forum took place online for the third time on 20 July 2021 and moderated by GTCC Vice President, Ms. Waranya Pratumtin. A wide range of business situations and opinions as well as speed networking among current and new GTCC members were fruitfully discussed. Moreover, our members shared their outlook for staffing in the second half of 2021 via a poll; the majority of our members, 56 per cent, said they would not change their staffing plan.
THE FIRST WEBINAR BY GTCC HR COMMITTEE
On 8 September 2021, the GTCC HR Committee organised its first exclusive webinar for GTCC members. The webinar focused on updates and practical guides on important HR issues during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as wage adjustments, work-from-home and staff relocation, employees’ vaccinations, the Social Security Office (SSO), business closures and issues on employment termination, which were discussed by Mr. Wichai Somboonchokpisal, Partner at Mazars (Thailand) Co., Ltd. The webinar was moderated by the GTCC HR Committee Chair, Mr. Tom Sorensen, Managing Partner at Tom Sorensen (Thailand) Co., Ltd. The GTCC HR Committee established by the Board of the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce aims to provide a platform for knowledge sharing, experience exchanges and relationship-building among HR experts and other professionals.
Corporate Services
On 9 March 2021, GTCC took part in the kick-off event of the virtual Fact-finding Mission Thailand on “sustainable energy generation and infrastructure in cities” organised by eclareon GmbH. A total of 23 participants from Thailand were joining the project within the framework of the German Energy Solutions Initiative supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). The virtual mission ran until 11 March 2021.
BUSINESS DELEGATION AND TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE ON “BIOGAS (INCLUDING BIOGAS UPGRADING)”
GTCC organised a Thai-German virtual conference on “Biogas (including Biogas upgrading)” on 16 March 2021, in co-operation with eclareon GmbH, to discuss state-of-the-art technology solutions for biogas and biogas upgrading. The conference began with welcoming remarks by GTCC Executive Director Dr. Roland Wein, and Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the German Embassy Bangkok’s Dr. Alexander Raubold. The keynote presentation on the future of biogas development in Thailand” was delivered by Assistant Secretary-General of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Dr. Prasit Siritiprussamee. Guest speakers were Dr. Athapol Pecharaply, Assistant Vice President of CPF (Thailand) PLC., Dr. Jan Adolph, Biogas Expert at DABEC – Bioenergy Consulting and Mr. Sebastian Ulm, Consultant at eclareon GmbH.
Exclusive presentations on products and technology solutions were given by representatives from eight German companies in the field of biogas: Agraferm GmbH; agriKomp GmbH; APROVIS Energy Systems GmbH; Biogas Hochreiter GmbH; Carbotech Gas Systems GmbH; HeGo Biotec GmbH; Paulmichl GmbH; and Snow Leopard Projects GmbH. The conference was followed by a series of online business matchmakings between the participating German companies and qualified business partners in Thailand.
WEBINAR “MEDTEC INDUSTRY IN THAILAND” WITH IHK REGION STUTTGART – MAY 2021
Asia is the third-largest market for medical technology after North America and Europe. Thus, it is an attractive market for German medical technology companies. This important fact was discussed at a webinar on “Medical Technology in Asia” which was organised by IHK Region Stuttgart on 5 May 2021. GTCC Deputy Executive Director Mr. Marius Mehner, together with Mr. Thomas Hundt, GTAI Director Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar, provided insightful information on the Thai market for medical technology.
GERMAN BUSINESS DELEGATION ON “CIVIL SECURITY SOLUTIONS” TO THAILAND – SEPTEMBER 2021
A digital business mission for German companies to Thailand with a focus on technology solutions in the field of civil security, was organised between 13 and 17 September 2021 by the GTCC on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), The mission took place within the framework of the foreign market entry programme of BMWK. Participating German companies included 3S Simons Security Systems GmbH, AIRSENSE Analytics GmbH, BioID GmbH, Neos IT Services GmbH, Perimeter Protection Germany GmbH, Retarus GmbH, Secunet International GmbH & Co. KG – SIG and TASSTA GmbH. The participants focused on cybersecurity solutions, biometric technologies, homeland security, push-to-talk solutions, critical infrastructure protection, access control, sensor array technology and counterfeit protection/consumer protection. On the kick-off day, 13 September 2021, eight participating German technology providers received an overview of Thailand’s economy and investment opportunities by Dr. Alexander Raubold from German Embassy in Thailand, Mr. Thomas Hundt from GTAI and Mr. Marius Mehner from the GTCC. The briefing session was followed by an exclusive site visit to U-tapao International Airport to learn about its facilities and new investment project.
GERMAN BUSINESS DELEGATION AND TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE ON “ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN INDUSTRY”
A digital business mission for German companies to visit Thailand with a focus on technology solutions in the field of energy efficiency in the industrial sector, was organised between 15 and 19 November 2021 by GTCC on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), The mission took place within the framework of the foreign market entry programme of BMWK as a further step towards increasing the co-operation between Thai and German companies.
On 15 November 2021, eight participating German technology providers – AR-Experts GmbH, celano GmbH, CS Instruments GmbH & Co. KG, INTEC Engineering GmbH, Kisters AG, MIG mbH, RGU GmbH and Weihe GmbH – received an overview of Thailand’s economy and investment opportunities by Mr. Marius Mehner from the GTCC and Mr. Thomas Hundt from GTAI. On 16 November 2021, they joined a virtual Technology Conference on “Energy Efficiency in the Industrial Sector” organised by GTCC in co-operation with eclareon GmbH. The aim of the conference was to discuss state-of-the-art energy efficiency technology solutions. GTCC Executive Director, Dr. Roland Wein and Deputy Head of Mission of the German Embassy in Bangkok, Mr. Hans-Ulrich Südbeck delivered the opening remarks. They were followed by insightful market intelligence presentations by Mr. Arthit Vejkit, Committee and Secretary, The Institute of Industrial Energy The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Henning Meschede, Paderborn University. Industry expert Mr. Pan Piyasil, Technical advisor of GIZ’sTRANSfer Project Based in Bangkok, moderated the conference and shared his perspectives on current technologies. The virtual conference was followed a business matching session during 17-19 November 2021 to connect the eight participating German companies with potential business partners and relevant market players operating in Thailand.
Trade Fairs
ITAP VOICE OF THE MARKETS 2021, THAILAND
On 19 of August 2021, ITAP (Industrial Transformation ASIA-Pacific) brought together international innovative manufacturing experts once again, but this time virtually. In collaboration with GTCC, Constellar Exhibitions successfully organised ITAP Voice of the Markets: Thailand, an insightful online forum focusing on Thailand’s manufacturing landscape. Among the many expert speakers were Marius Mehner (Deputy Executive Director at GTCC), James Boey (Executive Director at Constellar Exhibitions), Sakda Sarapatwittaya (Vice President at TARA), Dr. Rutchanee Gullayanon, Executive Vice President, Computer Engineering, KMITL Research & Innovation Services (KRIS), Krisda Utamote (President at EVAT), Somboon Anantathanasarn (Head of Software Business, at Siemens - Thailand), Lynn Lee (Director at Voltrium Systems – Singapore and member of AEIS), Volker Blandow (Global Head of E-Mobility, TÜV SÜD Thailand), Sorawit Wanitanukul (Director of Electric Vehicle Program NSTDA), Waranya Pratumtin (Director International Sales at Thai Switchboard and Metal Work & VP at GTCC), Niwat Phansilpakom (Asst. President at EEI), Dr. Nara Samattapapong (Chair of School of Industrial Engineering of Suranaree University of Technology & Representative of Advent2 Labs Consultation Pte Ltd), Rajan Rajgopal (President & CEO, DenseLight Semiconductors Pte Ltd). The forum with multiple panels were moderated by Glen Tan (Group Partner at Tandem-X), Dr. Andreas Hauser (Managing Director Digital Service at Tüv Süd Asia Pacific) and Nupat Khusribanchong (Project Manager at GTCC)
The ITAP Voice of Markets: THAILAND was focusing on automotive, MedTech, electrical and electronics among other sectors. This forum aimed for providing confidence and facilitating industry transformation during this challenging period. The forum emphasised that digital transformation is the key to maintain the pace of development, innovation, productivity, and business resilience.
BIOFACH / VIVANESS 2021 eSPECIAL
The organic food & natural and organic personal care products community came together for their annual sector gathering on 17-19 February 2021. This year’s event was entirely digital. With 775 sessions during the three-day event, divided between Congress, exhibitor presentations and round tables involving 1,442 exhibitors from around the world, the BIOFACH/VIVANESS eSPECIAL provided a wealth of highlights for a total of 13,800 registered participants from 136 countries. More than 400,000 chat messages were sent and over 10,000 video meetings held as the participants interacted at a highly professional level. This year’s BIOFACH and VIVANESS Congress proved very popular. The session “The German Organic Market: Facts, Figures, Analysis 2021”, for example, achieved record participant numbers with more than 700 attendees. Many sessions were contributed by Thai organic experts and activists. Most of them are members of Thai Organic Trade Association (TOTA), a long-term partner of GTCC in promoting organic trade between Thailand and Germany.
IAA MOBILITY 2021, GERMANY
The first IAA MOBILITY in Munich was a resounding success. It took place under the slogan ‘What will move us next’, from 7-12 September. It was the first major international event in Germany since the easing of the lockdown restrictions and was dedicated to the transformation to climate neutrality. The organisers, visitors and exhibitors were very satisfied with the new concept. Under the name of IAA MOBILITY, the first platform for the mobility of the future brought together the most varied modes of transport – from cars and bicycles to digital solutions and urban air mobility.
In total, 744 exhibitors and 936 speakers from 32 countries took part at the IAA MOBILITY, presenting and discussing their innovations and visions for the climate-neutral mobility of the future. The participating exhibitors included automotive companies with 98 exhibition areas, 75 bicycle brands, 152 supply firms, tech companies and 78 startups.
Overall, the IAA MOBILITY was attended by 400,000 participants and 3,500 journalists from 95 countries. The new IAA MOBILITY attracted 32 percent more visitors per day compared to the average number of visitors at the last IAA in Frankfurt – despite the continuing COVID-19 restrictions on international travel.
ITB Asia 2021, SINGAPORE
ITB Asia 2021 Virtual marked the successful conclusion of the extensive event programme, networking opportunities and business-driven discussions. For the first time, Asia’s leading travel trade show spanned an entire week from 25-29 October, and as usual covered both current and forward-looking leisure, MICE, corporate travel and travel technology topics.
An impressive 42,100 business meetings and exchanges were recorded throughout the week, representing an increase of 31 percent from 2020. The event featured more than 3,200 exhibitor showcases and hosted over 900 buyers and 400 sponsors & exhibitors from around the world who participated in the show’s vibrant agenda of conferences and networking sessions. The show was hosted virtually on the wellestablished online platform, ITB Community in Asia (ITB Community), and also played host to MICE Show Asia and Travel Tech Asia.
Being a global stage, the virtual ITB Asia featured leading global companies and destinations as well as participations from the National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) including Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The local offices of TAT from Phang Nga, Koh Samui, Phuket and Krabi participated to engage with key clients and partners.
German-Thai Dual Excellence Education (GTDEE)
ADA INTERNATIONAL – TRAIN THE TRAINER AT KMUTNB
On 5 March 2021, the GTDEE team organised the “AdA International – Train the Trainer” (Ausbildung der Ausbilder – AdA) for practical teachers, which is being held from March 2021 to June 2021 at King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB). The 13 participants are representatives of the ThaiGerman Pre-engineering School.
MEETING ON PREPARING INDUSTRIAL MEISTER IN MECHATRONICS EXAMINATION
On 17 May 2021, the GTDEE team organised an online meeting with KM Boonrawd Head Office, Pathumthani Brewery, TGDE, KMUTNB. They discussed on planning for pilot programme’s mechatronics Industrial Meister examination. Four examinees as in-company trainers have already achieved the AdA (train the trainers) qualification, Thai-German Highly Skilled Technical Trainer Development Programme (TGTT) qualification, which is part of Meister training development led by Mr. Paul Koelker, German expert at TGDE, KMUTNB.
Between 29 November and 4 December 2021, the GTDEE team members organised the PAL Final Examination Part 2 in theoretical and practical, in Automotive Mechatronics and Motorrad Maintenance for BMW Service Apprentice batch 2019. Mr. Markus Hoffmann, Dr. Kamonsak Suradom and independent examiners oversaw the examination, which was held at the BMW Group Thailand Training Centre.
Between 10 and 12 November 2021, the GTDEE team organised the PAL Final Examination Part 2 on theoretical and practical Automotive Mechatronics for the Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) Apprenticeship Programme 2019. GTDEE Project Director Mr. Markus Hoffmann, Dr. Kamonsak Suradom and independent examiners organised the examination at the Mercedes-Benz Competence Centre (MBCC), Bangna-Trad Km. 19.
