Covestro sees the EEC as a key to sustainable economic growth Nich-navin Chullabrahm

In building the full potential for the successful establishment of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), Covestro supports the promotion of knowledge and professionalism in innovation and sustainability through labour force skills enhancement in order to drive Thailand’s economic growth and achieve a sustainable future.

To optimize the country’s competitiveness, the Government of Thailand has initiated “Thailand 4.0”. This policy is aimed at transforming the country and makes it more innovation driven. In order to achieve success for the policy, the EEC was launched as a flagship project with the objective of promoting foreign investment in key strategic areas covering Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong provinces on the eastern coast of Thailand.

The EEC is already being identified as a major economic zone for business and industrial clusters and innovation hubs, with the goals of enhancing economic growth and potential for becoming a strategic gateway to the South-East Asian region. Investments mainly focus on S-curve industries that comprise future automotive, aviation and logistics, smart electronics, medical products and supplements, robotics and new cutting-edge digital solutions, and biotechnology. With these potential industries exploring the area for investment, the EEC will become an attractive destination for foreign investors contributing to its good infrastructure, logistics systems and industrial estate areas as well as its further infrastructure investment programmes such as a deep-sea port at Map Ta Phut. This will create greater convenience for the petrochemical industry as part of the wider Thailand 4.0 plan to transform Thai economy into South-East Asia’s engine of growth.

industries in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor, Covestro believes that the approval for trade and investment in the project can help to develop Thailand’s eastern provinces into a leading ASEAN economic zone in the future. To respond accordingly with this national policy, our direction is to drive innovations inspired by sustainability, similarly to how our standard business’ activities are run everywhere that we operate. Our major focus is on introducing and transferring our knowledge and practices in developing a circular economy in the plastics and chemical

industry, such as the reduction of the carbon dioxide emission cycle through the recycling of raw materials,” Managing Director of Covestro (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Dr. Juergen Meyn explained.

“As we never stop working on solutions to the challenges of our time and on pushing existing boundaries, our polycarbonates, polyurethanes, coatings, adhesives and specialties can become an integral part of people’s lives and ser ve all needs in conforming to modern living. Our materials have successfully enriched and contributed to efficiency, safety and sustainability in different key industries. They have the potential to fully suppor t the S-cur ve industries of EEC, for example, automotive, aviation, logistics, smart electronics, medical equipment and robotics,” he said.

“Covestro has set up a comprehensive and long-term programme that will also open up new opportunities for value creation. High-quality plastics will become drivers of sustainability in overcoming global challenges. Positioning Thailand as a strategic country economically, and responding to the Thai Government’s policy of establishing the Eastern Economic Corridor, is a good opportunity to provide support. Such support will be given through exchanging and transferring knowledge of innovations and a circular economy by collaborating with our existing partners and clients in the Map Ta Phut industrial estate surrounding the EEC area,” Dr. Juergen added.

“One highlight in 2019 is the mechanical completion of the third polycarbonate film production line located in Map Ta Phut. This is being treated as one of Covestro’s global strategic investments. Covestro’s polycarbonate film is usually produced as tailor-made products for versatile applications especially in the automotive industry as well as identification and security segments”.

Dr. Juergen noted that “our polycarbonates and polycarbonate films produced by our global standard manufacturing site in Map Ta Phut have revolutionized automotive lighting design. With less than half the weight of glass, these materials are easier to work with, thus giving designers much more freedom to improve functional and aesthetic design, and they allow for innovation in all areas of

“At the Covestro manufacturing plant in Rayong, more than 95 per cent of the employees are local Thai residents, of whom more than 55 per cent are from Rayong and the neighbouring areas.”

automotive lighting features. The polycarbonate films of Covestro are, in general, far thinner than similar products and can be used to laminate surfaces of numerous kinds. With our third production line, we expect the polycarbonate film production scale will be able to serve the fast-growing demands of both the Asian and the global markets, particularly the identification and security industries.

In addition, he stressed, the fact that Covestro aims to support global sustainability and people’s better lives, in accordance with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which will greatly influence economy and society in the coming years, Covestro is determined to realize these sustainability goals at many levels including skill enhancement of the labour force through innovation and the advancement of a circular economy.

At the Covestro manufacturing plant in Rayong, more than 95 per cent of the employees are local Thai residents, of whom more than 55 per cent are from Rayong and the neighbouring areas. The company focuses on training and meeting international standards in technical skills and knowledge

through innovation transfers from Germany to the labour force in Thailand. “The company’s people development process is aimed at widening the perspective of the workforce, not just by innovation development for creating a better, cleaner and healthier world, but also by utilizing the great economic potential from our opportunity to deliver a fast response to the requirements of the key strategic industries located in the EEC,” according to Dr, Juergen.

“We believe that this ambition and contribution will benefit the environment and society, and of course our customers, who want to join us on our path to creating a circular economy in order to move forward and achieve a sustainable business together in the future,” Dr. Juergen concluded.

Contact details: Nich-navin Chullabrahm Communications Manager – ASEAN, Covestro (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Tel: +66 2 029 9097 nich-navin.chullabrahm@covestro.com covestro.co.th