Country Focus A favourable market in the region Thailand is an important gateway to dynamic markets in Southeast Asia and the rest of the Asian region, said T-Plas exhibitors. Indian exhibitor Lohia Group, a supplier of machinery for endto-end solutions for plastic woven fabric industry, has recently opened a regional office in Bangkok to handle the Asian countries, according to Thomas Berlingen, ASEAN Regional Manager at Lohia. “We are increasing our presence in Southeast Asia, being an important market for us. Thomas Berlingen says that Thailand is our Lohia is increasing its presence in base and we are Thailand and in Southeast Asia expanding from here,” he said. Lohia has offices and agents in other ASEAN countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar. At the show, Lohia promoted its conversion machines for FIBCs (flexible intermediate bulk containers) and the Nova 6 circular loom that is designed for fabrics suited for packaging of cement, polymer granules, fertiliser and other farming products. Germanyheadquartered Collin Lab & Pilot Solutions is also expanding in Southeast Asia, adding a service engineer in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, apart from an existing one already in Thailand to support Corné Verstraten says Thailand is a its growing stable market for Collin Lab & Pilot business in the Solutions region. “Southeast Asia, in general, and Thailand, in particular, are a stable market for us, despite the presence of some competitor companies,” Corné Verstraten, Collin’s CSO/Joint Partner said. Collin’s range of pilot & laboratory lines promoted at T-Plas included the flat film line with camera system, a blown film line, and a new design for the table-top teach line featuring a touch screen for the control.
Meanwhile, German manufacturer of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) Kraiburg TPE also garnered interest from the show’s visitors for its array of new TPE compounds for various automotive and consumer applications. Roland Ritter, Director Asia Pacific at Kraiburg TPE, expressed satisfaction over the reception of Thai customers at the show. Aside from the medical-grade TPEs it offered at the Medical Plastics Showcase at T-Plas, Kraiburg also highlighted its new recyclable TEH hybrid range of TPEs for Thailand’s hallmark automotive Roland Ritter of Kraiburg TPE showed the array of recyclable industry, touted as TPEs offered for the Thai market the largest in Asia and the 12th in the world. “The TEH materials, which can be processed by common injection moulding machines and extruder lines, are particularly suitable for use in the environment of combustion engines, heat management of drives and batteries for electric vehicles as well as in lubrication and cooling systems of machines, process technology and buildings. Direct applications Peter Brudzinski of SML cites include seals and uncertainty about plastics that gaskets, plugs and factors in a general “slow down” connectors, lids in sales and covers,” Ritter furthered. Coming from another perspective is SML Maschinengesellschaft. The Austria-based specialist of extrusion lines that has an office in Thailand has sold a number of machines to Thai customers. Earlier in the year, it sold a cast stretch film production lines to Sigma Stretch Film of Asia, a joint venture between US-based Sigma Plastics Group and Thailand’s King Pac Industrial for installation in Thailand. The previous year, a barrier sheet line was also installed in Thailand for another company. “Indonesia and Thailand are lucrative NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2019
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