US LOGISTICS FIRM
Ryder System set for Kingdom
Bobby Griffin, president of international operations at Ryder System.
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Will focus on automotive and electronics sectors
US-based logistics company Ryder System Inc will expand in Thailand by establishing Ryder System Incorporation Co Ltd to service carmakers with factories in Thailand. The company, which has registered capital of Bt3 million, will be set up in the first quarter of 2007. Ryder System Inc's president of international operations Bobby Griffin said the Kingdom held potential for his company's expansion now that its auto clients - General Motors, Daimler Chrysler, Toyota and Nissan - located their business in Thailand. Besides automotive logistics services, Ryder System offers full-service leasing, commercial rentals, maintenance of vehicles and integrated services such as dedicated contract carriage and carrier management. Ryder System recorded revenue of US$5.7 billion (Bt218 billion) and a net profit of $226.9 million last year - up 11 per cent and 5 per cent respectively from 2004. According to Ryder, logistics revenue for the automotive and electronic industries in Thailand was $1 billion last year. Ryder will focus on the automotive and electronic industries in Thailand, said Tom Jones, senior vice president for global automotive logistics business. Business in Thailand will be conducted from its headquarters in Singapore, which was established in 2000. Choong Keng Seng, vice president and managing director of Ryder-Ascent Logistics Pte Ltd in Singapore, said that the company would start by training local staff about the company's technology for running logistics systems, including how to manage supply chains, warehousing and transportation. After that, the company will consider expanding its investment in warehouses and trucks depending on customer demand. The company is negotiating with a local partner to supply those items to its customers in the first year of operations, Seng said. "We cannot estimate our investment budget for hardware but we can say that it is unlimited depending on our customer demand," he said. But Ryder will focus on providing technology for managing logistics systems, Seng said. He said the company's systems can reduce logistic costs for its customers to lower than 7 per cent of production costs. He said the company would next expand into Vietnam and India. "The Asia-Pacific [region] has potential growth compared with other regions. As a result we have been expanding our business in this region since 2000," Griffin said.
Somluck Srimalee The Nation
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