The plant, run by the group's subsidiary Kuroda Shinsei (Thailand) Co Ltd, is located in the Rojana Industrial Estate. The company has manufactured electronic parts locally for more than 10 years.

At the opening ceremony,

BoI secretary-general Satit Chanjavanakul said the company had enjoyed BoI privileges for 15 projects.

The company has developed its technology to focus on manufacturing hard disk drive parts to serve rising demand in the local market not only in the electronics but also the automobile industry.

The company reported that its parent company had encouraged it to expand in Thailand thanks to political and economic stability.

The plant, with a production capacity of 1,500 tonnes per year, directly supplies Hitachi, Fujitsu, and NHK. - The Nation.

Logistics seminar

The private sector wants the government to accelerate the development of a logistics system network to reduce transportation costs and energy demand to strengthen the Kingdom's competitiveness.

During the "Logistics: Important Strategy for Modern Management in the Manufactur-ing Sector" seminar yesterday, Payoonsak Chartsutthiphol, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said the Board of Trade of Thailand, the Thai Bankers Association and the FTI all shared the view that logistics costs are too high.

Transportation accounts for

20-30 per cent of production costs here, compared to less than 10 per cent in developed countries.

- The Nation.