He said the service would suit travellers wanting to fly from Phrae to Bangkok via Chiang Mai or to Chiang Mai.

It is the company's second route. The airline currently flies two Cessna 208B aircraft to Hua Hin from Bangkok.

Thailand 8th for adventure

Thailand has been named the eighth top international destination by iExplore.com.

The number of people buying the company's adventure holidays determines the list.

The other top-10 destinations are Egypt, Antarctica, South Africa, Peru, China, Tanzania, India, Italy and Argentina.

Other destinations showing strong growth in 2006 included Costa Rica (11) and Japan (13). Bumped down from last year's top 10 were the Galapagos Islands (12), New Zealand (17) and France (43). Europe continues to suffer thanks to a weaker US dollar against the euro, making it more expensive for American travellers.

Expansion time at Brady

Identification-and-safety product manufacturer Brady Corporation said it was expanding its Thailand and Malaysia plants. It has also opened a new factory and shared-service centre in Bangalore, India.

Brady (Thailand) and Brady Technology of Malaysia were established to serve the Asia region.

Brady recently increased space at its Chon Buri factory by some 2,500 square metres of clean room, bringing the total size to 6,500 square metres.

The Thai plant makes precision die-cut and stamped parts and high-performance labels for the hard-disk drive industry. The company employs more than 300 people in Thailand.

New solder plant for Bangkok

Indonesian solder-maker Nihon Almit will build a new factory in Bangkok in February.

It will sell to the growing number of Japanese auto-parts manufacturers and electronic-component producers.

Antara reported the company had established a production and sales subsidiary in Thailand.

The 2,000-square-metre plant will cost Bt107.4 million and produce 30 tonnes a month.