Agro-industry leader the Betagro Group plans to spend Bt2.5 billion to expand its production capacity for both animal feed and cooked processed chicken, which will in turn drive its sales up at least 10 per cent this year.

President Vanus Taepaisitphongse said Bt1 billion of the investment

would be spent on building another animal feed plant in Nakhon Ratchasima province that will increase its production capacity by 30,000 tonnes a year. The plant is scheduled for completion next year.

Another Bt1.5 billion will be used to build a factory for cooked processed chicken, with annual production capacity of 30,000 tonnes, to be built in Lop Buri province.

The group is also expanding the capacity of its factory for processed packaged pork from 1,200 pigs a day to 2,000, in response to growing export demand. This expansion will be completed next month.

Apart from these major business lines, the Betagro Group will give priority to a joint-venture restaurant chain with a Japanese partner under the brand Ootoya. The restaurant chain

has been operating for more than two years with satisfactory consumer response. Ootoya is another channel for the Betagro Group to demonstrate its capacities as a competent supplier of quality raw materials under the Food Safety Policy.

With its expertise in management of Ootaya, the Betagro Group is strengthening its expertise in catering products and services for other restaurant businesses.

Research and development is another area of concentration, as shown in the opening of the Betagro Science Centre, a fully integrated network of hi-tech laboratories equipped with sophisticated technology. The centre is run by professional teams of scientists and researchers who possess a wide variety of expertise in inspection, analysis and improvement of raw materials, products and production procedures.

The centre also offers services for animal health check-ups and livestock-disease diagnosis. Laboratory results can be applied to both food and agro-industrial enterprises.

In a non-agro-industry line, the Betagro Group has renovated the hotel and training-centre areas of the Pasak Hillside Resort in Lop Buri province, to accommodate both external customers and internal training functions. A Bt100-million ISO17025 laboratory is being constructed in the province, to be launched this year to serve both the Betagro network and general customers.

The Betagro Group is also aiming

at long-term growth in its corporate social-responsibility efforts. Its latest venture is a community-oriented development project co-organised with the People's Development Association to support education and improve the quality of life in communities that have different needs.

The group expects sales to grow at least 10 per cent this year to Bt33 billion, from Bt30 billion last year, Vanus said.