Kang yong still upbeat despite slowdown

"Sales in the domestic market dropped 10-15 per cent in the first half of the year, but our sales still grew, because we expanded our exports to new markets, including India, China, Australia, the Middle East and Africa," said president Praphad Phodhivorakhun.

The company generates 65 per cent of its revenue from exports and 15 per cent from the domestic market.

Praphad expects this year's net profit to decline, due to the stronger baht and higher costs of raw materials. Prices for its main raw materials, including plastic resin, steel and copper, have hiked overall costs about 30 per cent, while Kang Yong has been unable to increase its product prices to maintain its margins, because of fierce market competition.

To serve customer demand for energy-saving appliances, Kang Yong has launched a new series of efficient and environmentally friendly home appliances, such as electric fans, refrigerators and air-conditioners.

Meanwhile, its Kang Yong Gasse Technology subsidiary yesterday introduced a new product called the Gasse gasifier, a device for converting biomass and waste into electricity.

Chonlakarn Wongkhorsup, assistant manager of the company's Systems Engineering Section, said many companies had created renewable-energy technologies but that most of those required a large investment and had to be used in a big organisation.

"Our gasifier is designed to be compact, in order to save a customer's investment and installation space. It is also different from technology offered by other companies, as it can be fuelled by both biomass and waste," she said.

The price is between Bt5 million and Bt50 million per unit. Chonlakarn said although the price was probably higher than that of similar devices offered by other companies, it could produce higher rates of electricity than other incinerators and had fewer risks, because it could use a variety of raw materials.

Japan's Mitsubishi Group owns 41 per cent of Kang Yong Electric, the Phodhivorakhun family 25 per cent and other groups of investors the rest.