The UACJ Group has continued construction of its core factory in Asia, the Rayong Works of UACJ (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “UATH”). Following completion of cold-rolling and finishing lines, which commenced operation in January 2014, a fully-integrated manufacturing line that begins from the casting process was completed in August 2015 and has also begun full-scale operation.

Many aluminum manufacturers of beverage cans and heat exchangers now have operations not only in Thailand, but throughout Asia. The Rayong Works, built on a vast 500,000 square-meters of land, is ideally located about 100 kilometers from the international airport in the capital, Bangkok, and about 30 kilometers from the nearest seaport. Leveraging this geographical advantage and its advanced production capabilities, UATH is set for growth as it supports development of the Asian economy.

The Rayong Works is the only aluminum rolling mill in Southeast Asia with a fully-integrated manufacturing system. Currently manufacturing is focused on producing can stock, but UATH is ready to expand the product lineup in response to market needs.

UATH President, Akinori Yamaguchi, commented sternly, “Reinforcement of the manufacturing industry in Thailand has gained momentum recently. There is nationwide promotion of R&D, and it was recently announced that the production of electric buses for specific routes would start. Future developments including collaboration with various industries, academia and the government may bring substantial business opportunities to UATH. The opening ceremony of the Rayong Works was widely reported by the local media, and we could feel the high expectations that the Thai society has for us. The growth of UATH, a pioneer of aluminum rolling manufacturing in this country, will have a direct impact on industrial development in Thailand. This will be a motivation for the people working at UATH.”

The immediate goal of the Rayong Works is to achieve the quality and production capacity equal to that of the plants in Japan. The plan is to reach a monthly production capacity of 10,000 tons in the second half of 2016 and annual production of 200,000 tons in fiscal 2017. A target for the future has been set too, annual production of 300,000 tons by fiscal 2020. This is equivalent to the same capacity as the Fukui Works and Nagoya Works, key plants in Japan.

As for product lineup, to build a firm business foundation, production will focus on can stock and automotive heat exchanger materials for the time being. President Yamaguchi explains, “We will concentrate our resources on training employees and expanding facilities, with the goal being to increase production capacity. In addition to Southeast Asia, where demand for aluminum is increasing, we plan to extend our sales network to the Middle East. We would like to establish a foundation capable of responding to enquiries from all over the world.”

The Rayong Works has made it a policy not to simply introduce “manufacturing the Japanese way,” but to pursue manufacturing that matches the local culture and employees’ disposition, and to refine these further to create a strength that makes the Rayong Works stand out. To that end, it is important that each and every one of the local staff is highly motivated in his/her work.

“With full-scale operations underway, the number of employees at the Rayong Works has reached about 800,” says President Yamaguchi. “We will still need the assistance of Japanese engineers for product development and production engineering. But our policy is to carry out manufacturing operations using only local staff.”

To prepare employees for their jobs, efforts were concentrated on training the local staff by providing detailed explanations of work objectives and procedures of each task in the ‘Standard Procedures Handbook.” Japanese engineers also provided instruction and coaching when starting up production. The first manufacturing line that went online in after the first phase of construction is now operated by local staff only.”

President Yamaguchi continued, “I want every employee to feel the “pride” of being a part of manufacturing at UATH. I want them to pursue the potential of aluminum and work with the spirit that they will help develop the country with their own hands.”