|
LG Electronics Thailand (LGETH), in cooperation with its
Indonesian partner LG Electronics Indonesia (LGEIN), recently invited a
small group of journalists from Indonesia, including The Jakarta Post's
Dadan Wijaksana, to take a closer look at its plant in Rayong Province,
Thailand. Below is his report from the visit.
LG Electronics Thailand (LGETH), which supplies LG air conditioners to
Indonesia and is the second largest seller here, plans to play on fears
of bird flu to jump to the top spot, marketing an AC it claims can kill
the bird flu virus.
The company expects the new product, the Neo Plasma Plus, to boost its
market share to 25 percent by the end of the year from 20 percent
currently, a top official said.
"Bird flu is the most critical issue now in Indonesia, it's the reason
why we introduced this technology," LGETH managing director, Sung Nak
Kil, told a group of Indonesian journalists visiting the company's
plant in Rayong Province, Thailand, recently.
The company, through its Indonesian partner LG Electronics Indonesia
(LGEIN), sold around 150,000 ACs in 2006 and sees this year's sales
reaching 200,000 by the end of the year, with around half of sales
expected to come from the new product.
Sung claimed the new product, called Neo Plasma Plus AC, has earned
scientific approval from Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health,
Oxford Retroscan Institute and Harbin Veterinary Research Institute of
China.
Lee Kee Ju, president director for LG Electronics Indonesia, is
confident the Indonesian sale target can be reached.
"Indonesia is a big country with a tropical climate, which is a match
for our products. Moreover, this year, we will also raise our domestic
business network investment by opening more LG representative offices
to strengthen local support," he said.
The Neo Plasma Plus is also sold in Thailand. In Indonesia, it is
available at prices ranging from Rp 2,800,000 (about US$330) to Rp
5,500,000.
The new AC is equipped with bio-enzyme filters that enhance its
sterilization power.
"So, the system can more powerfully eliminate a household's fine dust
and molds, ordinary odors, food smells, cigar smoke as well as
destroying bacteria," he said.
LGETH, established in 1997, is one of LG's eight global manufacturing
bases for its ACs and has a production capacity of up to two million AC
sets per year. Globally, LG Electronics produces around 15 million ACs
per year.
Last year, LG accounted for 19.5 percent of AC sales worldwide, making
it the global market's leader for the seventh consecutive year.
Aside from air conditioners, LGETH also manufactures washing machines,
television sets and air conditioning compressors.
Asked why Thailand had been chosen as a production base for ACs in the
region, Sung replied: "Thailand is located in the center of Southeast
Asia and has a convenient transportation system as well as
infrastructure.
"In addition, Thailand has good potential in the air conditioner market
in terms of demand and sales. At present, more than 80 percent of total
room air conditioner sales are for the Southeast Asia market."
To take advantage of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, LG Electronics has
chosen certain member countries as manufacturing bases for its products
to be marketed in the region.
While LG Electronics Thailand has been picked to manufacture ACs for
the ASEAN market, LG Electronics Indonesia has been chosen as the
region's production base for plasma television sets.
|
