BNL (Thailand) Limited
In June 2008, BNL’s latest stage of expansion saw a second manufacturing site opening in Thailand.
BNL (Thailand) Limited is based in the thriving industrial manufacturing centre of Rayong, on Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard. Considered the ‘Detroit of the East’, the Eastern Seaboard and Rayong Province is strategically located near to main ports and connections. The industrial estate covers 3,451 acres and our neighbours include General Motors, Toyota, Parker Hannifin and Ford Mazda joint ventures. The site is near to one of our major suppliers and many of our customers, creating efficiencies throughout our supply chain.
Our 2,604sqm facility was established in the summer months of 2008, with its Grand Opening in the following October. BNL welcomed business partners to the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Rayong, to join in a traditional Thai ceremony and celebration to mark the official opening of the factory.
On site to welcome guests were BNL Managing Director, John Nichols; International Manufacturing Manager, David Clark; BNL (Thailand) Managing Director, Gavin Charlesworth; Group Chairman, Dr. Neil Partlett and Faisal Ramatallah, Chairman of BNL’s parent company Plastics Capital plc.
A traditional blessing was performed by nine monks from the local Temple, who after prayers, anointed the building and machinery, preceded by a factory tour for BNL’s guests.
Assembly & Moulding Capabilities
Housing an assembly team, moulding department and tool production, the facility is equipped with new jigs, testing and measurement equipment, plus seven new Krauss Maffei CX moulding machines spanning from 35 – 160 tonnes. All are equipped with the top of the range Krauss Maffei Quality Assurance System and in-process monitoring, including an ‘out-of- spec’ auto reject facility. This investment allows a range of moulding capability at the factory and brings BNL’s total machine count to 40.
From August 2006 we operated a pilot assembly facility within the Thai factory of one of our main suppliers. When the need arose to plan for new capacity, as well as expanding sales to Malaysia, China and other Asian countries, the success of this strategic approach encouraged us to establish a new facility in Rayong. As an emerging economic dynamo for the area, Thailand was also ideal in its proximity to major players in some of BNL’s main market sectors.
Maintaining production quality and consistency is vital, so we have transferred all the BNL-dedicated staff from the supplier facility to the Rayong site. This new moulding and assembly capability has given us ample capacity for additional activities to be undertaken. For many customers who have sites in the Asia-Pacific region, we can facilitate bringing the stages of production closer together and improve overall supply chain effi ciencies.
Our Thailand facility is a self sufficient unit in moulding, assembly, tool production and maintenance. Having these services all under one roof allows us to maintain good supply lead-times and deliver significant benefi ts to our customers.
Purchased from the Swiss, Sarna Group, at the end of 2005 by Plastics Capital PLC, the last few years have been exciting times for BNL. In 2007, BNL made its first acquisition and the Plastics Capital group listed on the AIM. It has also been a period of significant growth for the company, with considerable investment made in plant and personnel at the Knaresborough site.
The need to plan for new capacity, combined with an increasing proportion of sales of BNL products to Malaysia, China and other Asian countries, prompted BNL to seek a further manufacturing location in the Asia Pacific region. As an emerging economic dynamo for the area, Thailand was chosen for its proximity to major players in some of BNL’s main market sectors.
By bringing production closer to a number of BNL’s key customers and also one of BNL’s major suppliers, efficiencies can be created throughout the entire supply chain.
The establishment of BNL (Thailand) Limited continues the pace of development BNL has set for itself in 2008 and the future, creating opportunities for further expansion and growth.
Further information on BNL's production capabilities can be found here.
BNL (Thailand) Limited Team
Mr. Gavin Charlesworth, Managing Director
Gavin has lived and worked in Thailand for eleven years and is experienced in setting up operations in Thailand, Malaysia and China for international manufacturing giants such as Flextronics and Sanko Gosei. He is fluent in Thai and holds a BEng in Polymer Engineering.
Mr. Rittikai Prapakeeree, Assembly Supervisor
Rittikai has over ten years experience in production engineering, most recently holding the position of Assembly Supervisor at Valeo, where he also oversaw Kaizen and 5S projects and quality audits. He holds a BIndTech in Industrial Technology.
Mr. Kongsak Choomjai, Mouldshop Supervisor
Having held senior positions in both moulding engineering and manufacturing engineering teams, Kongsak is skilled in the implementation, monitoring and improvement of mouldshop processes. He holds a BEng in Industrial Engineering.
Miss Jitdarut Lekkhain, Logistics & GA Officer
Jitdarut holds a BBA in Logistics and Transportation Management and has over eight years experience in import-export, BOI and Customs Free Zone processes. Her previous roles include handling logistics functions in global companies such as Yorozu and Furukawa Unic.
Mr. Chalerm Sermtum, Project & Program Tooling
With a background in technical engineering, Chalerm’s career includes roles and responsibilities in tooling maintenance, development and engineering for prominent companies such as Sanko Gosei, where he held the position of Senior Tooling Engineer for more than four years.
Mr. Chaiyut Nomkalang, QA Inspector
Chaiyut has worked in quality control for over five years including roles in quality assurance and quality laboratories for companies such as Valeo and Thai Janome. Also experienced in 5S, he is responsible for ensuring the continuous high quality of BNL products.
Miss Sutin Khetklang, Purchasing & HR Offi cer
Proficient in purchasing and personnel management, Sutin holds a BBA in Business Administration. She joins BNL from a simlar role at Kotec Engineering.
The Future...
Our long-term aim for BNL (Thailand) is to build up the facility in order to provide our customers with a comprehensive global service. Services could include local sourcing from Asia, providing greater integration of products or services such as additional production, assembly, tooling, purchasing or other benefi ts. BNL could also work in partnership with our customers to help them establish sourcing, even to help them set up their own facilities in Thailand.
These services would further complement and enhance the activities already provided from BNL’s global centre of excellence located at our HQ in the UK.
For further details please contact BNL on:
E: marketnig@bnl-bearings.com
T: 01423 799200
F: 01423 862259
www.bnl-bearings.com