JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #104 - April/May 2016 - 4

point of view: Thailand smiles at composites

"We estimate the growth of Thailand's
composite market to be around 10% in 2015"

interview
Danu Chotikapanich
President
Thai Composite Association

Thanks to its dynamic economy and population of nearly 70 million,
Thailand is a country of some weight - not only in the ecosystem of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which was founded in
Bangkok in 1967, but also more broadly in the whole Asia-Pacific region.
While the events of May 2014 did have an impact on the country's economy,
its fundamentals are strong and growth is back, and not just for the
composite sector. To learn more about this growing sector, we spoke with
Danu Chotikapanich, who is both president of the Thai Composites Association
and CEO of Cobra International Co., Ltd., Thailand's largest processor.
in composites education and
training.

JEC Composites Magazine:
Could you describe the scope of
your association?

JCM: What are the main tasks
you defined as President of
the Association?

Danu Chotikapanich:

D. C. : The most important

The Thai Composites
Association was created on
26 February 1993 to be the
centre of the Thai composites
industry. The objective of the
association is to coordinate
local and overseas, governmental and private organizations to enhance the technical capabilities, products
and market presence of the
Thai composites industry. It
helps local manufacturers to
develop, supports and links
academic research & development, and plays a pivotal role

task is linking all stakeholders
together.
Thailand is located right in the
middle of Asia and the ASEAN
region. There are projects and
opportunities all around. Composites part manufacturers and
the supply chain are already
firmly established. Thailand
has more than 100 composites
PhD graduates working in
various university and research
institutes. All the ingredients
are ready. The industry only
needs a catalyst - and that's the
key task of the association.

We need to create a network
and provide business-matching services, to put various
market sectors in touch with
players in our industry, to
bring academics and business
together, to bring local business out to the World, and to
bring the composites World
to Thailand.
And in this process, we need
to educate designers, engineers, policy makers and the
general public about composites and their applications.
JCM: Are your members representative of the composite
sector in Thailand?

D. C. : Yes. We have roughly

70 member companies ranging
from small composite shops
to very large enterprises - raw

About the Thai composites Association
Founded in February 26, 1993 as a club of entrepreneurs
in FRP, industry, under the facilitation and collaboration of
Department of industrial Promotion and Division of Industrial Service. After awhile, the club acquired more members
until March 20, 1995 when the club proposed the letter to
"Office of National Culture Commission" and registered as
the Association under the name "Thai Fiberglass Reinforced
Plastic Industry Association, which later on changed to "Thai

4 jec composites magazine / No104 April - May 2016

Composites Association" with the goal to develop and create
competitive advantages of Thai composite industry in global
arena.
Thai Composites Association was established to be the
center of companies, specialist and individuals who are
interested in composites material. The core objective of TCA
is to enhance competitiveness of Thai Composites Industry to
response local demand and compete internationally.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #104 - April/May 2016