A global leader in specialty piping systems, in June, the company announced a 20 billion baht (over US$600 million) investment to produce high-grade alloy and steel plates for pipes used in the oil, gas and other industries.
This marks an important new era in our commitment to Thailand as our operational headquarters. Since we first entered the Thai market 10 years ago, we have employed a deliberate strategy to make Thailand our global base because of its strategic location and reliability.
said Giacomo Sozzi, chief executive officer of the group.
“The diligence of our Thai employees has propelled our global success story,” he added.
With construction set to begin in September, the new plate mill is described as the most technologically advanced factory of its kind in Southeast Asia and unique to Thailand. Designed by Siemens VAI and scheduled to start production in 2012, the state-of-the-art plant will have an annual capacity in excess of 1 million tons of metal plates, achieving vertical integration of Canadoil’s operations. About 95% of the group’s raw materials are hot-rolled plates, which it transforms into pipes, fittings, pressure vessels and other piping products.
The new mill, Canadoil Plate Ltd or CPLATE for short, will enable the company to produce these plates in-house instead of buying the materials in the market.
Located at the group’s production center in Rayong province’s Amata City Industrial Estate, the project is expected to turn Thailand into a regional hub for specialized metal plates. In addition, the know-how introduced through training will accelerate the development of metallurgy engineering in the country.
The project will also contribute substantially to the Thai economy by creating 5,000 jobs during the construction phase and 1,000 direct employees once the plate mill is operational.
At its Rayong manufacturing center, Canadoil has several other projects promoted by the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) besides CPLATE. These include plants under Canadoil Asia Ltd. for fabrication, fitting and pressure vessels, Canadoil Coating Ltd. for pipe coating, and Canadoil Pipe Ltd. for steel pipes, cladding and overlay products. The group also has trade and support offices in Bangkok.
Canadoil Group, a privately held group of companies with its roots in Northern Italy, was founded over 40 years ago and has grown to become a leading supplier of customized oil and gas piping solutions with operations in North America, South America, Europe and Japan, supplying the world’s most well known gas and oil exploration operators.
The company is unique for its ability to produce a broad range of piping solutions suited to some of the toughest environments known on earth, including deep sea beds where there are extreme temperatures and pressures which the piping equipment needs to withstand.
The new plant will have the potential to generate up to 1,000 direct employees This will also create an additional 5,000 jobs during the construction phase. Furthermore, Thai engineers who will be working at the plant will be provided with extensive training programs by Canadoil Group in Europe and Japan.
Giacomo Sozzi added,
“In addition to the financial investment we are making in Thailand, which will help to turn Thailand into a regional hub for specialized metal plates, we believe that the expertise and know-how which we are introducing through the training phase, will also significantly contribute to furthering the development of metallurgy engineering in Thailand.”
