Thai auto parts maker to ride into Vietnam

Auto parts maker ZF Thailand is mapping out plans to open offices in Vietnam and Cambodia this year, its managing director, Sumate Jaito, has announced.

Jaito said after establishing a firm foothold in Thailand, his company, an affiliate of Germany's ZF Group, was eyeing markets elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Its expansion plans coincide with a Thai curb on the production of commercial vehicles, hitting the auto parts industry.

Jaito believed his company's products, with strict quality control from the parent company in Germany, could compete with others in Asia.

The ZF Group set up a representative office in Thailand seven years ago and expanded operations with the establishment of a CKD (complete knockdown) production line in Rayong town, southeast of Bangkok.

ZF Thailand specializes in making parts for buses and pick-up trucks. It holds around 50 percent of the country's agricultural and construction machinery parts market.

The ZF Group has its Southeast Asian headquarters in Singapore besides another production facility in Malaysia.

Source: Asia Pulse News