Bangkok--20 Jul--DC Consultants
Presided over by Dr Witoon Simachokedee, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, the Industry Tomorrow Expo 2012 is officially launched today as part of the government’s rehabilitation project to relieve burdens of SMEs and OTOP entrepreneurs affected by last year’s flood.
Dr Witoon Simachokedee, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, said that the Industry Tomorrow Expo 2012 is part of the government’s industrial clinic project to help flood-hit SMEs and OTOP operators restore and maintain all their necessary business processes after the ministry has collaborated with educational institutions, advising companies and financial institutions to offer assistance in rehabilitating the production processes to those flood-affected operators in the first phase, including the repair of machinery, production equipment, buildings and other facilities.
“Last year’s flood crisis caused great damage and widespread disruption to the operation of Thai business sectors at all levels, particularly SMEs and OTOP entrepreneurs. There are over 5,000 affected business operators from 30 provinces registered to seek the government’s help under the post-flood recovery and restoration programme. The department is now proceeding with the introduction of the ‘Industry Tomorrow Expo 2012’ in order to help these operators to overcome obstacles and pass this hard time together,” he said
Dr Pasu Loharjun, Director General of the Department of Industrial Promotion, said that the exposition, which will last for three days over an area of 5,000 square metres, will feature a wide selection of quality products from nationwide SME and OTOP entrepreneurs at over 200 booths.
In addition to the exposition featuring a comprehensive range of products, an abundance of new experiences and opportunities for those looking to enter the industry can be found there, including the insightful information and consulting services by the Department of Industrial Promotion and itspartners, along with the opportunity to increase their competitiveness and directly meet new potential customers in the business and e-marketing zones.
“We are confident that the Industry Tomorrow Expo 2012 will be an effective professional platform for all entrepreneurs to extend their distribution channels and build some new business networks, enabling them to achieve higher incomes. Plus, Thai operators can use this venue to demonstrate their potential and readiness to continue operations in the face of a crisis.” Dr Pasu added.
During the three-day event, the organisers also hope that entrepreneurs and public citizens will acquire many fresh ideas to grasp market trends and increase their competitiveness in production and marketing from academic seminar events led by many renowned experts, scholars and successful businessmen on different topics.
Highlights of the seminars include ‘Enhancing SMEs’s competitive advantages for the Asean Economic Community’ by Kriangsak Theppadungporn, Managing Director of Ampol Food Processing Ltd, ‘Empowering your business plan with IT’ by Pongtawat Pichetlermanwong from Hewlett-Packard (Thailand) Ltd, ‘Keys to success in Japan’s market for SMEs’ by Taketoshi Arikawa, an expert of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), ‘How to prepare for crisis’ by Dr. Cherdchai Prapanavarat from the department of Electrical Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi and ‘The Eurozone crisis and its impact’ by Wiwan Tharahirunchote, Executive Chairman of Kasikorn Research Centre.
The Industry Tomorrow Expo 2012 is now open and will continue until July 22, 2012, from 10.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.