As a part of its aim to support the internationalisation of the Thai-European automotive industry, TEBA recently worked together with a number of its members to help arrange a special automotive technology business mission to Germany with a group of Thailand-based automotive parts suppliers
As a part of its aim to support the internationalisation of the Thai-European automotive industry, TEBA recently worked together with a number of its members to help arrange a special automotive technology business mission to Germany with a group of Thailand-based automotive parts suppliers, including Siam NSK Steering Systems, NTN Manufacturing Thailand, Aapico Forging, companies in the Somboon Group, Asia Precision and others. The trip aimed to give the manufacturers knowledge about the latest production technologies and techniques from Germany.
The trip started with a visit to BMW Welt, where the various manufacturers got to see all the different products available from the BMW group, including the Mini, Rolls-Royce and Motorrad brands. The attendees were able to get up close and personal with BMW’s i3 and i8 electric vehicles. The group was also brought to a Mercedes Benz body shop to witness the modern production methods being employed by the company.
Also visited were some of the factories and facilities belonging to cutting tool technology company Walter AG and machine tool technology company the EMAG Group. These companies introduced the Thai manufacturers to advanced German manufacturing technology that can boost their productivity and profitability.
Another stop on the tour was the Auto & Technik Museum in Sinsheim, which features more than 3,000 exhibits from all areas of technical history. The exhibitions include a genuine Concord from Air France and the Russian Tupolev TU-144, more than 300 classic cars, 200 motorcycles, 40 racing cars, the largest permanent formula-1 exhibition in Europe, 60 airplanes, and 20 locomotives.
The trip is a part of TEBA’s World Class Automotive Supplier (WCAS) program, which aims to internationalise Thai automotive parts companies to be able to produce to international standards. In addition to a series of workshops on a variety of related topics, this program will bring a number of Thai automotive suppliers to this year’s automotive suppliers fair (IZB) in Germany in October to present Thailand’s manufacturing capabilities to the world’s top automotive OEMs.
