Thailand-based Sri Trang Agro-Industry PCL, the world’s largest fully integrated natural rubber company, will be investing around 2 billion Baht to increase its annual rubber production capacity from last year’s 2.4 million tonnes to 2.9 million tonnes this year.
“The company is the only one in the global natural rubber industry that covers the rubber business from upstream to downstream,” according to Veerasith Sinchareonkul, a director of Sri Trang.
“Last year, we grew 33% (in sales volume), against the global natural rubber market expansion of only 3%, or with a global demand for natural rubber of 12.5 million tonnes.”
The company has begun setting up a rubber plant in the Northeast region of Thailand with a capacity of 7,200 tonnes per month. It is also expanding its existing plant in Indonesia by 5,000 tonnes a month.
The company has targeted sales of between 1.3 million tonnes and 1.7 million tonnes this year, up from about 1.5 million tonnes last year.
As part of a five-year goal, the company aims to raise its global market share to 20%.Last year, it commanded a global market share of 12%, thanks to rising demand worldwide.
The company will also focus more on research and development to serve the specific demands of customers.
Sri Trang’s operation spans rubber plantations and rubber processing for items such as medical examination gloves.
The company’s 35 plants are spread out across Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar. Together, they have production capacity of 2.4 million tonnes a year.
In the downstream business, its subsidiary Sri Trang Gloves (Thailand) Co is Thailand’s largest and the world’s No.5 maker of medical gloves.
Sri Trang is the only Thai rubber company with dual listings – on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and the Singapore Exchange.