KW Metal Work WHA Eastern Seaboard Works as an Ecosystem that Makes it Easier to Find Skilled Labor

Established in 2009, K.W. Metal Work PCL is a leading manufacturer of agricultural equipment and spare parts, including disc ploughs, chop ploughs, furrow wheels and dozer blades. With its headquarters in Bangkok, the company’s manufacturing facility is located at the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate (Rayong) (ESIE).

Equipped with hi-tech machines such as 400-ton screw presses and welding robots, KW Metal Work employs about 100 people, including R&D engineers and metallurgy specialists. ISO 9001 certified, it is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for Siam Kubota Corporation, an important maker of agricultural machinery, and it also sells its products to first-tier suppliers, retailers and wholesalers, both in the domestic and international markets. In October 2018, K.W. Metal was introduced in the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI) under the “KWM” symbol.

Mr. Ekapan Vanagosoom, K.W. Metal Work's
Chief Executive Officer

For Mr. Ekapan Vanagosoom, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, one of the key advantages of being located at ESIE is the possibility to find skilled labor in the industrial estate’s neighborhood. “With our industry’s increasing automation and use of advanced technologies, we need qualified engineers and technicians who are able to handle these sophisticated machines and robots, and we found that ESIE works as an “ecosystem” which makes it easier to find these people” he said.

His son, Mr. Ukrit Vanagosoom, who spent 10 years in Germany to study and do research on metallurgy, can explain at length how the consistent quality of steel depends on the high precision of the production process. “During the heat treatment phase to harden the steel, a tiny percentage variation of one ingredient such as carbon may cause a huge difference in terms of product quality,” he emphasized.

According to Mr. Ekapan and Mr. Ukrit, another key advantage provided by ESIE is the fact it provides everything the plant needs, from air pollution control to water treatment to energy supply such as electricity and natural gas. “Gas is quicker than electricity to reach high temperatures and we appreciate that WHA can provide everything we need,” they added.

Remarks: The article was written for WHA Group Newsletter February 2019 Vol. 42