THECA: Thailand’s Coming-out Party

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Swaek Prakitritanon is vice president and general secretary of the Thailand Printed Circuit Association (THPCA), and we recently spoke about the inaugural Thailand Electronics Circuit Asia (THECA) trade show, July 24–26, in Bangkok. Among the six specific benefits cited for THECA attendees are valuable insights into the technology transfer to the China + 1 Asian region, specifically Thailand, as a ripe investment opportunity for PCB and PCBA companies. 

Nolan Johnson: Swaek, tell me about the history and mission of the Thailand Printed Circuit Association.

Swaek Prakitritanon: THPCA was first initiated by the World Electronic Circuits Council in 2017-18. Members were looking to set up a local office in Southeast Asia, and at that time, Thailand was producing approximately 3% of the world’s PCBs. THPCA chose Thailand to set up that office. 

For the past 30 years, the local industry has included many Japanese transplants, including the big automotive supply chain based here. Thailand exports about $1.4 billion of PCBs annually from roughly 10 PCB companies. PCB assembly has much larger numbers, with more than 250 companies here. 

THPCA has two main roles. The first is information exchange. We participate in various communication platforms, such as exhibitions and conferences. The second is supporting business investment in the region. 

Within those roles, we have four or five objectives. The first is government liaison and advocacy. We communicate with and educate various departments of the government to educate and supply them with different information. The second objective is people or workforce development. The third is supporting SMEs and developing different business clusters related to the electronics industry. We try to be a more technical association, rather than commercial. Our final objective is to survey and roadmap how to develop a stronger supply chain here in Thailand. It's a challenging and ambitious framework.

Johnson: Recent growth shows fabrication facilities having increased from 10 to almost 50, and EMS companies are now in the hundreds. How much of Thailand's gross domestic product is in PCB manufacturing, EMS, and packaging?

Prakitritanon: Thailand’s GDP is $490 million a year. For PCBs, it’s about 0.2%. But for the whole, the electronics industry is around $34 billion. Eight to 10% of the whole is from PCB fabrication. The number of PCB companies is growing. We project reaching 75–80 companies. If everything goes well over the next three years, we expect between $6 billion to $8 billion of PCB production in Thailand. Almost 100% percent of companies who’ve invested in Thailand for PCB fabrication have purchased enough land for two phases. We're likely to see a second phase where Thailand is producing 20–25% of what is being produced in China.

Of course, PCB fabrication is the backbone of the whole EMS system. Many members are also working to develop PCB assembly here in Thailand. In the first phase, all the PCB fabrication will be almost 100% exported for assembly in other locations, but we want that to change.

Johnson: Tell me about the upcoming THECA trade show. What's in store for attendees and exhibitors?

Prakitritanon: This commercial technical event will include an exhibition and a conference. Our objective is to create a platform for communicating with the global community. A base for this platform is the supply chain structure related to PCB assembly in Thailand. Everyone's looking to localize and merge, step by step, with the local supply chain.

Of course, the priority is first creating a platform where they meet local suppliers with whom they can start communicating. Government members should attend as a way to learn more and better understand this industry as Thailand did not strategically invite the PCB supply chain here initially.

The show is also for buyers. We have invited buyers from various sectors, including automotive, networking, telecommunication, and mobility. Thailand already has an established automotive supply chain.

Johnson: Your show agenda includes presentations from Prismark and Dr. Hayao Nakahara. What message do you anticipate will they convey about investing in Thailand?

Prakitritanon: They are well-known research entities with a long experience in this industry. One objective is to share global statistics data and in-depth analysis of this kind of supply chain vs. what is currently in our local community. Our government members lack access to some of this kind of information and do not understand the visibility and global structure of this industry well at the moment. This information will be helpful for them to support the industry here. 

From the investor side, we discussed being more specific in their analysis regarding the positioning of Thailand’s PCB and related electronic industries. They are very competitive and dynamic. Thailand is relatively small compared to other countries for this kind of industry. We would like to understand where we should be positioning ourselves in this part of the global supply chain. Where should we focus? What is necessary for us to be successful locally and also for the members who are settling here? 

Johnson: Staffing all these new facilities is a big challenge, and it’s certainly a global challenge. What are THPCA’s workforce development objectives?

Prakitritanon: We have put quite an emphasis on workforce development and on providing this to develop workers quickly. It is one of our core objectives.

In early 2022, we surveyed our current manufacturers’ thoughts about the workforce. We did a second survey to understand the labor requirements of different positions, from engineering and technicians to supervisors and operators. That gave us some numeric expectations for manpower requirements in the next three to five years, which includes a need for 20,000 engineers and technicians. We are working with different government bodies, including the Science and Industry Department, the Strategic Department, and 20 universities, to help us psychometrically map these different positions with their labor needs. Once we have more accurate numbers and the requirements for different positions, we can work to quickly communicate with the whole manufacturing industry about the workforce and help them attract the right people.

The Thai Board of Investment (BOI), responsible for foreign direct investment, has already started using public communication to attract more workers to PCB-related industries in Thailand. In the short- to midterm, we are working with the government to upskill and reskill the existing labor force. Of course, a weakness in Thailand is that, until recently, we have only had 10 PCB fabrication companies. So, we are working on co-development with our work members who already have well-established training content and a structure to help us quickly set up good curriculums for startup, upskilling, and reskilling training. We’re collaborating with universities and staff, and a research center here in Thailand to attract university students into industry. We plan to set up a training facility called the Thailand Electronic Circuit Center (TECC). 

We will also be hosting ECWC17, which is another challenge. Our objective is to link up with our local university and have 10–15% of the papers in this conference come from local contributors. 

Johnson: Bringing all this, especially PCB fabrication, into Thailand at a time when much attention is focused on being green must be a challenge. How are new facilities in Thailand addressing sustainability? 

Prakitritanon: The government has created tax incentives, rebates, subsidies, low interest, etc., on this kind of investment. The government has also invested in green energy, which is supported by some of Thailand’s big corporate players. These government initiatives help to drive ESG initiatives to net zero on electricity, like using solar, green energy, wind power, etc.

Additionally, we are working with the government on a smart grid. The challenge will be how we all get connected. The government is focusing on this over the next three years so that there is an incentive for people to put solar cells on the roofs of their factories. We are also working with the government on requirements to increase green energy consumption in factories. The basic environmental regulations here in Thailand are a relatively good standard in terms of water management and wastewater discharging. We are at par with the international standards for air pollution control. We can always do more, of course. The PCB industry consumes and discharges a lot of water.

Using a government survey, we are mapping each factory's total energy consumption, and then looking at how we plan for that in terms of supply and also in terms of creating some kind of infrastructure to minimize waste, do more recycling, and come up with more incentives and packages to subsidize and encourage this kind of activity.

Johnson: Congratulations on the upcoming show. Do you have any closing thoughts for our readers?

Prakitritanon: Thailand is a young supply chain. We look forward to seeing everyone, to greater communication, and to learning more from the international community as we work to grow our global supply chain presence here in Thailand. We look forward to everyone growing together in an environmentally sustainable way and to creating long-term relationships.

Johnson: Swaek, this has been very interesting and we look forward to a great show.

Prakitritanon: Thank you, Nolan.