INGRESS Autoventures Co Ltd (IAV), a member of the Ingress Corp Bhd group of companies, may expand its operations in Thailand in anticipation of more business from the world’s top carmakers.

Since its first contract to supply door sash to Ford and Mazda in August 1996, IAV has gained a solid reputation for its quality, and today also supplies parts to Toyota, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Honda.

IAV operates out of Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate in Rayong. Dubbed the “Detroit of the East”, Rayong is home to major carmakers and their parts suppliers, together producing close to a million cars a year.

Individual parts : Machines have different specifications for each component made for a particular car manufacturer.

IAV started with one 2,640 sq m factory, and built a second facility next door in March 2001 as business grew. About RM100 million has been invested in the plants so far.

“At the moment our sash production is about 85 per cent capacity, bellows between 50 per cent and 60 per cent capacity, and mouldings 50 per cent,” IAV chairman and Ingress executive vice chairman Rameli Musa said.

Sash is the framing in which the panes of glass are set in car doors, while bellows are sealed chambers attached to exhaust systems.

Speaking to Business Times in Rayong recently, Rameli said the major carmakers in Thailand are now selecting suppliers for their models to be introduced in 2006.

“If we get the new Honda Civic and Nissan contracts, then definitely we need to expand. For now we can cope by moving our storage space outside the plant,” he said.

IAV operations are based on the just-in-time delivery concept. Only one-and-a-half day’s of stock is kept for door sash supplied to Honda.

“A lower stock means we cannot afford to make any mistakes. We must get it right the first time,” Rameli said.

It is understood that Honda, for example, penalises vendors 6,000 baht (100 baht = RM9.85) for every second of delay in delivery of parts to the production line. Early delivery is also penalised because it can disrupt the production sequence.

IAV managing director Zainal Osman said the company is submitting quotations to supply parts for 13 models to be introduced between 2004 and 2008. These include the new Honda Vios, Civic, City and Accord, and new pick-ups from General Motors, Ford/Mazda and Nissan.

Rameli said carmakers in Thailand inform vendors well ahead of time about the new models to be introduced, which facilitates research and development efforts and changes that need to be made to production lines.

“It is this forward planning that helps us. With others we may not know until the last minute,” he said.

The passenger car segment in Thailand grew 41.7 per cent in 2003. Within the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) region, Malaysia was the number one car producer until 2002, when Thailand took over.

IAV recorded its first profit in 2000, and has been growing ever since. For the last financial year ended January 2004, sales grew about 60 per cent while profit doubled, Rameli said.

“We expect to see double-digit growth this year as well, though not as strong as in 2003/2004. Our Honda business contributed 34 per cent to revenue,” he added.

In Thailand, Honda is catching up with Toyota, especially in the passenger car segment. For pick-ups, the top three players are Isuzu, Toyota, and Nissan. Car production in Thailand is forecast to reach 900,000 units in 2004.

IAV is QS9000 and ISO14001 certified, and has received quality awards from Auto Alliance, a Ford and Mazda joint venture. IAV has 226 employees, which will grow to 258 by year-end.

IAV shareholders are Ingress Engineering Sdn Bhd (62.50 per cent), Ingress Precision Sdn Bhd (11.21 per cent), Katayama Kogyo Co Ltd of Japan (20.23 per cent), and Mitsubishi Corp Co Ltd (6.07 per cent)

Katayama Kogyo was founded in 1947. It established Katayama American Company Inc (KACI) in 1988, in Kentucky, USA. Its principal customers include Mazda Motor Corp, Mitsubishi Motors Corp, Hino Motors Ltd, Hashimoto Forming Industry Co Ltd, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Ltd.

Recently-appointed Katayama executive vice president Atsutaka Seto was also in Rayong recently, to see first-hand IAV’s operations. He was given a briefing on the company and the Thai car market, and toured the production floor, where he spent more than two hours observing the work and noting where improvements can be made.

“I identified about 40 points, minor things that are easy to do. Give them a try, and I am confident we can see about 20 per cent improvement in efficiency,” Seto said.