Polyplex Thailand conducted a successful public listing within two years of the company’s start-up in 2012. Its management team has made good financial and investment calls, resulting in consistent growth, and unrivalled market leadership.
Words from the winner
Polyplex (Thailand) Public Limited
Film Success
Raw materials producer packs a successful punch.
Polyplex (Thailand) Public Limited’s core business is the manufacture of PET films. It has since diversified its business portfolio to include BOPP, Blown PP/PE and CPP films produced in state-of-the-art plants. Integrated downstream capabilities of metallizing, silicone coating (offline chemical coating) and extrusion coating deliver further value-added products. With over 30 years’ experience in the PET film industry, consistent expansion in production capacity, and an extensive network of sales and representative offices, Polyplex is undeniably a leader in its field.
PET film, sold under the brand name Sarafil, is the core business of the company, which focuses mainly on three key segments: packaging, industrial and electrical. Polyplex Thailand’s customers use the product as raw material to produce coffee/tea bags, snack packaging, softener and detergent pouches, wire/cable wraps and hot stamping foil. Major clients include Unilever, Nestle and Tetrapak.
The PET film industry is a competitive industry, which sees capacity additions whenever utilization of existing capacities increase to 80-85 percent. The additions of 2008 – 2011 resulted in an excessive oversupply for the last four to five years, leading to erosion of margins for a prolonged period. Polyplex, with its highly competent management and long industry experience, has been able to weather such storms. It has continued to provide its customers value at par or better, while increasing multi capability production lines to support innovation.
Polyplex’s innovation center has also introduced value-added products in several areas through a well-defined customer engagement process to align innovations with customer requirements. Various lines in differing countries have also opened up. In 2013 alone a Thick PET film line in Thailand, a Thin PET film line in America and a line for Blown PP films in Thailand were established.
To ensure it delivers nothing but the best, Polyplex adheres to ISO 14001:2004 certification for environment management, ISO 9001:2008 certification for quality management, OHSAS 18001:2007 certification for occupational health and safety management, as well as ISO 22000:2005 certification for food safety standards.
As the capacity utilization in the industry has improved over the last couple of years, major investments in new capacities are expected to start from 2019 onwards. These new investments will lead to supply outpacing the demand growth in the recent future. In anticipation of fierce competition and to sustain the company’s financial health, Polyplex has made strategic investment in a new greenfield project in Indonesia, as well as investments in debottlenecking its existing capacities.
Polyplex Thailand believes strongly in investing in its people, considering all personnel to be valuable assets, critical to the success and growth of the organization. The company is committed to providing a quality-oriented work environment, with special emphasis on safety, along with fair and equitable remuneration. Training programs are designed to improve various aspects of work life, such as technical competence, quality assurance, team building, and enhancement of leadership skills, time management skills, safety awareness, and basic firefighting, thereby improving the quality of the working life of employees. In the past year, a total of 15,309 man hours of training were imparted to employees of Polyplex Thailand and overseas subsidiaries. Feedback of employees participating in these trainings were also sought, in order to help improve the quality of future trainings.
Polyplex is closely integrated into local communities through comprehensive and sustained social programs which include blood-donation drives at all its facilities across the world, free eye check-ups and inoculation camps in collaboration with local hospitals, installation of portable water coolers in public spaces, and active support to flood relief efforts in India and Thailand.
