Thailand Stages a Comeback

Bye all.

@Susan, bye. See you in next chat :)

See you next time, everyone! 

@tech, I am planning to visit Thailand soon,

Thanks, @BOI, for being here today. 

South East Asia

@tirlapur-Thailand is an awesome country-Totally Capitalist as well as in touch wid its roots!

What is SEA Jennifer ?

few year ago Vietnam was more open... Now this year myanmar is more open and some investor are know that opportunities are there so they go early.

I really hope Thailand government will take actions so that thailand will  not face the flooding problems in future.

Bye, @Jennifer. Stay away from the heat. 

@Jennifer-SEA?

Thanks everyone. Its was very informative. Never thought so much progress is happening in Thailand.

Bye everybody and have a good day

Bye!

Looking forward to the next chat. Thank you everyone... lively discussion as always.

bye @prahbakar!

Listening to some of their supply chain plans and hearing about their expansion plans gives me every reason to believe that Thailand will be a country worth considering, if companies have their eye on SEA

Thanks Bolaji, Jennifer, Very informative chat.

Thank you everyone to join this chat. I am looking forward to see you again

bye all

I am wondering if we can build somemodel similar to this one. We too face lot of flooding problems in our region.

Thank you Jennifer for your time and thanks to all our readers. Please join us for another Live Chat soon.

@Jennifer, sure I will get in touch with you. Thank you.

Bye Susan

I was expecting to see companies still struggling from the massive flood last year. I was happily surprised they weren't

@Fly In my opinion Thailan is not a big country, so flood like last year was heavily effect the country but that kind of flood may not effect US as a whole if it is happen in some part of US

Closing remarks....

anandvy - have to check my notes... think it's almost ready to ship. if you need more info  - email me at jenn at jennifer baljko, and I can put you in touch with the research center doing the work.

Thanks BOI and Jeniffer for this quite interactive and informative session

@Flyingsot, flood to flood ? Is it floods all around the year in scotland ?

Jenn, Any closing remarks?

So, let's wind this down: BOI guests, thank you so much for your availability and willingness to type at lightening speeds, and to Jenn for her perspective

@BOI-Thank you for your information.Learnt a lot!

@tech, true but atleast floods which is affecting the GDP of the nation wont have impact on the industry.

@Jennifer: yay! Yes, maybe it's a good idea to check the startup scene :)

Thanks everyone.

Scotland goes from flood to flood ;-)

BOI - Thanks so much for joining us on this chat. 

Thanks, Jennifer and BOI

@TIRLAPUR=Setting things up at higher altitudes brings its own sets of problems-Landslides Anyone?Power and INfra is also usually an issue.

@Jennifer, thanks for the reply. Is this technolgoy already implemented or still under research ? 

tiriapur - right - flood or drought... not much different than Northern California, huh - from el niño to water restrictions...

thanks Jennifer

The weather is weird in that it goes for flood to drought.

BOI _ Thanks !

@Jennifer @BOI: Thanks for bringing this new view of Thailand. 

Anandvy - it's a sensor that can be packaged in multiple ways, and will detect changes in water levels within centimeters... they told us right now the current sensors on the market detetc water level changes within in 50 cms, but in a flood zone, whether your house is flooded or not may be just a couple centimeters

Its surprising that now Severe drought looms in Thailand

@rabhakar we do have the National Disaster Warning Center after the flood

You have been great @Jen, @BOI!

@Jennifer, why can't Thai setup the infrastrcture at higher altitude so that flooding doesnt affect the industry ?

I agree, Language should not be barrier in Business.

Susan - I mean I didn't see it... Thailand could very well have a dynamic start-up scene, but I didn't have time this trip to check it out. Next time, I hope :-)

@Jennifer, what exactly is that technology, to measure the waterl level? 

@Jennifer and I'm sure it has other applications for which it can be marketed.

BOI- Has Thialand govt installed some kind advanced warning systems for cautioning theindustry about impending floods-storms and such natural disasters?

In the last few minutes, I'd like to invite our guests at BOI to add any last-minute comments on the topic of manufacturing in Thailand...? 

Everyone - just a ew more minutes. Any last thoughts?

for the hitech we set up national science and technology development agency to promote technology base in Thailand

The one who wins the War after losing the Battle is the Real Winner! That's what makes Thailand so special.Inspite of getting knocked (further because of the Political issues and then the Flood Issues);Thailand came roaring right back!

Awesome!

@Jennifer: What you mean is that there is no tech startup scene or that you didn't sense it/didn't see it?

... like one of the researchers told us about a sensor they are creating to better gauge water depth... a handy thing to have, and something being developed in response to the flood.

@Jenn--no problem--if I did, I wouldn't need to ask the question :-)

... but what I did see were some impressive research facilities and it seems like there could be a vibrant biz incubator scene, now that companies there plan to stay and grow there.

Barbara- good question... sad to say I don't have a good sense of the high-tech start up scene.....

@prabhakar, so true. Language shouldnt be barrier for any business.

@Jennifer, oh sorry about the heatwave. I posted question regarding emerging & raw material.  BOI already answered that though.

So Thailand has incredible low unemployment rate, and they are business-savvy, especially those who are creating small mom and pop businesses

@T4P: Chin-English?

When you are on the other side of the table you have to learn the -language, culture and what not - to clinch the deals in your favor

we know the situation and we try to teach English more in our education system

@Jennifer, what initiative government is taking to improve the infrastructure, including empowering thais with good english communication skills.

@jenn: good point. What is the start-up picture in Thailand in tech>

@Tirlapur-U mean Chin-English?

@FlyingScot-WoW! Now thats a massive compliment!! I am sure the Thais will love u for it!

@Jennifer, I agree with you. Thai english is far better than chinese.

BOI - That is good ! and essential too

English is important, but it's not the end all be all ... honestly, Thai are pretty savvy entrepreneurs in their own right

can you imagine even Japanese investor who use slighty english also succeed in doing business inThailand

Many Thai speak better English than Wasterners ;-)

@Adenji-No,its just that it isnt as big an issue as its made out to be.

I mean they can communicate with the foreign investor

@Adenji, its all about culture...i guess english is not given preference..

@Jennifer I know that feeling! It's been a hot summer in NY!

@prahbakar: It makes sense to me. They have to learn a diifferent alphabet, after all, it's not the same as just learning a language that uses the same alphabet you are used to. 

Wale - i thought I saw a question from you... but like I said my brain is melting from the heat wave in Barcelona ;-)

@Jennifer, yes Thai english is pretty good compared to chinese...

Is it that they don,t want to learn English at all or what?

fomr my own experience i never had any language problem when i bring some investor to visit some Thai factories

Jennifer that is a good sign. It helps in making delas faster

t4p - agreed... most of the plant workers will never have to communicate in English... they understand how to do they're job and they do it ...

@Jennifer, am not sure i asked question about energy... did i?

Generally, too, most of the Thai folks we met - senior management, mid-level managers, research - had a good grasp on English.... better than I personally expected...

I mean they could not talk English over phone

@T4P: I see!

@Jennifer a smart move on his part

@Jennifer-I think the value of English in the manufacturing space is Heavily Over-rated! You don't need to know English if your only job is to do repitive assembly!

Yes Susan In China many of the suppliers preferred only offline communication in English as they could talk English over phone. They had to take translators' help to trasnlate emails and thgeir replies.

... one of the principles leads at a research facilty told us he was even taking classes in finance so he could speak the business language of the world....

@Jen: Agreed!

people are doing what they can to become more English-ready...

@Susan-Nope,it was a question asked in Jest!

@PD, i think communication barrier in today's technology is being taking care of bit -by-bit.

@BOI: thanks!

And, yes, English is a  concern, but...

@prahbakar: At company level you mean? 

Wale - energy question...no one mentioned any major concerns about problems with energy, or at least non come staright to mind. I will scan a slide presentation I have about that, and put a comment up on the last dispatch I filed from Thailan, ok?

I am sure they are taking steps to improve their communication skills, if you remember China too faced the same problem couple of years back..

@Anand-I like the US ,Thailand and especially Myanmar on the Energy Issue.Myanmar is so rich in Energy resources it boggles the mind!!! The worst off will be India,China and the Phillipines.

@Barbara we set up special team included all government agency for flood recoverry so that the answer

@prabhakar, I agree with you. English is major concern for them.

@T4P: Why should they?

... they are ready to hit the ground running after  graduations... previously they did need more training after graduating, but that seems to be less of a problem now

How is the language barrier taken care of by the Thia idustry in communicating with the outside English world.

I had faced a lot of difficulties while trying to source components from China in terms of verbal communication

@wale so far no

@Jennifer-So u would say that The Thais are not ready to give up their hard-earned manufacturing success in a Hurry.Huh?

@Ashish, which countries are best suited there for manufacturing ?

... the schools are making them more "company-ready", meaning..

@BOI: Thailand did move very fast on prevention measures. I am curious...is the government fairly easy to deal with and that's how things got fast-tracked?

@Adeniji It depend on want sector you want to invest there are different supplier in ddifferent zone

@BOI, is there any concern over emergy/raw materials for HDD in Thailand

..  most executives said that the universities have come a long way from where they were 10-15 years ago when they first opened opeartions there....

anadvy - yes on the adoption of skills...

People are very good and learning all the latest technologies

Especially Soft Infrastructure

That's a good idea, moving the factories that are in the zone of more risk makes sense, @Jennifer

Just scanning the questions... any that we haven't answered yet

 I like Thailand has some of the best infrastructure in the world

@Waq yes we all suffer but we need to move forward very fast and you can see Honda now running their production as noral

The floods didn't really hit centrl bangkok.. most people in the many tourist parts of town told me the floods were abt 4 kilometrs from city center

@Hospice-Beats ME! I guess u shud ask them!!!

@BOI,

Pls what will you rate Thailand anomg manufacturing zone?

@Jennifer: Thanks!

BOI - Thanks.

Did the floods affect only Bangkok and the resulatnat supply chain operations or they also affected the countryside plants?

@T4P: The question is what will China do to maintain its economic growth when foreign companies would depart from the country?

.. the thai govt is also working on ways to start placing more factories near the Laos and Myanmar border... where some of the lower-skilled, high-volume production may end up as the more mature companies migrate to lower-volume, higher complexity

@prabhakar good question!

@prabhakar: I've never been to Thailand, but normaly you don't see factories in the cities, where is most likely that you go as a tourist. Or you were looking for factories in particular?

Prabhakar - there are a lot of factories around Ayuthaya, and along the eastern coast, near the port....

@ BOI

I think its a good sign that government is taking flood prevention measures seriously. There are many countries that dont learn any thing from natural disasters. I am glad Thailand realizes how bad it is for their economy.

@praharkar You are correct. the industrial zone are located in many province of Thailand

How is the power grid situation being taken care off - the contigency measures when the floods may force down some of the power plants?

I wonder what the flood prevention is costing the government and how this will be paid for in company tax?

@Prabhakar-China is also the largest importer of Soyabeans.Trouble is you can't eat Rare earths;but you can replace them easily[Japan is doing some great research] & alternative mines outside China[US,UK ,Canada,Australia]

Susan - I believe most of the Thai companies are selling to Europe. Most of the companies based there are multinationals with a big global reach.

@Barbara now we completed flood prevention measure phrase 1

...like they are building three meter high retaining walls, moving production up to the second floor, checking to see how the VMI hubs worked in a natural disaster

@WaqasAltaf,

Flooding does not really encourage farming like that .It could lead to total destruction of the land even for farming.It could also lead to loss  in soil nutirents which may render the land useless.

t4p - But China has huge natural resources of rare earth minerals

@WaqasAltaf most of them from Hydro

Wale - like the BOI said, the govt is working on various flood-prevention project. But also companies are taking preventative measures too...

@BOI: Do can manufacturing companies sell to Europe?

@WaqasAltaf: Flooding is never a good thing

When some few years back I visited Thialand as a tourist , I hardly saw any factories as such on our way to various places. Is the electronics industry spread around Bangkok or in the countryside?

@Prabhakar-You are slightly mistaken.China is now the World's Largest consumer of Energy and almost the Largest Importer.[Crude,Coal,Natural Gas and Uranium]/

Barbara - yes HDD prices were impacted -- they rose, and surprisingly have stablized at that higher price point. Now that there is industry consolidation happening, analysts don't expect those prices to fall soon

@BOI: do you see a challenge in that flood memories will fade with time? For example in the US, we don't think about Hurricane Katrina/New Orleans anymore, and I'm not even sure the prevention measures were ever completed...

@tech4people car manufacturing have there regional production base, so car from Thailand might not sell in US market

Since Thailand is the world's biggest rice producer as well, hasnt the flood made the land fertile for the coming years making rice a potential earner for Thailand  ? (Ignoring the destruction caused by flood to the crops that year)

@BOI-How much of the electricity Generated in Thailand is made from Coal,Natural Gas,Hydro and Fuel Oil?[Please give percentages]. Also how much of that is imported? Especially Crude Oil and Natural Gas?

t4p... some car prdtn may come back to the us, but not all of it will. Also the expansion of the Panama Canal could be a huge boon for East Coast/Gulf of Mexico ports

@Jennifer, any measure inplace to curb damage if not preventing near future?

How is Thialand placed in terms of natural resurces required for electronics production, compared to China which ahs world's one of the largest natural resources

50 years!!, thanks Jennifer.

@tech4people flankly answer both are going up but we try to move to the alternative energy

They are now aggressive implementing emergency management plans or re-evaluating what worked and what didn't

@Jennifer-I dont think so.How do you expect cars made in Thailand to be exported all the way to the US?Especially if Fuel costs do keep rising!

Most companies we spoke with saw the flod as a wake up call

Jenn: Did the price of HDD also impact those earnings? I know that prices increased -- not to imply there was price gouging -- but the market-driven demand did drive up prices

@wale.. Thailand OK for prodn plants but I see China moving futher up the food chain now.

Adeniji - the chances of another flood of this magnitude, who knows really. This was the first time in 50 years such a flood hit, and there were other issues byond heavy rains

flooding  depend on the worldclimate change also

@Adeniji, thanks for the question. Though, its very uncertain as regards weather and natural disasters.

@prabhakar: yes, me too. Thailand as a tech hub as mentioned was a nice surprise. I always thought its main source was tourism

Sure HDDs are going to be replaced by Solid state storage in many platforms in my opinion

@BOI-How expensive or otherwise are Fuel Costs in Thailand today?Both Electricity and Diesel?If you were to compare it the chief competition(China,Laos,Phillipines,Cambodia,etc)?

@Susan Yes, the more advance notice one has, the better one can  prepare to avert catastrophe.

Labour cost shouldnt be the only concern. Cost of material and availability of natural resources are also a concern while making investment in a country. Not to forget the political environment. 

for another flood we did expect and the mega flood before last year happened 10 year ago

thanks Jennifer

prabhakar - the offshore trend is always competitive... Thailand is not really only competing with China.. it's competing with Barzil, Costa Rica, and maybe one day even Detroit.

@BIO: That's all good!

@Flyingscot, increase in cost is very predictable and also think Thailand would become stronger than China later in the future. What do you think?

@T4P: thanks!

How high is the possibility of Thailand experiencing another flood and how well are you prepare for it?

@Barbara-Not yet.We are maybe 35% through that transistion.

@T4P: You have a point, but not every manufacturer wants to withdraw from China, right?

Adeniji - There was a impact on HDD sales, but the industry has mostly recovered faster than expected and many HDD companies reported record sales and profits recently.  I'll be covering just that topic for Velocity's ezine, our sister pub very soon. Bolaji can tell you when that will be live.

but for China the investor aim for huge domestic market

@Ariella: hi. Big data and weather sure can help countries affected by natural disasters, they could anticipate -if possible-and be prepared in a more efficent way.

will the trend of back to on-shoringback to US, affect Thialand also alongwith China

I think many companies in Thailand have production base for not only domestic market but also for export

Question to anyone: isn't the industry moving away from HDD and to chip-based storage? If so, does that signal a change for Thailand?

@Hospice_ Houngbo thank you and now we try to like this all countries together with trasportation system

I also see our costs in China increasig now.

Celestica told us they were considering setting up operations near the Thai border and sending some of their low-end engineering work there to start building skills in that area

@Hospice-I disagree.The value of keeping production(for exports) in China is shrinking for most Western manufacturers(especially as they build automated asembly lines back home very easily).

T4P - interesting that you mention Laos, Philippines and other SEA countries. They are very much on people's radar screens

By torurism Vs tech I want to compare the dependancy of the nation

@BOI

I there is a huge setback in the production of HDD, What effect do you think this will have on Notebook

As I know some part of China thelabor cost is going up too 

@BOI: You are not looking at just one asean country. That's a very smart strategy

@Jennifer yes, that's what I meant. Thanks for responding.

Do you see HDD -education curriculum making a different to Thailand HDD market in future?

Ariella- see what ending soon - the China fad? Nope, although I think countries like Thailand and Malaysia offer competitive alternatives. People are getting frustrated with things in China and it is getting more expensive do biz there, but it's still a huge market that can't be ignored.

Ok Jennifer. I will find out from your older blogs

we produce the the good an ser vice that match for our country

@Jennifer: Do you mean tourism vs. tech as ways of exports or something else? 

we didnt look China as the competitor but we can work together as ASEAN+6

@T4P: You may be correct, but chna labour market is still apealing to most western companies

@BOI

What is the  percentage decrease in production of HDD as a  result of the flood disaster

@BOI I picked up on your mentioning better weather data. It got my interest because I once wrote about the use of big data in long term weather predictions and how useful that can prove for businesses -- even when it doesn't include potential disasters from flooding. 

Prabhakar - WD said the recovery cost them  million and millions of dollars. I had cited an economist in one of my stories abt the total estimated loss. I don't have that number right at my finger tips. 

How important is the Emerging Competition from the Phillipines,Cambodia and Laos?

@Jennifer do you see it ending soon?

Yes, wages may be higher in China, but the "everyone wants to be in China" fad hasn't yet ended.

How much can be called as a monetary loss due to the floods?

BOI - I'll let you answer the tourism vs tech question

Both seem super important to me....

@BOI-Are you sure China is your biggest competition?Are'nt wages in China higher than in Thailand today?

we also have many suppliers in many sector to support investment in Thailand

@jenn and BOI: of the companies that moved to alternative sources--is this business coming back?

Thanks, @Bolaji. 

Companies said hey were able to move inventory -- albeit inventory was only at about 2 weeks in some cases -- and deliver to other manufacturing sites

in terms of the revenues earned how does the Thai electronics industry fare with the tourism which has been the main stay for Thialand for many years

This is a comment more than a question: Kudos to BOI and the electronics compnaies in Thailand for being so open and candid. I read every word of Jenn's stories and I was impressed with the level of information that was shared

Thank you for joining. Please join the conversation everyone.

hubs

OEMs and CMs had to tap other suppliers to fill teh gaps, but also worked well were the VMI huns

Barbara - both

so the market are there 600 million people of ASEAN

WD said they are working with professors to create specific HDD-engineering cirriculum

thailand is the middle of ASEAN and now many many ASEAN countries are more open

@jenn: earlier you mentioned executives/compnaies being able to move manufacturing and second source supply. Do you mean that OEMs went to alternative sources, or suppliers were able meet demand by tapping capacity elsewhere?

Bolaji - to your point.. high tech companies are working with universities to create  more focused engineering programs

Moving away from the flooding, what are the key strengths of Thailand that can help it remain competitive as a manufacturing zone?

Thailand is moving away from being known as a high-volume manufacturing company to producing more complex products

we do have aplan to find another place to set up a new deep sea port

@jennifer I do agree with you

Also, another important thing to mention....

In just a few minutes, we'll open the floor up for questions. There's a lot of ground to cover. Thanks for your patience.

we have to have bettter both weather prediction system and draining systm

What's also worth noting is that Thailand developing quite a bit of port, rail and road infrastructure. BOI can you speak to that? I think it's a big deal for supply chain professionals, and the port expansion is particularly interesting.

BOI - what are some of the plans you have in mind? What are the top flood preventation projects on your radar screen for this year and next?

in 3 stages

first the construction of dykes and repair works which is underway

second  dredging canals, fixing water sluice gates, and building the Kaem Ling - Monkey's Cheek - water retention systems.

third  dredging canals and making sure that sewerage systems are effective in Bangkok and other provinces in the lower central region.

Production lines at Western Digital, for example, were shut down for 46 days. All of their equipment was under water, and had to be taken apart piece by piece. One of their key suppliers was down for months. But WD and other companies like Benchmark, Celestica, Seagate, were able to transfer some of the production to other plants

we do have implemented plan

BOI - What do you think was the biggest advantage Thailand had in dealing with the flood? How are the recovery effort tracking now?

@tech4people I think China

What struck me most about being in Thailand, was that so many of the conversations with executives talked about the floods as a major event, but also how quickly they were able to move manufacturing and second source supply

Ashish, Please hold the comments for now. Thank you.

for HDD may be WD and for auto is Honda

@BOI-Who do you see as your Chief competition in the Hard Disk and Auto space Today?

compare to last year we produce less mainly because of the mega flood

The floods that blanketed the area hit many of the HDD makers and electronics industry pretty hard. What was was the biggest impact in terms of financial number, or supply chain operations?

Hello Everyone

we are ranked no. 14 in the world

How does that compare from the year before?

avout auto we produced amost 1.5 million cars last year

I stand corrected - the number I cited was for computer and parts, not the whoe E&E exports.

for the HDD thailand have WD Seagate hitachi and Fujitsu

total export for E&E last year was 32.7 bil $

I believe the word for welcome in Thai is Sawadeeka! Thank you for joining the conversation.

One of the things that struck me most was just how big the electronics sector is in Thailand. It accounted for about $17 billion in exports in 2011.

Hi Polapat and Supisara. Nice talking to talking with you again.

@Jennifer I did't join the trip to Thailand .. but I also want to know how eas it

Just saying hello, I know to hold off on questions.

Yes, I will be talking about the flood and the amazing recovery job. First, though, I'm going to ask the BOI to gives us a little information about how big the electronics and automotive industry is in Thailand. These are major makrkets for them

hi everyone I (Polapat ) and My boss (Ms. Supisara) ready to chat with you

we do have someone from the Thailand BOI on the chat. Can you chime in and say hello and introduce yourself. 

I will inform the audience when to chime in with comments and questions. Thank you.

@Jennifer: Tell us about your visit to the Thai Land. NO more sign of the flood there, I hope

Please hold all comments and questions until Jennifer has posted her initial comments.

You can see some of the posts I wrote on EBN, and soon there will be a few other stories in the Velocity ezine.

Jennifer Baljko has been reporting on the electronics industry supply chain for years and will be chatting with us today on the impact of last year's flooding on the electronics supply chain. She recently visited Thailand on the invitation of the Thai trade board. She will also be introducing a participant from the Thai board during this chat. Please go ahead.

Hi Susan!

We also talked about plans they have to continue builing in Thailand, and how the country is evolving its manufacturing strategy.

@prabhakar: hello! 

We talked about the floods that hit large parts of central Thailand last year, the impact it had onthe supply chain and how electronics companies have recovered.

@Barbara: Hello!

@Jennifer: Yes, it sounds great. :)

Hi, Bolaji

Hi Susan

I was in Thailand a few weeks ago. The Thailand Board of Invesstment invited journalists to tour the country and visit with executives in the electronics industry.

Welcome to today's Live Chat with Jennifer Baljko. First a few words of introduction.

Hello everybody Good -noon-evening

Hello everyone

Hi everyone... thanks again for joining us. Ready?

@Bolaji: Hello! 

@FlyingScot! Hello!

@Waqas: hello! 

Sounds great Jennifer

Welcome Jennifer!

Hello all. We will begin the Live Chat in a few minutes

@jbond! hi!

@Wale: Hello!

Just a reminder: I'll be making a few introductory comments soon. Today, we're lucky to have some folks from the Thailand Board of Investment on the call. I will ask them a few questions about Thailand's electronics industry and the flood recovery. Then we'll open the floor for a broader Q&A, ok?

2mns to 11a.m

What a world! Some people busy with works right now, while some still sleeping and just waking up.

Hi everyone

hello all

@BOI: Hello! Welcome to EBNOnline, and thanks a lot for being here with Jennifer and us today. :)

Good Morning Everyone

Waiting a few minutes for Bolaji and then we'll get started.

@Susan, you done well!

Good on you, Susan. Short is better.

@Jennifer: I have been calling Hospice HH for quite a long time now. :) Today I satrted calling tech4people T4P. They know I always find new names for them if they are long. :D 

Hello BOI. Thanks for joining us.  Who's the lucky person?

@BOI New York, you welcome.

Too hot.... my brain is melting. Apologizing now for typos and missed words....

Hi people. @Jennifer, summer has been fair enough though here in UK. One thing - highly unpredictable.

hi everyone. I am representative from Thailand Broad of Investment. I am really happy to meet you all here.

Hello, @Jennifer! :) It's been raining in this norther part of the world all day long. But nice, anyway. What about the south? 

Susan T4P ( I like that nickname), and Hospice (can we call you HH?) you're always early.

Hi everyone. How's summer treating you?

Hello, @HH! 

ah yes-that will do susan!

Hi, everyone! Early birds are already here.

Hey, T4P! (I found you a new short name:)Well, just to keep us warm around the fire while we listen to Jennifer's stories about Thailand'd manufacturing news and surprises. 

Thailand were very big in the Hard Disk and Auto space.Massive-Massive exporter of both these products.I remember Apple warning their IPhone deliveries will be hit after Thailand's floods.

Hey Susan! Looks like you wanna start a Fire!

Hello, hello. Testing the room, and lighting it up.