A cost efficiency management plan has lead to Thailand’s leading instant noodle manufacturer relocating its biscuit and cookie factory from Si Racha, Chon Buri to Rayong. The move will cost Thai President Foods (TFP) in the region of 185 million to 200 million baht and will take place in September 2007, doubling the plant’s capacity to 42 tonnes per day.   

 

 Mama noodles will be made at the vacant site where it will cost around 100 million baht to reequip the plant with a machine capable of producing 400,000 packs of noodles every eight hours. When installed, the Si Racha site will be capable of producing 1.2 million packs per day.   

 

 A five-year pay-back period has been set for the new machine which will reduce operating costs and offset the increased price of wheat flour which is forecast to rise from its current US$290 per tonne to US$390.   

 

 In Thailand, the average person consumes 30 packs of noodles per year. In Korea the figure is 70.8 packs and in Indonesia, Japan and China the figure is 52.1, 42.8 and 33.9 packs respectively.  

 

  In addition to the new noodle machine, TFP plans to re-launch some existing products and launch a few new ones, but not as many as the 10 per year it was churning out a few years ago. The key for the future, says the company, is to focus on nutritional value.   

 

 While TFP believes the noodle market will grow by seven per cent in 2006, it expects sales of its own products – Mama, Bissin and Hommy products – to exceed that growth. While Mama will grow by 10 per cent it says that Bissin and Hommy products will both achieve growth of 20 per cent.   

 

 In addition to servicing the domestic Thai market, TFP plans to export noodle-based products to the USA and Europe.