Friday the university, RMUTK, had arranged a visit to the production facility of Electrolux in Thailand. The facility was built as a part of the restructurering program Electrolux initiated in 2004 as a consequence of consumer demand for better products at lower prices, globalization and a pressure for having cost-competitive manufacturing from producers from low-cost countries. The facility is situated in the Rayong province some 200 kilometers from Bangkok. The location has been chosen due to tax exemption schemes from the Board of Investment of Thailand, transportation parameters, access to suppliers and closeness to future growth markets. The factory has primarily sourced washingmachines and dryers to parts of Asia and Australia but has recently begun sourcing to Europe and Americas as well.
Electrolux had planned an impressive 3½ hour programme for us with presentations by the GM, HR manager and Product Development Manager of sales and marketing activities, product development, production and a tour of the factory.
We highly appreciate the kindness and all the work that Electrolux had put into making our visit successful. The visit was very valuable to our course and extremely relevant for our students in general putting a practical perspective into the theory of the academic world.
Below a few pictures from our trip to the factory. On our way back we had a first hand experience of the famous Bangkok trafic as the bus drive home took 4 hours! Nevertheless we enjoyed the opportunity to see the countryside and surroundings of Bangkok.
