A Dashing Thai Outdoor Furniture
A DashingThai Outdoor Furniture
Thailand has one style connection to the US president, Bangkok's Hawaii Furniture and Construction Co has supplied outdoor furniture sets to the White House.
The company started as a small manufacturer sixty years ago with only 10 workers. It now runs a plant in Prachin Buri province with annual revenues of 200 million baht.
Hawaii Thai, as the company is known, produces 300 containers of furniture a year, 30% sold domestically and the rest exported.
The company is confident it can achieve 20-30% growth in revenues this year as its main markets are lucrative casinos, five-star hotels and high-end customers. The company, after all, sells furniture to palaces in the Middle East.
Hawaii Thai customers are still investing and are not so affected by the world's sluggish economy, according to its CEO.
“Although wtih increasing competition from China and Vietnam, countries with lower labor costs, Thai weavers have skills that are unique and work to higher standards.”
The company sells natural wicker-made furniture and has developed a synthetic rattan material from polyethylene and polypropylene. The new materials make the finished product stronger and more heat-resistant, a key advance for Hawaii Thai furniture.
The company recently joined with a Singaporean partner and has set up a hub in Singapore by the end of next year.
"Our Singaporean partner is a well-known designer while we are a manufacturer with highly skilled weavers. This is the perfect match," according to its CEO.
“The company may have high-end international clients, such as the Caesars Palace Hotel and the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas and luxury resorts in the Seychelles and the Caribbean, but Mrs Alisa says the domestic furniture market is also important.”
Hawaii Thai is a member of thaitrade.com.
Source: Bangkok Post
