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Magazine of the Netherlands-Thai Chamber of Commerce | Volume 4, 2017

COMMERCE

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5 | Commerce vol. 4 / 2017

CONTENTS

7 President’s Message

9 Embassy News Quarterly update of the Netherlands Embassy

10 Innovation at DemoPower ThailandAn interview with new member DemoPower Thailand

13 National Innovation AgencyAn interview to introduce the NIA to the NTCC community

16 The world hates innovation; this is whyAn article by Dr. Detlef Reis

18 NTCC Business 4.0, Innovation Award DinnerAn extensive overview of our 2017 Innovation Award Dinner

24 NTCC Events An summary of the latest NTCC events

28 New Corporate MembersWith excitement we introduce ten remarkable new companies

32 New Individual MembersWe also proudly introduce four new individual members

34 Member NewsAs our members are always on the innovative path we have a lot of news to share

10

36

18

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24

13


Dear readers,

We are living in a time where innovations are happening non-stop around us!

When we think about innovations in today's world, our minds tends to think in the direction of high-tech software technologies. Yet, this sector only covers a part of all innovations, big or small, relatively simple or complicated. All such innovations can potentially touch and influence the lives of many communities.

Our country of residence, Thailand, is quickly establishing itself as a powerhouse base for agricultural sector innovations, which includes food products. With 40% of the population involved in the agriculture industry, it is necessary that knowledge further advances and the country surpasses this and also offers more common innovative services to tourism. An increasing number of young Thai start-ups are jumping on this opportunity to supply special applications and technologies that support farmers, hotels or tour operators with their businesses. This allows them to offer more value added products and services, which fits well within the Thai Government 4.0 policy.

The Netherlands is well known for a high global ranking and its companies allocating and spending high amounts of their budgets to Research and Development. This is a key driver for more innovation, patents and smart solutions. Thailand regretfully lacks in terms of number of patent requests and more protection is needed to secure those breakthrough innovations in agri, healthcare or other sectors so they can take full advantage.

Our official NTCC Business 4.0, Innovation Award Dinner theme and program have been carefully chosen and are to motivate and applaud those NTCC members that are making their efforts to be innovative, thereby creating more solutions and possibly improving the lives of many people in Bangkok, Thailand and around the world.

Enjoy your reading of Commerce and we look forward to welcome you at our next NTCC event in the New Year 2018!

Best Regards,Stefan van der Sluys

Mr. Stefan van der Sluys Best Global Logistics (Thailand) Ltd. President

Mrs. Clasine Clements Brandson Asia Co., Ltd. Vice-President

Mr. Attapol Lohkittivanich Cryotech Asia Co., Ltd. Vice-President

Mr. Tom Leenders TMF (Thailand) Ltd. Honorary Secretary

Mr. Stephen Briones ING Bank N.V. Thailand Representative Office Treasurer

Mr. Marco Belonje Virtue Technology Co., Ltd. Director

Mr. Bert Cesar Mindful Business Design Director

Mr. Rob Hurenkamp Mazars (Thailand) Ltd. Director

Mr. Henk Kiks B-Quik Co., Ltd. Director

Mr. Martijn SchoutenThai Tank Terminal Director

Mr. Ernst-Otto Smit Green Wood Travel Co., Ltd.Director

Mr. Jakkrin Taepaisitpong Betagro GroupDirector

Mr. Viroj Vithayaveroj Philips (Thailand) Ltd.Director

Board of Directors 2016-2018

Commerce, Vol. 4, 2017 A quarterly publication of the Netherlands-Thai Chamber of Commerce. Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Chamber. Editor: Hans van den Born Assistant editor: Laurien Verschuur Design and print: Scand-Media Corp., Ltd.

Netherlands-Thai Chamber of Commerce 15 Soi Tonson, Ploenchit Road Lumpini, Pathumwan Bangkok 10330 +66 (0) 2 254 6434 [email protected] www.ntccthailand.org

Keep in touch

President's Message


DEMONSTRATION, FEASIBILITY AND INVESTMENT STUDIES (DHI)DHI supports small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in their international ambition by subsidizing product/service demonstrations and feasibility and investment preparation studies. Subsidies are tendered during several rounds each year. Please visit www.rvo.nl/dhi for more information.

STARTERS FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS (SIB)SIB supports enterprises in their first steps in the international market, for example by providing vouchers for individual coaching, collective activities and for knowledge purposes. Please visit www.rvo.nl/sib for more information.

PARTNERS FOR WATER (PvW)As part of the PvW Program, 'Flood and water security urban deltas’ subsidies are available to conduct a pilot project or a feasibility study that has the purpose to promote the Dutch water sector at the international level and helps to solve the world wide water problem. Please visit www.rvo.nl/pvw for more information.

Embassy News

Supporting Innovative Business in Thailand

Ever wondered which possibilities there are to finance and support the expansion of your business in Thailand? The Netherlands Enterprise Agency RVO (Rijksdienst Voor Ondernemend Nederland) has developed multiple instruments to support Dutch enterprises in doing business abroad. The Embassy

of the Netherlands is happy to support you in realizing your innovative and sustainable business plan. The overview below includes the subsidies and financial programs which are available for business in Thailand.

BUSINESS PARTNER SCAN (BPS)The Business Partner Scan helps to identify potential business partners in foreign countries. RVO and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangkok offer opportunities for personal introductions to interested business partners. Please visit www.rvo.nl/zakenpartnerscan for more information.

PARTNERS FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS (PIB)The PIB instrument encompasses a multiannual plan to design and position Dutch companies and knowledge institutes abroad. This could help companies enter the Thai market together with other business partners or could help overcoming certain challenges as a cluster in Thailand. Please visit www.rvo.nl/pib for more information.

DUTCH TRADE & INVESTMENT FUND (DTIF)The DTIF is an investment fund for Dutch businesses seeking to invest in or export to foreign markets. It offers loans, guarantees, indirect equity investments and export financing. Please visit www.rvo.nl/dtif for more information.


By Laurien Verschuur

DemoPower, the largest trial and demonstration service company in Asia with a nationwide network in Thailand, recently joined the NTCC as new member. DemoPower specializes in unique and highly customized total brand experience campaigns that create brand awareness

and drive brand engagement for more than 300 brands every year. Dutch Managing Director Dirk-Jan Arts took over the steering wheel three years ago, with the aim to reinvent the business using innovation and technology, and create an online presence that was not there before. You can come across DemoPower’s product demonstrations and sampling at retailers like Tops, Tesco or Big C, but also at other locations with very high footfall, such as BTS stations, office buildings, and popular theme parks. While going multi-channel certainly was a change going out of DemoPower’s comfort zone of the retail world, effectively that had more to do with business development than innovation. For innovation, as Dirk-Jan explains during an interview, three key projects have been implemented over the past years. Let’s hear some more..!

ONLINE ACADEMY

In the past, DemoPower used to write product briefs for its promoters on DVDs and sent them upcountry for promoters to open on their Supervisors’ laptops. In reality this proved to be unrealistic as the videos were not always being watched. Therefore, DemoPower changed to a new system, the online academy, which uses smartphones to train promoters. This system works both on- and offline. Offline all trainings are being filmed at a central location, usually in the presence of the brand owner. Sharing trainings and instructional videos online has helped a lot, given DemoPower’s nationwide presence. The trainers travel to regional hubs to do skills trainings a couple of times a year. Yet, the online academy allows them to also do online product briefs throughout the country, as trainers cannot always travel to each location every week. In the past internet speed used to be a concern with online trainings. However, now that a platform that auto compresses the videos has been implemented this is no longer an issue. In areas with a slow connection sound will still come through allowing promoters to, albeit with a bit blurry images, get the overall picture. Hence, the online academy makes promoters more knowledgeable. Moreover, they can potentially be trained last minute if needed for any short-term replacements.

Innovation at DemoPower Thailand

ACTIVLINK

The second innovation at DemoPower is ActivLink. This technology includes not only product visualization, video playing and shopper surveys but also on-the-spot coupon printing. So rather than having a tablet and using it ‘ad-hoc’, to show a picture or little video, DemoPower took it to the next level. As Dirk-Jan explains: “We wanted to make it truly engaging and also rewarding for the shopper”. Promoters are equipped with conversion coupon printers on the side, which can work in many different ways. It could be a marketing campaign for which people will receive a sample after which they receive an additional ‘personal’ coupon from a wireless printer on the promoter. Coupon conversion rates at these types of campaigns tend to be very high as they are targeted. But before receiving a coupon the promoter will need to tick a shopper profile or survey on the tablet, hence simultaneously gathering the shopper profile. ActivLink was developed to be completely customizable for any product, brand or category, and its proprietary platform allows anybody to create a campaign within less than an hour. This helps to make these interactive tablet campaigns very affordable, further enhancing brand awareness and sales conversion for both clients and the retailers that support this service in Thailand. At this moment ActivLink has already been successfully tested at Big C, Tesco Lotus, Tops and Villa Market.

“It has become an assumption that DemoPower becomes more efficient every year and delivers a better ROI, despite increasing labor costs as the country develops, which means we focus on

implementing tech solutions and innovation more than ever.”


DATA INSIGHTS

Besides the online academy and ActivLink, the way in which DemoPower uses data to sell and analyze campaigns is quite innovative. Basically DemoPower uses member and EPOS data to evaluate and measure past campaigns based on number of consumers who tried and the percentage who bought the product. In some cases DemoPower can even track the shoppers' previous purchasing behavior, whether they shopped another brand or are entirely new to that product category. DemoPower has access to multiple data platforms and works with analytical experts to translate the data into insights. These platforms also give DemoPower the tools to sharpen future campaigns based on data insights. Sounds logical, yet access to this advanced data and analytic reports is not a mainstream practice in South-Asia.

FUTURE INNOVATION: O2O

In Dirk-Jan’s opinion, DemoPower will develop and innovate with regards to O2O marketing, i.e. activating offline consumers to go online and vice versa. For example, concerning grocery shopping. There are customers that are already used to shop online, and others who are less comfortable and need some help. And this is where DemoPower can support, by helping first-time users to install the app and assist first usage. In the same way DemoPower can, using targeting software, invite online consumers to come to that free concert and take a picture with the band, or a THB 1,000 voucher for the first 100 visitors who visit that new flagship store. These are amongst the many exciting opportunities, where DemoPower is comfortable and confident to further strengthen its operational capabilities and quality of services.

Note: DemoPower (Thailand) Co., Ltd is a A joint venture between Omni Marketing Global and publically listed VGI Global Media


National Innovation Agency

By Laurien Verschuur

THE NIA

Around twenty years ago, after the 1997 financial crisis and following recession, the predecessor of the NIA, the National Innovation Development Fund, was established with a boost of money injected by the Japanese government. Over the course of years it shifted into a National Innovation Agency under the Permanent Secretary Office of the Ministry of Science and Technologies until nine years ago it leveraged its position into a public organization. Because the NIA is a public organization it has its own National Innovation Board. The annual budget of the NIA lies around 1.8 billion baht. Currently the NIA performs a different set of activities, which over the past two years have extended to cover all duties under the laws that established the NIA nine years ago.

NIA ACTIVITIES

The activities that the NIA performs include enhancing innovation portfolios of the private sector through funding, and focusing on policy engagement and development, which was rarely done in the past. It also covers activit ies that build-up innovative organizations, by focusing on innovation capability building. Furthermore, the NIA focuses on how to shift industry sectors through innovation as a lot of projects turned out to be multidisciplinary. In that sense it is not only about firms or entrepreneurship, but also about sectoral development divided into three economies: the bio economy, the manufacturing and circular economy, and the service, social and sharing economy. Moreover, the NIA promotes an innovation culture by supporting awareness among the public in general and companies alike. The NIA feels it is important to not solely focus on economic driven innovation but to highlight social driven innovation as well, so that people in general will have broader knowledge and awareness concerning innovation.

As this year’s NTCC Business 4.0, Innovation Award Dinner was all about innovation,

we were very pleased to have one of the jury members representing the views

of the National Innovation Agency, or NIA, on the contestants’ business pitches.

With Ms. Montha Kaihirun joining our five-headed jury, we ought it time for a more thorough

introduction of the NIA to the NTCC community, by means of an interview. Executive

Director Mr. Pun-Arj Chairatana kindly made available time for such an encounter and

invited us over to the NIA office, here in Bangkok.

VISION AND MISSIONS

In Dr. Chairatana’s words the vision of the NIA is to be the facilitator of a national innovation system within Thailand. The NIA recognizes that there are a few public and private agencies that execute innovation. The NIA does not execute innovation by itself, it only innovates mechanisms and infrastructures. Hence, the NIA faci l i tates innovators through a healthy innovation system. In order to accomplish this it follows three missions: firstly, to enhance and develop a national innovation system; secondly, to enhance and build innovation infrastructures and engage innovators into the system; and lastly, to enhance and improve innovation capabilities and create a better understanding.

START-UP THAILAND

An example of a project that has been supported by the NIA in creating innovation is ‘Start-up Thailand’. Start-up Thailand is a start-up campaign running in Asia with the goal to develop a Thai start-up ecosystem and to attract international investment into Thailand. In order to attain this, plentiful international visits and marketing are done, while at the same time supporting nine different start-up sectors. The package of the campaign is quite extensive as it entails awareness creation by annual campaigns and conferences, the support and funding of universities and companies, and regionalization into twelve innovation districts – six in Bangkok, four in the Eastern Economic Corridor, one in Chiang Mai and one in Phuket. It also includes close cooperation with co-working spaces, incubators and science parks all around the country to develop new flows and investment, and taking in-depth surveys on the ecosystem, laws and regulation. To make this all possible the NIA works closely with the Thailand Tech Start-up Association.


PROJECT SELECTION

In order for a company to be considered for NIA project funding, it needs to pass a specific certain score from the committees. This involves certain selection criteria concerning the merits of the project and the novelty of the innovation. The NIA focuses on four specific areas with regards to its innovation criteria namely: market potential, technological innovation, financials and organizational leadership. Whereas in the past only NIA’s so-called innovation developer presented upon the committees, since the last two years this pitching is done by the companies themselves. This creates not only more excitement among the pitching companies, but also leads to improved projects as there is a better understanding of the purpose. However, the NIA sees itself as transforming from a funding agency for innovation into an innovation ecosystem integrator. Future goals include international recognition in order to internationalize the agency and the companies that could potentially be brought abroad.

NTCC CONNECTION

As for NTCC members, they could potentially benefit from cooperation with the NIA. Nowadays the NIA’s portfolio consists from small entrepreneurial start-ups to SMEs and listed Thai companies. Thus if any NTCC member company would like to match with a Thai company to exchange business possibilities, the NIA comes in to connect and link those companies with each other. This cooperation through matching is a requirement the NIA sees necessary as it enhances the mutual benefits. Yet, for the NIA the key performance indicator is international cooperation through shared knowledge and joint investment. Concerning The Netherlands specifically, Dr. Pun-Arj finds the Dutch innovation system quite interesting. Dutch innovations are already quite profound in the agricultural and food sectors. However for the future, Dr. Pun-Arj also sees room for learning from Dutch innovation district area development.

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INNOVATION MEANS PROGRESSLet’s first take a look at the second part of Kettering’s message. Change means innovation, and innovation means meaningful changes that improve our lives and make the world a better place. So, innovation means progress.

What has brought humanity out of caves into comfortable homes full of appliances and modern technology? The accumulation of many innovations that unfolded in several waves over thousands of years. Would you go back to living in cold, damp, smoky cave? Maybe that’s too radical, so let’s make it easier: Would you give me your mobile phone and go back to having only landlines at home and at work and pay phones on the street? Or if this proposition is still too extreme, would you swap your smart phone for a dumb phone? You’re likely to decline the offer.

Clearly, Charles Kettering was right in saying that innovation or change is the only thing that has brought us progress. But what about the first part of the sentence?

DOES THE WORLD REALLY HATE INNOVATION OR CHANGE? In 2005, Alan Deutschman wrote a fascinating article for Fast Company, titled “Change or Die”, on an interesting real-life scenario: What if you were given a choice by a well-informed, trusted and benevolent authority: You have to radically and enduringly change your life — or you have to die. Which option would you choose?

Clearly, almost all people say they would choose to make significant changes in their life to avoid death. But when we contrast this proclaimed intent with the actual

The world hates innovation; this is why

© Dr. Detlef Reis 2017. This article was published in parallel in the Thinkergy blog and the Bangkok Post under the same title on 28 September 2017. All rights reserved.

The prolific American innovator Charles F. Kettering once said: “The world hates change. Yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.” Innovation means change. Ergo, the world hates innovation, one might conclude. Let’s investigate Kettering’s statement to understand why, and what it means for us as

innovators.

number of people who follow through, nine out of ten people choose to die. Why?

The scenario relates to patients who had undergone heart bypass surgery and were told by their cardiologist to shift to a healthy lifestyle to avoid a relapse. Yet very few did. Statistics show that two years after surgery, 90% of the patients have not changed their lifestyle — and within a few years, they died after a new heart attack.

WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT FOR MOST PEOPLE TO CHANGE? People differ in their response to change because of their personality and their preferred cognitive styles. Few people have what Good to Great author Jim Collins calls “psycho-dynamic” minds, which relish or even drive change. However, many people have “psycho-static” minds that give them distaste change.

WHY DO MOST PEOPLE HATE CHANGE?First, humans are creatures of habit. Many behaviors are ingrained into our brains, and because they served us well in the past (or did no noticeable harm), we are reluctant to do something radically new. People with psycho-static minds in particular relish their habits and cherish rules and traditions.

Second, most people are afraid of the unknown, and every change is a departure from the status quo. Third, when people do try something new, they run the risk of failure and —especially in some cultures— the related risk of losing face. Sticking with what’s familiar is a safer option.


Lastly, many people feel comfortable in their established ways, and some are really lazy. Every change means more work, new challenges, new learnings, and temporary discomforts. Why bother? CHANGE NEEDS AN IMPETUS AND A POSITIVE FRAMEEvery change initiative needs a powerful motivation to succeed permanently. As the life coach Anthony Robbins noted, people are motivated to make changes either by moving away from pain or moving towards pleasure. But isn’t the fear of death one of the most powerful motivator there is? Why then do nine out of ten people still choose death?

Alan Deutschman suggested that a powerful impetus to change alone might not be good enough, but the odds of success increase when we use a positive frame of reference. More bypass patients stick with healthier lifestyles when their doctors reframe the challenge from a negative (“change to avoid death”) to a positive frame (“change to enjoy life”). Moving towards pleasure seems to motivate more people to make lasting changes than moving away from pain.

In addition, humans need support groups and mechanisms as well as fast visible successes (“quick wins”) to stick with new behaviors long enough to embed new habits.

FROM “CHANGE OR DIE” TO “INNOVATE OR DIE”To recap: when confronted with the threat of early death, ten out of ten bypass patients say they’re ready to make healthy lifestyle changes, but only one in ten follows through. Isn’t this just like many executives in mature corporations with declining revenues and margins approach innovation? Everyone is talking the innovation talk, but few are walking their talk in earnest.When roughly a decade ago, innovation started to become a hot topic in business, some innovation

experts and consultants marketed their services using the “innovate or die”-frame. Truth be told, we all die eventually, and they should really say: “Innovate or die sooner”.

But why are more struggling corporations not motivated to avoid “sudden death” by making serious innovation efforts? Perhaps, just l ike the bypass patients, “innovate or die” doesn’t motivate enough people in an organization to make the necessary sacrifices for a creative change succeed.

So, use a positive frame (“Let’s change to lead innovation in our industry”) and move towards pleasure. Then, link this positive frame with a compelling vision of a bright future. Finally, carefully design the stages of creative change to give the people the support structures and wins needed to hang in and see it through to success.

Steve Jobs did this when he returned to Apple in 1997 and saved the company with a focused series of new computers (including the colorful iMacs) and his “Think Different” campaigns. More recently, Jeffrey Immelt renewed General Electric by stimulating new creative growth with a focus on clean and green technology through the “Ecomagination” initiative.

CONCLUSION:Charles Kettering was right: although it brought so much progress that everyone enjoys and won’t want to live without, “the world hates change”, the world hates innovation. We can even quantify this uncomfortable truth. How many percent of people hate innovation or change? According to Everett Rogers’ “diffusion of innovation theory”, it’s 84 percent. Luckily for all, the remaining 16 percent of people have enough creativity, energy and guts to drive meaningful new innovations into the early majority, so that eventually, anyone who hates innovation can enjoy progress. Rogers calls these change drivers “innovators” and “early adopters”, and if you read these lines, chance are you’re one of them.

Dr. Detlef Reis is the Founding D i r e c t o r a n d C h i e f I d e a t o r o f T h i n k e r g y L i m i t e d ( w w w .THINKERGY.com), the Innovation Company in Asia. He is also an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Knowledge & Innovat ion - South-East Asia (IKI-SEA), Bangkok University, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Hong Kong Baptist University. He can be reached at [email protected].


Over 430 guests attended this year’s Innovation Award Dinner, which took place at The Athenee Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok. Guests were warmly welcomed at the foyer with signature cocktails, mocktails and canapes. Plentiful guests took the opportunity for a spotlight moment in front of the interactive green screen, shown live at the other side of the foyer, while others had their pictures taken with the #NTCCInnovationAwards backdrop. In the middle of the foyer two innovative booths were located: the first showcasing the 3D printing process of an actual Innovation Award by Septillion, the second offering guests a spectacular visualization of new farming and housing concepts through virtual reality glasses by the Netherlands Embassy.

After all guests were seated in the Ballroom and had enjoyed the opening fabric dance show, NTCC president Stefan van der Sluys officially opened the gala evening and invited Dr. Atchaka, former Minister of Science and Technology, on the stage. In her keynote speech she addressed Thailand 4.0 and the importance of Thai and Dutch companies alike to cooperate with each other, in order to enhance and strengthen further innovation. This was followed by a special announcement and celebrative flowers, as Dr. Atchaka just accepted the invitation to become a member of NTCC’s Advisory Board. Hereafter, the new concept of people connectors was introduced, and they made themselves known spread out through the Ballroom. The NTCC people connectors were added to this year’s event to emphasize the networking values and opportunities the evening offers.

While listening to Jayson Camillo at the piano and being entertained with the i.2.i Interactive Dancers, guests could then enjoy their next two courses. Subsequently, Mr. Arie Veldhuizen, Agricultural Counselor for the Netherlands, announced a new agricultural platform before the stage was given to Mr. Elmar Bouma for the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) – Award Ceremony. Following the main course, the actual live-voting that preceded the Innovation Award ceremony was kicked-off with video pitches of all the contestants. Until, after a grand performance by Belle Nantita, and some hard work back-stage, all winners could be invited to the stage! The Innovation Awards were handed out by Paul Menkveld, Chargé d’Affaires of the Netherlands Embassy.

Th is year ’ s Innovat ion Award D inner saw two contestants in six different categories: Agriculture & Food, Energy, Health & Life Sciences, High-tech Systems & Materials, Tourism & Hospitality, and Transport & Logistics respectively. Each contestant had been paid a jury-visit, of which the results contributed for 2/3 to the end results, together with a 1/3 weight of the live votes. This year’s five-headed jury consisted of Deputy Ambassador Thomas van Leeuwen, NTCC Board Director Rob Hurenkamp, NIA Representative Montha Kaihirun, Director of the Sasin Center for Sustainability Management Nick Pisalyaput and NTCC Executive Director Hans van den Born. The evening ended with a lucky draw for which The Athenee Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok, Heineken, Wine Connection, KLM and B-Quik generously donated prices, including a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and two Business Class return tickets to Amsterdam! Then the afterparty with DJ Stefan de Haar was ready to kick-off and kept many of our guests on their feet for a little while longer.

NTCC Business 4.0, Innovation Award Dinner 2017

19 years ago the Award ceremony was initiated to celebrate the business successes of NTCC members and to reward the great synergies of Dutch and Thai entrepreneurs in Thailand. Nowadays, the annual Gala Award Dinner has grown to be the most important event of

the year for the Netherlands-Thai business community. Not only are NTCC member companies enthusiastically competing to receive a prestigious reward, the evening itself also lends to be an excellent opportunity to connect with others within the Netherlands-Thai network. But above all, the evening is perceived to be inspiring, with good music, great food and a delicate selection of content filled entertainment. Yet, this year with some subtle innovations coming through including people connectors, live-voting and 3D printed awards to fully suit the NTCC Business 4.0, Innovation Award Dinner 2017!


NFIA Award Ceremony

Besides this year’s Innovation Awards, there was another special award ceremony (“Invest in Holland”) hosted by the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA). With the presence of Mr. Elmar Bouma, Executive Director for South East Asia of the NFIA, awards in this category were handed out to notable Thai companies who are currently investing in the Netherlands.

INDORAMA VENTURESIndorama Ventures (IVL) received the ‘No.1 Thai Investor in the Netherlands’ award. IVL is also among the top 100 foreign investors in the country. IVL is a leading chemicals company with a diverse portfolio serving major players in end-use markets from food and beverages, personal and home care, health care, automotive, to textiles. The PET and PTA facilities in Rotterdam serve as a key engine to this process.

LENSO WHEELLenso Wheel received the ‘Outstanding Investor’ award from the ‘Invest in Holland’ category. The company is the leading Thai manufacturer of high quality alloy wheels with key clients being the prime names of the automotive industry – from BMW, Audi, to Volkswagen, and more. In 2016, Lenso Wheel has finally set up its own facilities in Almelo, Netherlands supplying for the European market.

BANGKOK RANCHBangkok Ranch (BR) received the ‘Outstanding Investor’ award from the ‘Invest in Holland’ category. BR is the global leader (Brand: ‘Dalee’) in the production of premium duck meat products; no.1 in the Netherlands, and the second largest exporter in Europe. A pioneer in the duck meat industry in Thailand for more than 30 years, BR then kick-started its M&A operations in the Netherlands in 2007 under the name of Tomassen Duck-To B.V.

Richard Jones

Chantit Bune-iam

Chonlachart Worawuthichongsathit


Innovation Award Winners

For this year’s NTCC Innovation Awards contest we were pleased to receive two nominees for each category of the so-called Top Sectors within the Thai – Dutch trading relations.

For one of the most important sectors Agriculture & Food, we have Bangkok Ranch, one of the largest Duck meat producers in both Thailand and Western Europe, constantly on the look-out for innovative menu’s to use their duck meat products. Unilever, the well-known Anglo-Dutch multinational on the other hand is active in Thailand for several decades, has established its own R&D center in Minburi and drives an ambitious sustainability agenda.

In the Energy sector we see another Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Shell, currently celebrating it’s 125 years of existence in Thailand and drives an impressive expansion plan in fuel stations and innovative product offerings throughout the country. Synova Power, a mature start-up company, co-owns a technique to turn our waste into highly efficient and clean gas which could be used as substitute for natural gas.

In the Health & Life Sciences sector, we will see BioClin Asia, a Dutch pharmaceutical company, introducing its unique 2QR-Complex product line, mainly aimed at female health prevention. Philips on the other hand entered the Thailand market roughly 60 years ago, and has transformed from a predominantly light-bulb manufacturer into a Consumer Lighting & Health-Tech supplier of meaningful innovative healthcare solutions.

AGRICULTURE & FOOD

Bangkok Ranch – First Runner-up

Shell – First Runner-up

BioClin Asia – First Runner-up

Unilever – Winner

ENERGY

Synova Power - Winner

HEALTH & LIFE SCIENCES

Philips - Winner

Dissilai Chongcharoen

Asada Harinsuit

Pathamawadee Kaewchoopan

Vera Matz

René Dekker

Chalermpong Darongsuwan


In the High-Tech Systems & Materials segment we are proudly showcasing Corbion Purac, world leader in the production of the bio-material Lactic Acid which is being used as environmentally friendly innovative base product for bio-degradable solutions in the food and health sector. Another world market leader, in the automotive sector, NXP contributes with their wide range of semiconductors to the future of transportation, like self-driving and communicating “smart” cars.

As one of the most important sectors contributing to the Thai GDP, within the Tourism & Hospitality sector we have on one hand Koedooder Trolleys, designer and manufacturer of innovative and high-quality housekeeping trolleys, valued for its ergonomic and cost reduction efforts. YAANA Ventures, founded by Willem Niemeijer, specializes in South East Asian destinations with a key focus on sustainability & responsible tourism, both ecologically as well as socially, valuing the three P’s of People, Planet and Profit.

In the last category of Transport & Logistic solutions we see start-up EZYHAUL as rapidly growing technology company focused on transforming the road freight industry by making use of an online, on-demand freight exchange platform that connects shippers with reliable carriers who have unutilized capacity on their trucks. As joint venture of PTT and Royal Vopak, Thai Tank Terminal is located with the strategically important Eastern Seaboard Map Ta Put area and is constantly investing in innovative systems to improves its ability to correctly analyze the asset status and characteristics, as well as safety hazards for its many and diverse product storage facilities.

HIGH-TECH SYSTEMS & MATERIALS

Corbion Purac – First Runner-up

Koedooder Trolleys – First Runner-up

EZYHAUL – First Runner-up

NXP – Winner

TOURISM & HOSPITALITY

YAANA Ventures – Winner

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

Thai Tank Terminal – Winner

Sander van der Linden

Joost Koedooder

Raymond Gillon

Michael Dube

Willem Niemeijer

Pisit Leeahtam


NTCC Events

DIVERSITY & FEMALE LEADERSHIP

NTCC MANUFACTURING 4.0 NTCCXTECH @ BOOKING.COM

Thursday 21 September NTCC was proud to host an event on “Diversity and Female Leadership in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry”. The event was held at the Work Loft, Silom, with more than 40 participants joining. During the evening key note speaker Linda Giebing, General Manager at DoubleTree Resort by Hilton, joined by experienced panelists, shared insights on the current global status of ‘Women in Leadership’, the advantages of inclusiveness and diversity, and obstacles encountered in their own working careers.

Tuesday 19 September 'NTCC Manufacturing 4.0' was launched at the Orange Nest, Embassy of the Netherlands. It was the kick-off event from the NTCC Manufacturing Group, led by Stefan Van der Sluys and Marco Belonje. During the event guest speakers David Payne, Managing Director of Akzo Nobel Paints (Thailand) Limited, and Kevin Snook, CEO of Saxagon Limited and LUCIDi4 Limited, gave presentations on organizational change and cooperating with the manufacturing frontline respectively. It certainly was a great start of NTCC Manufacturing 4.0!

Last NTCCxTech’s session, Thursday 28 September, at Booking.com's Bangkok office was a blast! Marking the fourth edition, this time we were all in about 'Keeping (company) Culture Alive', a common challenge to many entrepreneurs while growing their companies. A big round of applause to our awesome panelists: Khun Parichat Haehnen, Regional Manager Indochina at Booking.com, Khun Tiwa York, Head Coach at Kaidee, Khun Noon Pakavaleetorn, Co-founder at Local Alike and Khun Aek Sethi, our talented moderator! Also thank you to the Booking.com crew for their warm hospitality - we hope to see you again at upcoming NTCCxTech events!

JYSKE BANK CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON

On 25 November, NTCC members got together and pre-celebrated Christmas, at The Admiral's @ 24 - Pub & Restaurant. This ‘wintery’ luncheon on a sunny Saturday was sponsored by Jyske Bank, with Asian representatives Axel Sauer and Thomas Brink Svendsen joining for the occasion. Members got to enjoy a ‘Danish-style’ buffet consisting of multiple cold appetizers, warm dishes and traditional Danish Christmas rice pudding as dessert. A merry thank you to our sponsor and everyone participating!


CHIANG MAI CONNECT BY NTCC

Following the launch of Chiang Mai Connect by NTCC in May this year, two more editions have succesfully been hosted since then!

The second meetup was all about Networking & Data Power Talk. Organized late August, it gathered professionals, and international and local entrepreneurs in Chiang Mai and beyond. The evening saw an inspiring Data Power Talk from Khun Sonchai Chartbunchachai, followed by business pitching from NTCC member companies, and ended with networking games and prizes from StarWork. Thanks to Promenada Chiang Mai for hosting us!

The third meetup for Chiang Mai Connect by NTCC lit up with 130+ professionals from varying sectors. Teaming up with the Northern Thailand Food Valley was surely a blast and we look forward to our future collabs and co-networking together again soon! Thanks to our sponsors and event partners who made this event possible: National Innovation Agency (NIA), Thailand; Food Innovation and Packaging Center (FIN); Betagro Society; Food & Hotel Thailand; and Propak ASIA 2018!

OCTOBER SEMINARS

Mid-October turned out to be a rather intellectual time for our NTCC members, as two informative seminars were organized!

On Wednesday 18 October, an exclusive Market Outlook Seminar by Rabobank was successfully organized at the Grand Hyatt Erawan, Bangkok, with more than 30 participants joining. Special thanks to Mr. Michael Every, Rabobank’s Head of Financial Markets Research Asia-Pacific, for his presentation on a thematic global outlook ‘The Great Gamble’.

A fruitful seminar with profound speakers from the Export and Logistics sector was organized by the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency and the Thai National Shipper's Council on Thursday 19 October. During this seminar speeches were given by the representatives of the Thai National Shipper’s Council, Holland International Distribution Council, the Port of Rotterdam, the Customs Attaché of the Netherlands, and by KPMG.

NTCC Events


New corporate members

Established in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com has grown from a small Dutch start-up to one of the largest travel e-commerce companies in the world. Part of The Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN), Booking.com now employs more than 15,000 employees in 204 offices in 70 countries worldwide.

With a mission to empower people to experience the world, Booking.com invests in digital technology that helps take the friction out of travel. At Booking.com, we connect travellers with the world’s largest selection of incredible places to stay, including everything from apartments, vacation homes, and family-run B&Bs to 5-star luxury resorts, tree houses and even igloos. The Booking.com website and mobile apps are available in over 40 languages, offer 1,433,390 properties, and cover 119,251 destinations in 227 countries and territories worldwide.

Established in 2016, Mind Tools Co., Ltd. is one of Thailand’s most popular Personal Development and Corporate Training company. Located in Chiang Mai, Mind Tools offers unique solutions accompanied with a high quality standard and a broad local network.

Mind Tools is specialized in Neuro Linguistic Programming, Corporate Language Training Human Resources Development, Professional Development Training and Team Building.

Many top Thai and International organizations use our resources to increase productivity, improve management and leadership skills, and support inter-organizational development initiatives.

We are always looking to excel in every area of our business and to deliver our products to you above expectation. Mind Tools is able to deliver your training both online and on-site.

Visit us online: https://www.mindtools.co.th

Booking.com (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

399, Interchange 21 Building, 34th Floor, Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoey-Nua, Wattana Bangkok 10110T: +66 (0) 2058 5896E: [email protected]: www.booking.com

Mind Tools Co., Ltd.

29/1 Moo 14, Tambon SuthepAmphur MuangChiang Mai 50200T: +66 (0) 979 45 1989E: [email protected]: www.mindtools.co.th

Parichat HaehnenRegional Manager

Niels AmmerlaanConsultant

Demo Power is Asia's largest product demonstration and product sampling company employing thousands of expert promoters to hundreds of brands. In Thailand we cover more than 1.000 locations nationwide, from hypermarkets, to supermarkets and BTS stations. DemoPower Thailand is a joint venture between Omni Marketing Global and VGI Global Media. Facts & Figures: Year Established: 1996 Registered Capital: THB 3,000,000 Annual Turnover: THB 500,000,000+ Total Employees: 341Products & Services: Demo Power offers unique and exciting marketing solutions to engage with shoppers through product demonstration, and highlight and explain product’s attributes and benefits. We create memorable interactions between shoppers and your brand, driving trial and conversion while forging an emotional connection in the shopper’s mind by appealing to the human senses. Our marketing concepts maximize brand engagement and brand excitement, and in turn result in higher conversion.

DemoPower (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

33rd Floor, Vanit Building 2 1126/2 New Petchburi RoadMakkasan, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400T: +66 (0) 2 250 7100E: [email protected]: www.demopower.com

Dirk-Jan Herman ArtsManaging Director



The objective of the Port of Rotterdam Authority is to enhance the Port of Rotterdam’s competitive position as a logistics hub and a world-class industrial complex. The Port of Rotterdam Authority manages, operates and develops the port and industrial area of Rotterdam. The Port Authority is responsible for maintaining the safe and smooth handling of all shipping. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is an autonomous company with two shareholders: the Municipality of Rotterdam and the Dutch State. It has been established to develop the port of Rotterdam.

Port of Rotterdam International is actively pursuing the expansion of its World Port Network. Through this we facilitate trade and generate new opportunities for business around the globe. Being the first Port Authority with a track record in international port development and management, Port of Rotterdam brings world-class port management expertise to markets of strategic interest (such as India, Indonesia, Brazil and Oman).

Port of Rotterdam International

Erasmus Huis, Jalan H.R. Rasuna SaidKav S-3, KuninganJakarta 12950, IndonesiaT: +62 (0) 21 524 1078E: [email protected]: www.portofrotterdam.com

Sofie TolkCommercial

Representative South-East Asia

Total Corbion PLA is a global technology leader in Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and lactide monomers. PLA is a biobased and biodegradable polymer made from annually renewable resources, offering a reduced carbon footprint versus many traditional plastics. The Luminy® PLA portfolio, which includes both high heat and standard PLA grades, is an innovative material that is used in a wide range of markets from packaging to consumer goods, fibers and automotive. Total Corbion PLA, headquartered in the Netherlands, will start up a new production plant in Thailand in the second half of 2018. The company is a 50/50 joint venture between Total and Corbion.

Our story begins in 2014 when our CEO Pim van Melick came up with a concept to launch a translation firm that is modern, flexible, open, and trustworthy. That vision remains at the core of Asian Translations operating principles today within our offices in Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Asian Translations specializes in Audio and Visual Services, Localization Services, Business Writing and Advertisements, Official and Legal documents, and Academic Writing. We also provide interpreter services in most Asian and European languages handling all types of interpretation needs such as Whispering, Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpretations, and Language and Business support. Our translators have solid industry and translation experience backgrounds specific to the projects that we assign them to.

Bottom line, the products and services that we deliver stand out from the crowd because of certified translators, interpreters and proofreaders who have industry specific backgrounds along with proven track records of consistent and precise work.

Total Corbion PLA (Thailand) Ltd.

3 Moo 2 Asia Industrial EstateBanchang, BanchangRayong 21130T: +66 (0) 38 698 800E: [email protected]: www.total-corbion.com

Asian Translations

80/300 Tambon San Pu LoeiAmphur Doi SaketChiang Mai 50220T: +66 (0) 80 8460 802E: [email protected]: www.asian-translations.com

Simon GoldneyPlant Director

Pim van MelickCEO

Port ofRotterdam

Ezyhaul is a rapidly growing technology company in South East Asia focused on transforming the road freight industry. Our online, on-demand freight exchange platform connects shippers with pre-qualified and reliable domestic carriers who have unutilized capacity on their trucks.

Ezyhaul's vision is to transform the world of transportation logist ics by bui lding an ecosystem around shippers, transportation companies, authorities, and third party service partners. Connected through the Internet of Things and driven by data analytics we will empower all our partners in the ecosystem.Founded by a team of logistics veterans we understand the challenges in the industry. We apply the latest technology to make shipping ezy and create a hassle free experience for shippers and carriers?

Headquartered in Singapore, Ezyhaul's launch market is Malaysia and we will be expanding operations later this year to other countries in South East Asia.

EZYHAUL

D-12-3, Menara Suezcap 1 KL Gateway Kerinchi Lestari 59200 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaT: +60 (0) 3 2780 3860E: [email protected]: www.ezyhaul.com

Raymond GillonCo-Founder & CEO



Autotec International Co., Ltd. was founded by Khun Sarawut Pratheepphat on 9th August 2005 as a manufacturing facility for machinery and tools, metal molds, plastic rubber, aluminum and industrial parts. We make use of various and state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques from cutting to lathing, and also various metals and alloys to serve our customers well. We work with experienced engineers who oversee jobs in Precision, Jig Fixtures, Tooling, Nozzle, Gauge, Spare Parts.

Autotec International Co., Ltd.

285 Mooh 6T. Yangneung, A. SaraphiChiang Mai 50140T: +66 (0) 53 321 368 ext. 0E: [email protected]

Sarawut PratheepphatManaging Director

The International Business Research (IBR) research project is an initiative from the University of Groningen, organized and

executed by senior top students from the Faculty of Economics and Business.

With 29 years of experience, IBR Groningen is the oldest student-consultant research project of the Netherlands. The project is set up to help Dutch enterprises, that recognize opportunities in growing economies, expand or strengthen their business activities outside Europe.

Thailand is amongst the destinations in which research will be conducted by the IBR Groningen project in 2018. IBR Groningen delivers tailor-made research with an economic and business standpoint against cost price. In the past, IBR clients requests varied from a more general market entry analysis to a detailed partner research.

In January 2018, the Dutch student-consultants will start working part-time by performing desk research for three months. This will be followed up by a field trip in which the student-consultants work full-time on their research in Thailand for five weeks. After the field trip, a detailed report will be presented and the research period will end.

One of the most innovative aspects of the IBR Groningen project is their so called “Local Student Consultant (LSC) project”. With this LSC project IBR strives to drive collaboration between local universities and students and Dutch researchers. By linking local students to the Dutch research duos, IBR Groningen attempts to open as many doors as possible locally. The Local Student Consultants of numerous ambiguous Thai Universities will contribute to the IBR project by transferring local business practices, overcoming language barriers and help the Dutch researchers during their time in Thailand. This initiative is unique in its kind and helps IBR distinguish itself from similar student research projects. Additionally, IBR believes that diversity can bring bright and new ideas and results.

Do you think fruitful opportunities exist in the Thai market for your business? Would you like to know more what IBR can do for you? Please send an email to [email protected] or take a look at www.ibr-groningen.nl.

International Business Research for NTCC members

IIB's philosophy is centered around client service, long-term relationships and advice. Hence, IIB wants to support clients' needs to facilitate their choice for insurance protection. Currently, IIB focuses on health insurance for the international community including their families, although other solutions can be offered as well. In addition the IIB team did take steps to make insurance products available to Thai citizens and their families.

IIB (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

22 Rembrandt Tower, 8th Floor,Sukhumvit Soi 20, Sukhumvit RoadKlontoey, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110T: +66 (0) 2 001 2216E: [email protected]: www.iib-thailand.com

Danai ChandrangamDirector


tmf-group.com/apac

Talk to usTom LeendersManaging DirectorTMF (Thailand) Limited

T: +66 2 613 4900E: [email protected]

Unit 1604-6, Capital Tower, All Seasons Place, 16th Floor 87/1 Wireless Road, Kwaeng Lumpini, Khet Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Thinking of doing business in Thailand?

TMF Group helps global companies of all sizes expand and invest seamlessly across international borders. Its expert accountants and legal, HR and payroll professionals are located around the world, helping clients to operate their corporate structures, finance vehicles and investment funds in different geographic locations.

With operations in more than 80 countries providing outsourced compliance services, TMF Group is the global expert that understands local needs.

Our Thailand office has been established since 2007 with qualified professionals offering clients unrivalled services and expertise in the country.

Accounting and Tax Corporate secretarial HR and payroll

[email protected]


New individual members

Alexander Blaauw2/16 Rama IX Soi 35Bang Kapi, Hua MakBangkok 10240T: +66 (0) 61 60 30 848E: [email protected]

Erik DuitsGROW Education Centre4/472 Theparak RoadBangsaothongSamutprakarn 10570T: +66 (0) 88 0080 474E: [email protected]: www.growec.com

Robert WaardenburgRowaco (Thailand) Ltd. 153/103 Ban Siriporn, Moo 8,Nongchom, SansaiChiangmai 50210T: +66 (0) 53 853317 E: [email protected]: www.rowaco.co.th

Joost RokxBuzzy Bee Bike Co., Ltd.168 Moo 9Nam Phrae, Hang DongChiang Mai 50230T: +66 (0) 99 294 4666E: [email protected]: www.buzzybeebike.com


Member News

Growth in demand f rom tech firms for office space in Bangkok has been remarkable i n r e c e n t y e a r s a n d i s accelerating in response to the growing digital economy, according to property services firm JLL.

Y u p a S a t h i e n p a b a y u t , Head of Office Leasing at JLL, says “70-75% of leading tech companies in Bangkok are considered as large office tenants occupying over 1,000 sqm. Leasing activity by tech companies has increased over the past few years, with a number of long-established organisations expanding and many startups opening sizeable offices across the city”.

At G Tower on Ratchadapisek Road, Shopee, a leading online shopping platform, has recently opened its new office with 4,000 sqm of space. At the same building, Huawei leased 10,000 sqm of space for its new office that will be fully open later this year.

“The lease agreements for both companies were managed by JLL. We are also currently representing a number of tech companies in the office search and lease negotiation, with space requirements ranging from 1,000 sqm to 4,000 sqm.” says Ms. Yupa.

“The rapid growth of the digital economy will continue to fuel demand for office space from tech companies in Bangkok,” she concludes.

After six years of partnership with its distributor Hafele (Thailand), the Slovenian appliances’ manufacturer decided to enter the Thai market directly. At the end of 2016 Gorenje Group established its subsidiary in Bangkok to be able to give better support to all its distributors in the ASEAN area. In the first year of operation, the small dedicated team of 10 staff managed to nearly double the regional sales turnover if compared with the previous year. Now, one year later, another strategic decision will be implemented soon. “Since the business unit for the ASEAN region is based in Bangkok anyway, it makes perfect sense to go directly to the Thai market”, according to Managing Director, Arnaud Brandt. “With our Thai team we have all the experience in house and on top of that we offer a very attractive range of innovative products for the local market. We are confident that going direct is the best way forward and will lead to an even more successful future for our company”.

JLL SEES RISING DEMAND FOR OFFICE SPACE IN BANGKOK FROM TECH FIRMS

INNOVATIVE GORENJE HOME APPLIANCES IN THAILAND

From new partnerships and new employees to expanding product ranges and sustainability initiatives, our members have not been sitting idle in the past months. Read all about their innovations in this NTCC member news section. If you have any news about your company you would like to publish in the next

Commerce magazine, contact us at [email protected].

SOMETIMES TO INNOVATE YOU HAVE TO DO THE UNEXPECTED

We have another new project! While it doesn’t speak to what we often mean by innovation, it speaks to the beauty, tradition, and simplicity that we all care for and where we often go to find inspiration in our own lives.

The Huay Hin Lad Nok Community was established over 100 years ago in the mountainous Viang Papao District of Chiang Rai Province. This village is home to 130 people and 27 households. Their children wish to attend school, but the 8 KM distance on rough terrain is difficult (and during the rainy season, often impossible). Moreover, the skills the children learn in school do not necessarily help the community thrive and maintain its way of life. They came to us with the aim of starting their own local school with a curriculum that responds to their local needs.

In a world of innovation, sometimes the right thing to do is to take a step back and lift-up the things that don’t always fit into our best laid plans. Let’s call it Innovation+.

If you would like to be a part of this project, or others, please contact us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.philanthropyconnections.org


As a leading manufacturer of Diaphragm Seal solutions, we continuously enhance the quality of our Diaphragm Seal technology. For example by evolving materials, design of components, diaphragms, filling fluids, and filling technology. These improvements effect performances like accuracy, reliability and durability. Therefore, we recently updated BaseCal, our online diaphragm seal engineering and selection tool. In the past 3 years our R&D department has extensively tested several applications. As a result we adjusted the calculation rules and optimized the fill fluid variables. In general, the response times became shorter, depending of course on the chosen fill fluid, capillary length and diameter, and ambient temperatures.

We discovered that transmitter settings, such as damping ratio and type of communication, have a large influence on the actual response time of the diaphragm seal application. Therefore, the new calculated response time excludes any delays of the transmitter and communication type.

In the new version the response time is calculated with the minimum and maximum ambient temperature, with the reference temperature of 20C. Naturally the minimum and maximum temperatures are limited by the selected fill fluid.

BASECAL – UPDATED RESPONSE TIMES

Philips Thailand announced that Lumify, an ultrasound solution compatible with Android devices, is now ava i l ab le fo r qua l i fied practitioners or medical organizations in Thailand. Philips’ ultrasound digital health approach connects compatible smart devices, a m o b i l e a p p l i c a t i o n , a d v a n c e d u l t r a s o u n d transducer technology , integrated IT and support services to help healthcare providers improve patient care and reduce costs.

Lumify is Philips’ innovative app-based ultrasound solution which helps healthcare professionals make fast, informed decisions. With Lumify’s full suite of point-of-care transducers, physicians in multiple care situations can take advantage of every crucial moment without the time and mobility restrictions of locating a cart-based ultrasound. Lumify is further extending the reach of ultrasound by creating better connections between clinicians and their patients, while continuing to deliver exceptional image quality.

Lumify is the first Philips ultrasound device for pre-hospital use and supports clinical applications including cardiac, abdominal including lung, OB/GYN, superficial, vascular, soft tissue, MSK, gallbladder and FAST exam pre-sets.

To use Lumify, users download The Lumify App from the Google Play store, connect their Philips transducer to their compatible smart device and launch the app to begin scanning.

For more information on Lumify and the full suite of Philips advanced ultrasound solutions, visit www.philips.co.th .

PHILIPS LUMIFY – AN ULTRASOUND SOLUTION COMPATIBLE WITH SMART DEVICES DESIGNED TO MAKE ULTRASOUND MORE ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE

As a hub for agile innovation, the Netherlands embraces creative risk-taking and displays an aptitude for designing and constructing workable solutions on a grand scale. The country ranks third globally for creative outputs and aims to be Europe’s most creative economy by 2020. Together, the creative industries account for an annual turnover of more than €7 billion, which makes up 1.9% of the Dutch economy, offering unlimited businesses opportunities in the sector.

Dutch design is recognised not only for its out-of-the-box thinking but also for the application of new technologies, highly distinctive forms, and far-reaching involvement of end-users. For them, it has always been about creating smart solutions. Did you know that the Dutch were behind revolutionary inventions such as LED lights, TomTom (the world’s best traffic navigation technology), the compact disc (CD) and Wi-Fi?

With a strong base of creative, multilingual talent, competitive international business climate and resources

to support innovation, the Netherlands is an ideal environment to bring ideas to life. Coupled with an international workforce flocking to the Netherlands to join top companies, it’s easy to see why the Dutch have garnered a global reputation as a leading location for creativity and innovation. For more information, visit https://investinholland.com/industries/creative/.

THE NETHERLANDS IS EUROPE’S CREATIVE EPICENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Member News


Member News

B e c a u s e e c o m m e r c e i s now taking over the world, we started the ecommerece w e b s i t e n a m e w w w .ProductFromThailand.com. Obviously we just want only good quality products and they should be authentic produced in Thailand. Initially we started with our own products but now after ver ificat ion we can accepts products of your company which can be published and maintained relatively easy by yourself.

The products under the brand CAREEL, CAREEL NATURAL, NB and PFT is own by PFT trading.(www.productfromthailand.com)

We (AntWebsystems.co .,Ltd.) started our software company in Thailand 12 years ago. We specialize in Ecommerce/ERP opensource software called Apache OFBiz/GrowErp.We supported many Ecommerce, Manufacturing and Trading companies around the world but we haven’t yet have done ecommerce for ourselves. As you can following us on company website www.antwebsystems.com or www.growerp.com for more interesting information from our company."

ANTWEBSYSTEMS CO., LTD.

Is innovation important? The witty but perfect answer comes from South African philosopher Mokhonoana, whom stated: “There probably was a time when the idea of having a toilet inside a house was repulsive”. Without innovation, we stand still. When Green Wood Travel first decided to build a new office, this ‘out of the box’ way of thinking came very naturally (we have been crossing borders for 25 years after all). Although the use solar panels are not yet well-established in Thailand, we decided that for the sake of the environment, we had to try. Currently, our brand-new office located on Sukhumvit has a rooftop packed with solar panels; which provides electricity for the entire office. This makes us climate neutral and we are proud of it. If you get a chance to visit us, you will also notice our beautiful outdoor terraces. The floor pallets may look very similar to wood but in fact they are composed of a material called ‘Resysta’. This material, made up of rice husk, would otherwise be burnt generating greenhouse emission however it is now given a much more noble second life. It is little but innovative steps like this that paves way for a more environmentally-aware society. If you are thinking about using solar panels, we will be pleased to share our experiences. Find us at www.greenwoodtravel.nl.

INNOVATION FOR THE FUTURE: SOLAR PANELS @ GREEN WOOD TRAVEL

ELEPHANT PARADE OPENS A NEW SHOP IN PATTAYA

Elephant Parade opens its first concept store in Pattaya. From the 1st of November tourists and locals alike will be able to enjoy Elephant Parade at the Royal Garden Plaza shopping centre. Situated on the Ground floor will be a stunning experiential shop with a rich range of their iconic replica elephants as well as a diverse collection of merchandise, including their newly launched jewellery and Hello Kitty series. On display will also be a gorgeous life size baby elephant statue called “Serinya” by ex-Miss Thailand and presenter of Asia’s next top model, Cindy Bishop:

“I am so excited and honoured to be chosen to be one of the artists for the Elephant Parade! What a wonderful way to get people talking and taking action in elephant conservation. The elephant is our country’s national animal and symbol, but somehow this once-revered and noble creature is now forced to beg for food on the busy and dangerous streets of the capital. I truly hope that this magnificent colourful pachyderm parade will raise the awareness and inspire us all to take more concrete steps to ensure their survival and wellbeing.”

Using a unique combination of art, business and conservation, Elephant Parade aims to raise awareness and support for elephant issues on a worldwide basis in a fun, informative and inspiring way.

HAZARDOUS FUME AWARENESS

Over 40 years Plymovent and their distributors are dedicated to help the metal working industry understand the dangers of hazardous cutting fumes, and how to correctly remove these fumes with high-quality solutions all over the world. Plymovent supplies plug & play filter units up to custom made engineered solutions (general ventilation and filtration systems). Some new developments within the Plymovent program:

The new Plymovent controls: A filter system should run fully automatic and in the way that fits the specific work situation of the user. That is exactly what the new controls of Plymovent do. The ControlPro and the ControlGo are control units that meet the needs of a user: Simple, Insight, Connected.

At this moment the new controls are integrated in the Plymovent MultiDustBank (MDB) and in the Plymovent Diluter.

The GoLine is Plymovent’s exciting new range of entry-level products! These basic level units will help complete the range of Plymovent products with keen pricing, Plymovent quality representing real value for money. The range consists of a mobile unit, the MobileGo and two wall mounted units, the MonoGo and the DualGo.

More information: www.plymovent.com


Member News

Booking.com, one of the w o r l d ’ s l a r g e s t t r a v e l e-commerce companies and digital technology leader, introduced new Booking.com Women in Technology Scholarships, a two-year i n i t i a t i v e d e s i g n e d t o support women seeking careers in technology . Working in partnership with the University of Oxford in the UK, and the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, these

scholarships will be granted to women looking to further their education and advancement in the technology sector. The grants will equal €500,000 across both university partnerships.

Recognizing an under-representation of women in under-graduate and advanced STEM-related areas of study, both university initiatives seek to create more opportunities for talented women to continue further education and post-graduate courses in these areas, and prepare them for future careers in the technology industry.

Commenting on the initiative, Gillian Tans, Chief Executive Officer of Booking.com said, “As a company powered by technology and digital innovation, Booking.com believes strongly in ensuring equal access and opportunity for all within the technology sector. Recognizing that female participation in technology is lower than it should be, we are committed to bolstering female tech talent, eliminating obstacles and challenges they face, and fostering diversity."

Using gamification as our core concept for tablet b a s e d t e a m b u i l d i n g , at tabtourasia we have added three programs to our arsenal of effective t e a m b u i l d i n g a n d training programs. Using gamification, we are able to teach existing processes

to new employees or teach new processes to existing company staff.

Because gamification focuses on the user, we find that participants retain more, and innovate more when learning something new. Being part of these changes then provides a sense of autonomy, which in turn make participants feel they are directing the change, rather than being victims of it.

Providing this to the staff community, through team building, reinforces motivation as participants feel they are contributing to something larger than themselves. People want to be rewarded for their contributions, but not necessarily with a tangible reward. Rather, participants value the community’s recognition of their contribution and the status that infers upon them. Because our programs have real time scores and statistics, recognition is instantly recognized.

Ultimately, using gamification creates an engaging and fun experience to inspire innovation while learning as a community which helps to reduce oversight, and increase self-responsibility in the work place.

Navigate to tabtourasia.com to download the Induction Plus+, Conference Plus+, and Performance Affair which use the gamification concept.

BOOKING.COM ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMMES TO SUPPORT ADVANCED EDUCATION FOR WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY

USING GAMIFICATION FOR INNOVATION

In current business environment, English has become more important than ever. To train all employees can be a tedious and expensive task for companies. Traditional classroom training requires time and money, with progress difficult to track and participation difficult to ensure. Additionally, varying proficiency background is often the case and having too many courses in parallel is not always an option.

Our onl ine Engl ish training platform offers an economic yet effective way for companies to respond to employees’ needs for language training. With great flexibility and engaging contents, employees can learn at their own pace, in their own time, anywhere. Employers are able to track progress of their employees regularly and conveniently, aiding companies in a multitude of HR tasks. Our eLearning programme requires a minimum investment and reduces costs in terms of time, travel expenses, accommodation, etc.

INNOVATIVE ENGLISH TRAINING FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES

Our English language courses can be used on multiple devices, through browser or App, online and offline. We offer General English courses, Business English, and industry-specific contents, in which students improve their language proficiency and communication skills.

For more information, please email to [email protected]

Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok

1695 Phaholyothin Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, ThailandContact person: Ms. Phetcharat Promasit, Director of SalesTel: +66 2541 1234 Fax: +66 2541 1087 Email: [email protected]: www.centarahotelsresorts.com/cglbNature of hotel: City Hotel Guest rooms: 565Theatre style: 3,500(max) Banquets: 2,300(max) Cocktails: 3,800(max)

Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok, the newly renovated five star hotel has 565 guestrooms, 10 restaurants and bars providing multiple choice dining, and the SPA Cenvaree, awarded in 2014 as Thailand’s best spa for a traditional Thai experience. The meeting facilities are all under one roof with total of 27 function rooms 16,973 square meters.

• Panoramic view of 3 natural parks - One of the largest green zones in Bangkok.• 5 minutes by walk from the underground train.• 5 minutes by complimentary shuttle service to BTS sky train to go to city centre.• 15 minutes to Donmuang International Airport.• 35 minutes by express way to Suvarnabhumi International Airport.• Ideally located for city-centre meetings and functions of any size.• Ten restaurants and bars for a dining experience, ranging from authentic cuisine to spectacular buffets with a hint of Asian and International flavours. • NTCC members receive 10% discount on food and beverage at any hotel outlet, valid until 30th Dec 2017 (Not applicable for group functions, public holidays and festive season).

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