Denso International Thailand Managing Director Yoshihiko Yamada

Last year, Denso’s head office in Japan transferred regional marketing operations to its office in Thailand — a move that brought the company even closer to its factories and its customers in the country, as well as those in Southeast Asia.

Managing Director Yoshihiko Yamada, who was tasked not only to oversee regional marketing activities but supervise sales and operations of Denso’s six companies in Thailand, has prioritized growth and productivity with Denso. Not that the company faced any trouble in these areas at all.

In 2004, Denso in Thailand reported gross earnings of over $486 million and was expected to boost that figure by 65 percent in 2005. Since starting operations in the country in 1972, the company has raised its domestic market share to around 80 percent.

Yamada is bent on boosting productivity in underutilized facets of its business given Thailand’s entry into free trade agreements with Japan and other countries. Currently, he is focusing on newer product lines, such as common rail systems for diesel engines.

‘‘FTAs mean increased competition . Whereas before, Denso only competed with other manufacturers in Thailand, we have begun competing with manufacturers in the region. Now, with FTAs being signed with India, China, Australia and the United States, our competition has once again expanded. This is why we need to expand our product range, especially in the smaller componentlines to strengthen our competitiveness,’’ he says. Increased competitiveness also calls for internal operational changes. So, Yamada plans to strengthen R&D and localize his management staff. In line with this objective, the company recently opened the Denso Training Academy — the first of its kind in ASEAN — to train junior managers and skilled laborers.

‘‘To be globally competitive, Denso has to employ more national workers instead of Japanese. Since we are expanding our business so rapidly worldwide, it is physically impossible to run our companies under Japanese management. We must have significant localization or else we won’t survive,’’ he explains.

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