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| Siam Cement Group CEO Kan Trakulhoon |
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In 2003, Thailand’s SCG had a few hundred employees working abroad. Today, that number has jumped to 6,528 and is certain to increase in the next few years. By 2015, SCG aims to have at least 25 percent of its workforce reside outside Thailand from the current 19 percent.
“Thailand has a population of 65 million, and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has well over 600 million. It is time to actively expand our business outside Thailand to establish our operations in the region,” says SCG President and CEO Kan Trakulhoon.
The ASEAN market may appear limited when compared to the global market, but in terms of business scale, it is a large, growing market. SCG is preparing to expand and face the global players operating in Thailand and the region by focusing on value-added products and services that will serve customers better and enhance their quality of life.
Over its 98-year history, SCG has diversified into five business units: chemicals, paper, cement, building materials and distribution. Today, the group has more than 100 companies and employs 34,000 people in total.
“The key to our success can be attributed to two main factors, our people and the four core values we instill in them: adherence to fairness, dedication to excellence, belief in the value of the individual and concern for social responsibility,” explains Kan.
“Human capital is our most vital asset and it’s important to get our employees started in the right direction from Day 1. As president and CEO, I make it a point to spend my time with our people, sharing my
experiences in life, my philosophy about work and my vision for the company,” he adds.
That focus has yielded a more customer-centric mind-set and has expanded SCG’s global perspective.
“Every year, we spend more than $16 million on campaigns about human development, environmental conservation, corporate governance and emergency relief. In the communities where we operate, we are perceived as a good role model and a sustainable leader in ASEAN,” Kan says.
For its corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, SCG has garnered several awards, including the H.M. the King’s Trophy for Best Practice of the Sufficiency Economy in Large Enterprises category (2007), Dow
Jones Sustainability Indexes’ SAM Gold Class-Outstanding Sustainability Results in the Building Materials and Fixtures sector (2008 to 2010) and the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s SET Award of Honor in Best Corporate Social Responsibility (2008 to 2010).
“We are also a very green company. Our green products, which are guaranteed by the SCG eco-value label, account for 18 percent of our total sales and we are very proud of this. Our goal is to increase this to one-third of our total sales,” he adds.
Kan has also expressed his enthusiasm in entering into more joint ventures and partnerships.
“We are open to working with more Japanese companies. We can provide good people. We have the business connections and our brand and reputation is excellent. The Kubota Group, for example, has been our
long-time joint venture partner and the relationship has been going very well, enhanced through mutual trust,” he says.
www.scg.co.th |