The Board of Investment (BOI) has joined forces with the Thai Subcontracting Promotion Association (SUBCON) and Informa Markets to organise the “MIRA and SUBCON EEC 2023” event from Sept 6-8 at Nongnooch Pattaya International Convention & Exhibition Center (NICE), Chon Buri.
The aims of the event are to strengthen entrepreneurs in the eastern part of the country, a zone underlining the region as “Asean’s sourcing and manufacturing excellence and subcontracting centre”, and be a step towards a Thai industry transition to the future, which is aligned with the strategy to transform the country into a new economy.
The event is targeted to match over 600 businesses and to generate over 2 billion baht in business value.
Mr Narit Therdsteerasukdi, BOI Secretary-General, said that the BOI, in collaboration with SUBCON and Informa Markets — a world-leading international exhibitions organiser — is organising MIRA (Maintenance, Industrial Robotics and Automation) and SUBCON EEC 2023 for the second consecutive year.
The event is a comprehensive trade and service exhibition and industrial solutions event held in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) comprising leading brands who work in the Maintenance, Industrial Robotics, Automation, and Subcontracting sectors.
The event will also display industrial parts and the most comprehensive business matching forum in the eastern region being built to support the Thai manufacturing and service sectors to be ready for their transition into future industries, in particular industries that are key to the eastern region’s wealth, such as electric vehicles, electronics, and intelligent manufacturing systems, he said.
More than 150 companies will participate in the exhibition, and the event is expected to also draw in over 100 large buyers and achieve 600 pairs of business matchings. The event is also expected to draw in around 5,000 visitors, he said.
“The BOI foresees that the support of domestic subcontracting producers entering into the global supply chain is a key strategy to promote Thai entrepreneurs to global markets, especially for Thai SMEs that execute with quality and in accordance with international standards in new industries such as electric vehicles (EV), electronics, automation, and robotics.
The BOI has continuously joined forces with such alliances to organise activities that link each industry in the EEC area for the second consecutive year, seeing the zone as the main industrial area of the country.
“This event will increase opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs to co-operate with leading foreign companies in sourcing, technology transfer, and subcontracting, as well as to create joint ventures between Thai and foreign countries, thus strengthening the supply chain of the targeted industries,” Mr Narit said.
Mr Kiattisak Jirakajonvong, President of SUBCON, said that following many investment projects in the EEC area, this is an important opportunity for Thai entrepreneurs to connect with foreign business partners and new investors in the targeted industries.
Home to over 400 members in the international trade arena, the Thai SUBCON association is ready to be a bridge that connects Thai entrepreneurs by helping them participate in important international exhibitions to create new trade opportunities, he said.
“We have also been a part of the SUBCON Thailand event that has been held continuously for more than 17 years and became a part of the SUBCON EEC for the first time last year. The event received a very good response from our members, as more than 90% of our members agreed to join the event again this year.
“This is a guarantee of confidence in doing business with suppliers and Thai partners. The association is confident that organising SUBCON EEC 2023 will be another way to create new opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs to move further toward the transitional industries, in particular, the targeted industries which will be key to upgrading the EEC to become the economic centre of the region,” he said.
Mr Sanchai Noombunnam, General Manager of Informa Markets, said that since Informa Markets has been working with the BOI and receiving great support from various alliances such as SUBCON, Informa foresees an opportunity to further expand the achievement of SUBCON Thailand — which is normally held in Bangkok — to a new important economic area such as the EEC.
He said Informa Markets initiated organising MIRA and SUBCON EEC in the past year to create an opportunity for entrepreneurs in the area to meet with large manufacturers who have high purchasing power to invest in the area, as well as to bring technology and innovation that corresponds to the industry of leading manufacturers to the exhibition.
The event is also happening to promote knowledge exchanges, such as in the field of electric vehicles, electric appliances, and mechanical and future industries as well, namely aircraft maintenance, medical equipment, robotics, and automation.
The previous event had been well received and was considered a great success, he said.
“This time, Informa Markets is ready to again organise MIRA and SUBCON EEC 2023 for the second year. There will be opportunities to witness modern technology and innovation in industrial maintenance and automation, including the advanced robotic system that today has become an important component of the Thai manufacturing sector,” he said.
At the same time, system integrator service providers from Thailand and Japan have also been invited to share their experiences and exchange information.
Last but not least, an important highlight that is regarded as the strength of the SUBCON EEC event is the business matching forum organised by BOI.
Moreover, what can’t be missed is a seminar giving an update on trends and new knowledge in the industry from experts sharing their direct experiences through various topics, all with the aim to connect major buyers from around the world, he said.