Thai Wind Tunnel Harbinger of Denso’s ASEAN Strategy

Japanese parts-maker Denso says its TB200 million ($6.8 million) climatic wind tunnel in Thailand is part of its plan to make the country its leading automotive-components production base in the region.

The new wind tunnel, which Denso says is the most advanced in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, will be used in testing and evaluating car air-conditioning and engines.

Denso CEO and President Shigehiro Nishimura says the facility is designed to test air-conditioner performance by simulating various wind and temperature conditions at 122º F to -22º F (50º C to -30º C) and can be used with vehicles from across the world.

“Denso Thailand's future goal is to serve as a high-tech parts production center replacing Japan,” Nishimura says in a statement. “The Thai operation is considered a very large one outside Japan, and the Denso Group attaches great importance to it.”

One of the world's biggest auto-parts producers, Denso has eight companies collectively referred to as the Thai Denso Group. Six are involved in manufacturing and the other two in distribution and sales.

“In the future, Thailand will have the potential to build its own machinery, and the parent company will shift roles towards mainly (research and development),” Nishimura says.

The technical center in Thailand reflects Denso’s accelerated investment in Asia as part of its drive to make the region a key market and lead the global automotive industry.

“We will focus on the potential of Asia,” Nishimura says. “Its automotive industry has been drastically growing. We're expanding our business in (countries in) the region such as Indonesia, India and especially Thailand as the mother factory, by establishing new plants to prepare for partial relocation of (Denso’s) production base from Japan and respond to increasing demand for automotive parts.”

Denso plans further investments in member countries such as Indonesia, Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia and aims to build factories to support domestic sales and lower production costs, he says.

The supplier also will conduct simultaneous OEM operations in Myanmar and Cambodia.

Denso International Asia Regional R&D Div. Vice President Toshihide Hayashi says the climatic wind-tunnel lab will serve a greater range of needs in the near future.

“The launch of our climatic wind tunnel is a part of our mission to drive Thailand as a world-class automotive parts-production base and to prepare for the upcoming AEC (ASEAN Economic Community) in 2015,” Hayashi says.

“We expect that the automobile industry in the region will grow significantly, so we have adjusted our strategies accordingly.”