Siam-Hitachi Elevator Co is bullish on what it sees as strong local growth prospects.
The Thai-Japanese joint venture, which makes elevators, escalators and moving sidewalks, opened its new 1.15-billion-baht factory in Chon Buri's Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate this month, with a first-year production target of 2,000 units.
Executive vice-president Dhanet Yongratanamongkol expects production will rise to full annual capacity of 5,000 units by 2015.
Siam-Hitachi was established in 1992 by Siam Motors Co and Japan's Hitachi Group, with the Japanese firm owning 60%, to assemble, distribute and install Hitachi-brand products.
The first factory, also located in Amata, has annual capacity of 1,200 units.
Mr Dhanet said Japan's Hitachi recently decided to cut production capacity at its Singaporean factory to 600-700 units this year from 2,000 units, moving manpower and machinery to Thailand due to the lower production costs here.
"All of Singapore's production will stop and move to Thailand soon, making the Thai operation the third global base for Hitachi elevators" after Japan and China, he said.
Ahead of regional economic integration in 2016, Siam-Hitachi may open a sales office in Myanmar next year.
It pegs the annual value of the Asean elevator and escalator market at 40-50 billion baht.
To capture a bigger share of that market, Siam-Hitachi will also build a new escalator factory in Thailand in 2015.
New investment of 700-800 million baht is expected to double overall production capacity of the joint venture to 10,000 units from 2015-20.
Mr Dhanet said Siam-Hitachi's domestic sales are estimated at 1.9 to 2 billion baht this year, up from 1.4 billion last year.
Exports grew from 950 million baht last year to 1.5 billion.
Siam-Hitachi forecasts Thailand's domestic market for elevators and and escalators will rise by 10-15% in 2013 from last year's 10 billion baht.