Italthai Engineering Co (ITE), a leading engineering and construction service provider, expects revenue to grow by 53% to 6.15 billion baht in the next five years, thanks to rising demand for renewable energy.
President Sakol Laosuwan said demand of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services in renewable energy has risen sharply over the last few years and the momentum will continue for the next several years.
With estimated revenue of 4 billion baht in 2013, ITE is bidding to develop several renewable projects such as solar farms and solar rooftops, as well as wind farms.
"Competition in the industrial and building sectors is fierce because of the global economic slowdown and we think renewable energy is the more interesting choice," said Mr Sakol.
ITE has a backlog of around 4 billion baht, mostly in renewable energy, half of which will contribute to its revenue this year and the first half of next year.
Around 40% of total sales come from solar and wind, with the rest buildings, oil refineries and petrochemicals.
ITE estimates renewable energy development in Thailand will require investments of 13.6 billion baht annually from 2013 until 2021.
He said the 2-trillion-baht government infrastructure investments, of which the majority will be spent in the transport sector, and the 350-billion-baht water management programme are also areas ITE will focus on in coming years.
To achieve its target, ITE is recruiting more than 100 technicians and engineers on top of the existing 500 personnel it currently employs.
Once 6 billion baht in revenue is achieved, ITE will be ranked within Thailand's top 10 EPC service providers, up from top 20 at present. The company plans to diversify into the telecommunication sector in the future.
It recently opened a subsidiary in Laos and is studying whether to open a business in Myanmar to diversify its EPC market and tap into demand for infrastructure projects in the two neighbouring countries.
Laos required EPC services to attract investors in the mining and power sectors. Myanmar recently opened its economy but still lacks basic infrastructure to support investments.