Sany Thaiyont Co, the distributor of Chinese-made excavators, sees bright prospects in the domestic construction sector, with its sales expected to almost double this year despite the pandemic.
State infrastructure projects, including development of industrial facilities in the Eastern Economic Corridor as well as road construction and repair projects, will benefit the heavy machinery business, said Yotsawat Ruangraklikhit, chief executive of Sany Thaiyont.
The company is a joint venture between Sany Heavy Machinery under China-based Sany Group and Thaiyont Equipment Co, a subsidiary of Thaiyont Tractor.
"The government is expected to lift the heavy machinery market, while the private sector has delayed development projects because of the Covid-19 impact," he said.
In addition to excavators, Sany Thaiyont also sells wheeled loaders, compactors and drilling vehicles.
The company set a target to sell 3,000 machines this year, which would allow it to command almost a 50% market share of the Thai heavy machinery market.
Last year its sales stood at 1,840 machines, representing a 30.4% market share.
With the new target, Sany Thaiyont plans to increase sales by introducing new models to serve a wide range of customers.
The company aims to expand its customer base by offering modern technologies.
"Sany excavators use GPS and Chinese-made 5G technology, which is more advanced than that of Japan's technology in terms of unmanned machines and the electrical control system," said Mr Yotsawat.
"The technologies help operators reduce fuel costs by around 20-30%."
The company said the Chinese technologies have been developed in a more cost-effective way, which should encourage Thai customers to buy more Chinese products, ranging from machines to cars.
Sany Thaiyont topped the Thai excavator market in 2020 and 2021 in terms of sales. In 2020, the company sold 1,600 machines.