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Right: Brian Tanti

THE Thai government will use a two-hour seminar during the Australian Auto Aftermarket Expo in early April to promote the opportunities for car parts-makers in the country’s automotive industry.

Thailand’s Board of Investment is aiming to lure some of the experience and technology that has been accumulated over the decades in Australia.

The AAA Expo will be staged at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from April 6 to 8 and will be co-located with the Collision Repair Expo.

A total of 437 exhibitors have snapped up all the available exhibition space in the two-hectare site. The exhibition of the latest machinery and technology will be backed up by two days of seminars constructed around the theme of Build a Better Auto Business.

Ford, General Motors and Toyota all have operations in Thailand, which means their present and former Australian parts suppliers should be able to rely on their quality and reliability track records when approaching the Thai-based operations.

The Thai Board of Investment (BoI) sees the closure of the Australian car industry as an opportunity to upgrade Thailand’s supplier base and give Australian companies a chance at survival in the automotive industry, according to the director of the BoI’s Australian mission, Vorowan Norasucha.

Several Australian companies, including Futuris Automotive – now owned by a US private equity group – have already established themselves and won contracts in Thailand, Ms Norasucha told GoAuto.

The Thai seminar will be headlined by an address from the deputy secretary-general of the BoI, Duangjai Asawachintachit, who will outline the country’s investment policies and the incentives available to encourage new entrants.

In addition, a senior Australian trade commissioner based in Thailand, Simon Rees, will explain the advantages of investing in Thailand as a way of accessing the greater market of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, which comprises 630 million people and will be tariff-free by 2018.

The theme of Build a Better Auto Business was selected to reflect the unprecedented change rolling rapidly across Australia’s vehicle repair and service sector, said Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) chief executive Stuart Charity.

Left: Vorowan Norasucha

“This Expo is the largest of its type in the region and, at the Australian Industry’s request, it is held every two years,” he said.

“With each Expo held, we enjoy increasing involvement from local and international automotive associations and organisations.

“The Expo has become the regional hub for the automotive service and repair sector.”

Mr Charity said the topics for the 10 free seminars had been chosen in order to deliver proven ideas and techniques that can actually be implemented in a workshop the following week.

Mr Charity said the unprecedented rate of change meant business operators needed to know how to position their businesses to take advantage of the trends and opportunities that are arising.

The exhibition at the AAA Expo will be highlighted by a working workshop demonstration by Brian Tanti, an accomplished restorer and coachbuilder who is also curator of the Fox Car Collection.

Mr Tanti will demonstrate several of the manual skills still required for restoration projects, including forming panels using the English wheel.

The exhibition and seminars will be open to members of the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association and their employees, plus anybody else working in the automotive industry. The AAAA recommends that people wanting to attend register in advance to avoid waiting in queues.

Registration is also necessary if attendees want to attend any of the seminars, which are also free.

There will be five seminars on each of Friday and Saturday and the topics include how to choose the most appropriate diagnostic tool, educating the customer to value your expertise, how to keep up with fault finding in this age of electronics, how to be a better boss and how to make the most of the emerging diesel opportunities.

The seminar on investment in Thailand will be held on Friday morning and will be separate from the trade-based seminar series.

It is part of the wider Opportunity Thailand industrial development and investment program launched by the Thai Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-Cha in February. The BoI is also approaching non-automotive industrial sectors across Australia.

By Ian Porter

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