HARMAN held a ceremony to kick off the building of a new manufacturing site in Thailand. The new facility, which will be approximately 47,000 square metres in size, will be located in Laem Chabang, Thailand, just 125 kilometres outside of Bangkok. It will be strategically located within Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and close to manufacturing facilities for numerous leading global automotive and technology brands.
The new manufacturing plant in Thailand will allow the company to grow technologies even further and effectively deliver on its promise of providing automotive-grade in-cabin consumer experiences.
HARMAN Automotive President Christian Sobottka, along with other HARMAN senior leaders, marked the occasion by breaking ground with Thailand Minister of Industry Pimphattra Wichaikul and other Thai officials who spoke about the economic, innovation, and growth synergies that HARMAN’s new facility will support in the region.
According to Christian Sobottka, President of HARMAN Automotive, expanding their manufacturing footprint in a location like Thailand offers enormous benefits including a rich talent pool and close proximity to OEM partners. In addition to offering years of manufacturing experience supporting both the automotive and technology sectors, Thailand is rapidly transforming into a major production hub for both electric vehicles and the next generation of automotive technology.
Danainat Chockamnuay, Advisor to Thailand’s Minister of Industry, said that the investment aligns perfectly with Thailand’s broader economic development strategy, which includes fostering technological advancement and establishing a robust next-generation automotive supply chain.
On the design and construction of the facility, the company is collaborating with the top New Economy real asset manager in Asia-Pacific, ESR Group Limited (“ESR”). ESR’s design for the facility will adhere to FM Global standards in safety and resilience in order to complement Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green economic development concept. Additionally, the design aims to achieve Gold certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the most popular green building rating system in the world and a recognised symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership.
