Siam Gypsum Industry (Saraburi) Co Ltd hopes the introduction of its new gypsum board will boost sales by nearly 10 per cent this year. The company expects to record sales of Bt3.27 billion in 2005, up from Bt3 billion last year. Marketing manager Olivier Guiluy said the company’s new seamless gypsum board, Signa, can solve most structural construction problems and make any home design reality.
The board is about 10 per cent more expensive than normal gypsum board. Each board is 12 x 24 inches (30 x 61 centimeters) and costs around Bt176-Bt186. He said that unlike old gypsum, Signa can form a curved ceiling without seams and without spending time plastering. "Due to its four-sided tapered-edge design, it can save builders time," Guiluy said.
Signa is aimed at mid and high-end consumers as well as office buildings, residential developers and government construction projects. There are three Signa versions: standard, moisture resistant and heat resistant. Thailand is only the second country after France to sell Signa, and Guiluy said there is plenty of growth potential for the product in the Kingdom.
"If Thai consumers are sufficiently informed about gypsum products, we believe that they will use our product, because it is high quality," he said. He said Signa would become more popular than brick and cement in the future, due to its lower price.
The company has spent Bt20 million expanding its factory to produce Signa and plans to spend Bt30 million marketing the new product in the next eight months. Besides trying to create brand awareness, the company will operate booths at trade exhibitions. SGI’s Chang brand is the market leader in gypsum tiles and gypsum walls in Asia, including Thailand. It is a joint venture between the Siam Cement Group and Lafarge Boral Gypsum in Asia.
