Plastics Institute of Thailand (PITH) and MFEC Public Company Limited jointly announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch an innovative service aiming to drive local plastic manufacturers towards Industry 4.0. With the use of Internet of Things (IoT), this collaboration is the first time for Thailand to bring such service into the plastic industry. The MoU signing ceremony was held in the presence of Dr. Somchai Harnhirun, Deputy Minister of Industry
Plastics Institute of Thailand – March 14, 2019 – Dr. Kriengsak Wongpromrat, President of Plastics Institute of Thailand (PITH), revealed that the institute is preparing an innovative service in order to help drive local manufacturers of plastic products towards Industry 4.0. To this end, the PITH recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MFEC Public Company Limited or MFEC, a leading IT provider for end-to-end network integration and ICT system solutions, to jointly launch the service for the local plastic manufacturers by using the Internet of Things (IoT). The partnership also marks the first time for the application of IoT in Thailand’s plastic industry.
The signing ceremony was held in the presence of Deputy Minister of Industry, Dr. Somchai Harnhirun who also delivered a keynote speech on “The Importance of Industry 4.0 and the Country Development” at Ton-kla Gallery Building of Industry Transformation Center (ITC), Plastics Institute of Thailand, the Industry Ministry in Bangkok’s Klauynamthai.
Dr. Kriengsak said, “according to the PITH’s survey, 80% of 3,000 local plastics businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which put great emphasis on producing large quantities, while also applying some manufacturing support systems from time to time. However, these companies rely mainly on the human workforce and begin to struggle with the labor shortage, as well as with the analysis and decision-making problems in production process, which need to be fixed. Therefore, digital industry approach and development strategies towards Industry 4.0 are the key solutions to efficiently tackle these issues.”
Dr. Kriengsak also added, “Partly, the local manufacturers in the plastic industry are still lacking some basic knowledge of Industry 4.0 such as real-time data collecting. Therefore, the use of digital technology and internet along with sensor equipment are required to adapt with the plastic forming or molding machine. The IoT installment into the machine is the first step toward the revolution of local enterprises.”
Mr. Thanakorn Chalee, Chief Operating Officer of MFEC Public Company Limited, said, “Under this collaboration, MFEC will provide consulting services, design digital platform for internal corporate application, and install sensor equipment proper to different molding procedures. It will help the entrepreneurs gain a competitive edge over competitors in terms of data, workforce, technologies, and production capability.”
The MFEC COO added, “Our company is the IT solution provider for the plastic industry in this partnership. We plan to install sensor equipment and platform into the plastic forming machine to collect, store and organize data, leading to problem analysis, production development, and cost analysis which is cost-effective, fast and beneficial altogether with the help of cloud computing system. Collecting data in the cloud system will enable us to acknowledge the data during production as well as the production conditions on real-time basis through any electronic devices, such as computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. In addition, it can help support machinery maintenance by designing an efficient preventive repair and maintenance program, and significantly reduce failure rate of machine breakdown.”
