Panels & Furniture Asia January/February 2018

PANEL MANUFACTURING 17
now. We want the best of the best
because we will have to live with the
decision for the next few decades,”
Ekky says.
KEEP GROWING
Today both Ekky and Rangsinee have come
a long way from Day One. There have been
good days and poorer moments but at the
end of it, they say it’s about learning on
the job, coming back from failure, fixing
mistakes, going to bed and waking up
again, ready to face another day.
Rangsinee also runs Pink Berry with
her older sister on the side. Although
frozen yoghurt and wood have nothing
in common, she was able to apply her
management skills to the franchise
business.
“Be it frozen yoghurt or any field,
our parents want us to stand on our
own feet and be decision makers,”
Ekky says. As a hands-on person, he
spends most of his time in the
factory, giving him little else to think
about.
*Advanced Fibre is Scheuch’s first direct
sales since it opened its regional office in
2015. It is located in downtown Bangkok
and headed by Managing Director
Andreas Köck. The Austrian technology
company has served the Southeast Asian
market for decades and is no stranger to
many plant managers in the wood-based
panel industry here.
Part of the Advanced Fibre factory in Kanchanaburi
There is also a sense of accomplishment
that comes from being recognised for small
milestones, such as successfully operating
machinery, merging old practices with the
new, building a team and managing it.
The journey does not end with them
as middle managers for their parents
want them to be entrepreneurs—an
undertaking that meant their experience
at the bottom was essential.
“You cannot hope to rise to the top
without first knowing how things work at
the very basic level,” Ekky explains.
“In the end if you are always seeking
their approval, years down the road no
one will be telling you what the right
decision is.”
Meanwhile, the company is now
planning ahead, filling up plots of land to
prepare for a day the board of directors
decides to build another line.
The next few years will see both
cousins improving the line’s efficiency and
growing the business, realising the very
destiny they were meant for. ℗
Some key equipment featured in Advanced Fibre
Energy Plant
Buettner
Forming line, pre-press, Dieffenbacher
continuous press, star cooler
Dust extraction system Scheuch
Refiner
Andritz
Sanding machines
Steinemann
Finishing line (cut-to-size Anthon
saws, handling equipment)
Chemical preparation IMAL
Thickness gauge and GreCon
blow detector
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 1 • January / February 2018