Panels & Furniture Asia March/April 2024

NEWS
EGGER Group acquires minority stake in
Thai wood-based manufacturer Panel Plus
environmental consciousness. Creating added
value, a zero-waste concept and sustainable
growth was always our focus,” said Amporn
Kanjanakumnerd, CEO of Panel Plus.
“We are excited to announce our strategic
partnership with EGGER, one of the world’s
largest wood-based materials manufacturers.
This collaboration will enable us with a wide
range of resources and capabilities with
cutting-edge technology that we can utilise to
better serve our customers.
Panel Plus’ main production plant is located in Hat Yai in the southern Thai province of Songkhla
With the goal of further strengthening its own
market position in Asia, the EGGER Group has
acquired a 25.1% stake in the Thai woodbased
material manufacturer Panel Plus.
The purchase agreement was signed on 30
Nov 2023 and the closing took place on 3 Jan
2024. The parties have agreed not to disclose
the purchase price and further details of the
transaction.
“As a significant growth market, Asia plays an
important role in our strategic considerations.
We have been considering expanding our
presence there for some time now, we have
found the ideal partner in this respect,” said
Thomas Leissing, CFO of EGGER Group and
speaker of the Group Management in Panel
Plus.
“Panel Plus has state-of-the-art production
sites and a product portfolio that is perfectly
tailored to regional requirements. We are
convinced that we will benefit greatly from
their local expertise and will be able to exploit
further growth opportunities together. We are
delighted with this strategic partnership.”
materials such as chipboard and mediumdensity
fibreboard (MDF) panels, both
laminated and unlaminated.
Their main production plant is located in
Hat Yai in the southern Thai province of
Songkhla. There is a raw chipboard line, two
MDF lines as well as in-house impregnation
units and 10 lamination lines.
A large proportion of the energy required
comes from the company’s own biomass
power plants. Panel Plus has additional
upgrading capacities at the production site
in Samut Sakorn, Thailand, and two further
upgrading facilities in Malaysia and Vietnam
are currently under construction and will
become operational in 2024.
In total, approximately 800 employees
at Panel Plus produce a total volume of
800,000m 3 wood-based materials per
year. Panel Plus is a subsidiary of the Mitr
Phol Group, a private group of companies
whose main business areas include sugar
production, renewable energy, and woodbased
material production.
“By combining EGGER’s deep industry
knowledge and expertise with our own
local innovative solutions, we are confident
this new venture will be beneficial for our
customers as we will leverage each other’s
strengths with striving for excellence in our
pursuit.”
Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam are the
core markets of Panel Plus. The core target
groups are the local furniture industry and
distributors. Growing market demand,
state-of-the-art production technology, and
the capacity of Panel Plus, combined with
EGGER’s input to expand the product portfolio,
form the foundation for a collaborative value
creation.
The EGGER Group has an established sales
organisation in Asia with its own sales offices
in Shanghai, China; Tokyo, Japan; and Ho Chi
Minh City, Vietnam.
The stake in Panel Plus now gives EGGER
the opportunity to broaden its own market
access, address additional customer target
groups and further expand availability and
service for them.
Both parties are convinced that they can
successfully realise growth potential
together. They have agreed not to disclose
the purchase price and further details of the
transaction. P
Panel Plus was founded in 1990 and today
produces a wide range of wood-based
“From the very beginning, Panel Plus has
been committed to innovative products and
To know more about EGGER's investment plans in South
East Asia, turn to page 27.
12 PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA | MARCH / APRIL 2024