Sammitr Motors Group, the auto parts maker, has decided to relocate its compressed natural gas (CNG) retrofit business to eastern Bangkok.
Bang Na-Trat Road Km 12, an area not affected by last year's floods, has been chosen for the new site.
Its operation as well as that of subsidiary Sammitr Green Power Co (SGP) is in Bang Kae district in western Bangkok, which was flooded last year.
The relocation was also prompted by the need to meet growing demand for CNG pickup trucks.
Surayut Posirisuk, SGP's managing director, said the firm will spend 1 billion baht to build the new 10-rai site.
The new plant, which will retrofit CNG engines for a range of pickup trucks based on the Toyota Hilux Vigo, will increase the company's monthly capacity by 150% to 2,500 vehicles.
The Bang Kae site will be turned into a CNG pickup service centre and parts warehouse.
SGP started out by providing the CNG retrofit service to the world's leading carmakers that were based in China in 2003.
It has since installed CNG engines in more than 50,000 cars.
After working with Volkswagen in China for six years, SGP expanded its business into Thailand in 2008 and has received a positive response from local carmakers.
SGP currently sells NGV pickup trucks. It also designs and develops NGV engine retrofit for carmakers and has recently entered the alternative energy development business.
The range of CNG pickups that SGP sells in the Thai market include single-cab, extended-cab, double-cab pickups based on the Hilux Vigo pickups.
SGP is also interested in retrofitting CNG engines for other pickup brands, said Mr Surayut.
He said the company recently launched a new variant of its CNG pickups, also based on 2.7-litre Hilux Vigo pickups called Khan Kluay, with the most spacious completely flat load bed in the market.
