Japanese steel plants in Thailand have made tremendous strides. Just ask the automakers that buy steel sheet from them. It's topnotch stuff.
In fact, the plants have raised the quality of their sheet so much that they seem impervious to competition from other Thai plants or from global steel powers.
Japanese companies' steel plants in the country are even defying the global steel glut.
What is even more notable about these plants is that Thais occupy most of the key quality control and management positions.
The Nikkei recently visited a plant that makes steel sheet for cars operated by NS-Siam United Steel, or NS-SUS, the Thai unit of Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal. While there, we listened in as a Thai employee explained key quality control points to some visiting Indonesian workers.
The Indonesians were at the plant, located in the central province of Rayong, to learn how to maintain and repair cold-rolling and galvanizing equipment. They are expected to be part of the original workforce at a new steel sheet plant the Japanese steelmaker plans to start operating in Indonesia next year.
Making steel products for cars requires cutting-edge technology and high-level production skills. Thai workers now have the same level of skills and expertise as their Japanese counterparts and can serve as competent quality control instructors, according to Hiroaki Sato, president of NS-SUS.
Getting to this point was not a smooth ride. The facility used to be plagued by quality and delivery problems and deluged by complaints from automakers, its main customers.
Quality standards are especially high for door panels and other external body panels. The surfaces of the rolls used to make these panels must be perfectly smooth. This must be ensured by rigorous checks using specialized jigs or visual inspections.
In the past, workers at the plant only responded to problems found on finished products, such as scratches on steel panels.
SOurce:Asia Nikki