As the eldest son of the president of the Thai Frozen Foods Association and vice-chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, 38-year-old Amornphan Aramwattananont admits he feels a certain amount of pressure as the next in line to handle the family business.
But Mr Amornphan, senior vice-president of Sea Value Plc, the country's second-largest canned tuna producer, said with his father Poj Aramwattananont as a mentor, he feels lucky to work for an established company where he can periodically rely on his parents for business advice.
"Since my childhood, I've seen my parents working and I am familiar with the ways they handle the company's businesses and operations. My parents took me along when they travelled abroad for trade exhibitions and I've personally seen my father engage in talks on a spate of business deals," he said.
BRAND RECOGNITION
Sea Value was founded in March 2004 as a holding company for two leading tuna processors: I.S.A. Value Co and Unicord Plc. The company is now recognised in the industry, having proven itself to be one of the world's leading manufacturers of canned tuna.
From the seas to the can, the company seeks high-quality raw materials to produce food products, including canned tuna, sardines, mackerel, pilchard and pouch tuna, featuring a wide variety of packing media and styles.
As demand grows for specialised tuna products, the company also offers frozen loin, value-added as well as ready-to-eat products to fulfil consumer needs.
In addition, the company invested in premium pet food lines offering high-quality ingredients and various food supplements to assure the nutritional health of pets.
Sea Value also has overseas partners including Itochu of Japan and FCF of Taiwan, which are the company's main tuna suppliers.
According to Mr Amornphan, its strategic partners domestically and overseas have enabled the company to secure supply chains and export to every continent. Its main export markets are the US, Australia, Japan, Europe, the Middle East, and African countries.
PROMISING OUTLOOK
With the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and a looming global economic recession, he said food exports are a promising sector as canned tuna is a basic and cheap form of protein. Increasing fears over a global food shortage have accelerated the demand for food worldwide, said Mr Amornphan.
He said the pandemic, work-from-home policies and new lifestyles have increased demand growth for pet food. The company has focused more on pet food businesses and is ready to expand its production and investment, said Mr Amornphan.
Food for human consumption now contributes 60% of the company's sales, with pet food accounting for 40%.
"The company has gradually developed its pet food business over the past decade to cash in on the growing trend where pets are treated as family members," he said.
"We've successfully raised the contribution of pet food from 10% of total sales 10 years ago to 40%."
The company reported 30 billion baht in sales revenue last year, with a projection for 32 billion this year.
"We've already achieved the short-term goal of raising our revenue to more than 30 billion baht," said Mr Amornphan.
"We're now pursuing a longer-term mission to usher the company towards a listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, as intended by my parents."
FEEDING CHOWHOUNDS
Sea Value operates three processing facilities in Thailand and one factory in France with a total capacity of more than 1,000 metric tonnes per day.
The company invested 2 billion baht over the past five years to expand the production capacity of its factories in Samut Sakhon.
For the next five years, the company plans to spend more than 1 billion baht, with a special focus on expanding pet food production.
"Pet food business is the rising star of the new normal lifestyle. The business has seen strong growth of 40% a year over the past three years, outstripping the overall pet food business, which grows at least 20% per year," he said.
"The main concern now is rising production costs, owing to higher energy prices, and rising tuna and vegetable oil prices. Tuna prices, in particular, have seen a sharp increase of 15% this year from the year before, despite the world's deteriorating economic conditions and weak purchasing power."
In an effort to tackle rising production costs, the company emphasised internal cost savings, especially electricity bills, said Mr Amornphan.
Sea Value invested in solar rooftops and focused on zero waste at its factories. In addition, the company applies recycling and reuse processes to consumable materials such as plastic wrap.
Changing employees' mindsets is an important part of helping lead the organisation to success, he said.
Sea Value has around 18,000 employees, with 2,500 working full-time.
Human resources management should be a key factor over the next 2-3 years, and with a hike in the domestic daily minimum wage earlier this month, the company needs to come up with more efficient management, said Mr Amornphan.
"Despite the global economic slowdown, Thai canned tuna exports still have a bright future, especially in major export markets," he said.
"But tuna remains an alternative protein compared with other livestock products that fetch higher prices."
