Introduced in Thailand only two years ago, an increasing number of export shipments from Thailand are protected on their journey to their final destination all over the orld by a unique Danish product called Dry-Bag.
Importer and sole distributor in Thailand is the Thai company, Tanapol Vanich Co., Ltd., established in October 2000 by Mr. Nipat Ungpakornkaew and Miss Sasinoot Preedawipart. The use of Dry-Bag is especially important when shipping moisture sensitive goods like agricultural produce, garments and electronics.
Dry-Bag is composed of a special clay available in Denmark, mixed with calcium chloride. Compared to other so-called desiccants – materials which are able to pick up moisture from its surroundings – this special, environmentally friendly mixture is able to pick up more moisture from the air than any other known natural desiccant.
Tanapol Vanich Co., Ltd. owes part of its fast introduction in Thailand to Mr. Vagn Pedersen, Managing Director of Maersk Logistics (Thailand).
“Mr. Vagn Pedersen has supported the introduction of Dry-Bag since the first day of operation,” Mr. Nipat Ungpakornkaew, an ex-employee of the Siam Cement Group, exlains.”Mr. Pedersen mentioned once that he used tons of Dry-Bag for years while he was working for Maersk in South Africa and would like to continue using it in Thailand. Mr. Pedersen also recommended us to join the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce, which provided us with a good link to the Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce and the Thai-Swedish Chamber of Commerce as well.
Over the past 2 years, Tanapol has held meetings upon meetings with freight forwarders, liner companies, and exporting companies explaining the superb benefit of Dry-Bag. “We discovered that many of them are unaware of the risk of condensation and the risk of using synthetic, low-quality desiccants,” Khun Nipat says.
“Some place more importance on the cost of the desiccant while overlooking the risk of delivering damaged cargo. They cannot see that cost of prevention is ultimately cheaper than correction when the damage is done. However, as more and more customers focus on product quality and reliable supply management, more and more freight forwarders will start demanding a higher quality desiccant like Dry-Bag.” While continuing the expansion within the shipping sector, Tanapol Vanich Co., Ltd. is currently looking into a range of new opportunities for the product also in the consumer market.
“We are introducing a safe and environmentally friendly special household version of Dry-Bag for use at home called Moisture Catcher. It is a small package available in four sizes of 25 gram, 80 gram, 500 gram and 1000 gram. Particularly photographers have been quick to se the benefit and we are getting shellspace now also with Home Pro, Siam Drug, and many gunsmiths apart from the photoshops.”
The relationship with the Danish manufacturer of Dry-Bag, Anders Bendt a/s has developed exremely well. The Danish company is currently considering extending its cooperation with Tanapol to include also exclusive representation in Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and China (including Hongkong).
Tanapol Vanich C., Ltd. has a clear strategy as to how it intends to serve its market.
“A good company by my definitions is a company that delivers value in terms of performance in a professional way. We want to be a fair player and take a firm position in the business, not just being a table and
chair company which makes money on commission,” Khun Nipat explains.
“At present, Tanapol is still a young and small company,” he adds. “It is, however, a good time to shape the company little by little. Today we are recruiting marketing and salespersonnel. In the future,
we will seek for professional managers to join our top management team. May be we can not be IBM, General Electric or ABB in our generation, but we are always optimistic about our future and keep going forward.”
