- By: Valisa Krairiksh
- Published: 24/02/2009 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Business
Bathroom Design wins awards and builds business by bringing out the best in employees.
One hardly expects the maker of luxury bathtubs costing as much as 600,000 baht to be a champion of His Majesty the King's sufficiency economy initiative, but that is exactly what Wacharamongkon Benjathanachat says is the key to his success.
‘‘Our creative teams are encouraged to think freely. This builds loyalty. The more we give, the more we get back from our employees,’’ says Mr Wacharamongkon.
His 500 employees at Bathroom Design Co get numerous benefits, which is Mr Wacharamongkon's way of sharing with the people he sees as an integral part of the enterprise.
For example, in the wake of the economic downturn, the company has been unable to raise employees' salaries, but has instead initiated programmes to help them save.
"We make our own herbal drinks so that employees don't have to buy them outside the factories. We raise fish and plant rice fields. Defective bathtubs from the production line are used to grow vegetables. Instead of giving them a 7% raise, I'm teaching them to save 12-15%," said Mr Wacharamongkon, the company's president.
The company was founded in 1997, just as the economic crisis hit, with an initial investment of only 1 million baht, and in 1999 it began to make its own designs to adapt to changing times.
"This financial crisis means we must adapt again. Instead of aiming only for the mid- to high-end market, we must look at the mid- to low-end," he said. "We're aiming at lower prices and better design."
The company was the winner in last year's Design and Innovation Contest (DIC2008) hosted by the National Innovation Agency (NIA).
"We provide grants of up to 5 million baht to small enterprises, and support larger ones how we can. Bathroom Design needed 30 million, so we offered to pay the interest," said NIA director Supachai Lorlowhakarn.
Mr Wacharamongkon is also looking ahead to closer economic and trade integration within Asean. "We already have dealers in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Burma, Laos and Cambodia."
Eard Charuratana, deputy managing director of the company, said the idea of "Made in Thailand" has gained wide acceptance as a quality label within Asia.
About 20% of the company's products are exported, to diverse places such as The Netherlands, the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates.
"Since we aim to be among the top five companies specialising in bathrooms internationally, it is important that our clients have a reason to trust our label. This is why we enter international competitions regularly," said Mr Eard.
Mr Wacharamongkon added that winning awards was "more cost-efficient than advertising" , providing very good, credible and free publicity.
"We don't aim to maximise profits, but rather to optimise them, which is why we treat our employees with respect," he said. "Our creative teams are encouraged to think freely. This builds loyalty. The more we give, the more we get back from our employees."
Universities and companies have bought into Mr Wacharamongkon's business management style. He teaches innovation management and business at several universities, such as Chulalongkorn, Thammasat, Sripatum, Prince of Songkla and Ubon Ratchathani universities, as well as running programmes for Kasikorn and Krung Thai banks.
According to Mr Wacharamongkon, the company owes its success to being focused on what it is good at - making bathtubs - and careful management.
"Being an entrepreneur is not only about profit. We must also maximise happiness in what we do," he said.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/12219/different-by-design
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