Southern Group Celebrates Its 55th Anniversary by Building a Sustainable Future Together
Southern Group recently celebrated its 55th anniversary by building a sustainable future together. Truly a family enterprise, the Group started small as a saw mill and lumber supplier under the name Chokephana (2512) established in 1969 by the late senator and company founder, Boonchai Phongpetra. He won a contract to produce sleepers for the State Railway of Thailand, which was the beginning of Southern Group. Over time, the Group has grown and diversified, now comprising five core businesses: mining, agriculture, transportation and logistics, power and energy and automobiles. During this celebration, members of the Phongpetra family were kind enough to sit down and discuss about Southern Group’s evolution.
Today, the second generation of the Phongpetra family is now directing the Group’s different divisions and companies, with Khun Thanarak Phongphatar the Chairman of Southern Palm Group while his brother, Dr Vichak Phongpetra, serves as PresidentCEO of the Mineral and Port division. The third sister, Wanwilai Pobsook, is the CEO of Suratthani Honda Automobile, managing two branches in Suratthani province. The youngest brother, Kitinut Phongpetra, is the CEO of Ramintra Honda Cars Co, Ltd, managing two dealerships in Bangkok while the fourth brother is the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Lt Gen Pukphong Phongpetra, who now serves as a Group director. Meanwhile, they are also preparing the next family generation to take over the helms of the Group’s different enterprises in the future.
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As we began our interview, Khun Thanarak explained, “My father was a visionary. Following the success of our timber business that had expanded to include three railway sleeper production facilities and then the devasting floods in the south that led to the administration of Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan instituting a ban on logging, he saw the need to diversify his business interests as well as support the villagers and workers who had grown to depend on his employment. After initially investing in rubber plantations and then coffee, he saw how in Malaysia, they were planting oil palms, which provided a continuous product and thus revenue year-round while rubber and coffee were very much seasonal. So, he converted his properties in the south to palm oil plantations and then built a plant to process the fruit. He also saw that a family with a plot of 50 rai could earn a sufficient income from this industry, and by promising to purchase their harvests, it was a win-win situation for all. Eventually, he was able to open more palm oil plants to meet both supply and demand.”
Dr Vichak then continued, “We then saw how while Thailand had massive mineral deposits, especially premium gypsum and related products that include rock gypsum of various sizes, rock anhydrite, limestone, dolomite and granite dust, the market in Thailand was very competitive. However, in Malaysia, there was much demand. So, we turned our attention to mining and then logistics and transport. Initially, we were exporting our products via railway and trucks, but this limited what we could ship. So, we built our first pier in Krabi, the Southern Port, a deep seaport and loading facility that can handle up to 45,000 MT to transport cargoes to customers not just in Malaysia, but in the Taiwan and Japan markets. Furthermore, we can load and unload crude palm oil and other edible oils for import and export purposes.”
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As all five brothers and their sister put it, “Competition is fierce and ongoing; therefore, we must keep developing and innovating to stay at the forefront in a sustainable way. Furthermore, profit is not our only goal. Equally, if not more important, are the people we depend on and who depend on us. Therefore, we are continually assessing business risks and adopting alternative business strategies to cope with the changing business environment.”
Dr Vichak explained, “Southern Group has never faltered in our obligations to the environment and local inhabitants where the Group’s companies operate. Since 2017, we have initiated a Zero Waste policy in all our operations as well as a number of social assistance programs. Today, all our enterprises follow an ‘Environmental, Social and [Corporate] Governance’ (ESG) framework to achieve continuous sustainability and reduce risks. As some of our interests can be harmful to the environment and surrounding communities, our Zero Waste commitment aims to mitigate these negative conditions and impacts.”
Khun Thanarak then goes on, “We have established Surat Thani Green Energy Co, Ltd, which can now generate up to 9.95 MW of electricity using empty fruit bunch (EFB), which is formed during the production of palm oil. With our Southern Palm Oil Industry (1993) Co, Ltd responsible for the raw material supply, PTT is responsible for distribution to customers.”
Dr Vichak then adds, “Today, we are also using the powdered dolomite ore, which is left over after crushing the dolomite into different sizes to meet our customers’ needs, to produce fertilizers, particularly important for soil restoration.”
These and other efforts of Southern Group have led to them receiving a number of awards such as the Green Mining Award as well as Green Industry Award presented by the Ministry of Industry’s Department of Primary Industries and Mines (DPIM). They have also earned ISO9001 and ISO14001 certification in corporate and environmental management respectively.
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Pol Lt Gen Pukphong next says, “None of this would have been possible without our management and staff. Our human resources are one of the most valuable factors behind our success. We, therefore, invest in our people so they and then we can achieve our full potential. Just as important are our partners, suppliers and customers and the surrounding communities where we are located. We have introduced a number of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actions such as scholarship programmes as well as donations to education, public health agencies and religious institutions. In addition, we are involved in tree-planting activities as well as providing drinking water in times of draught.”
As we came to the end of our interview, Dr Vichak wanted to conclude by saying, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all government officials and agencies as well as those in the private sector in Thailand and abroad for their invaluable support. I must also thank our management and personnel as well as suppliers and customers without whom we would not have achieved the success we have.
“I then want to pledge, on behalf of Southern Group, our continued commitment to sustainable advancement, to protecting and preserving our environment and contributing to the improvement in the quality of life for all by adhering to our credo, ‘Building a Sustainable Future Together’.”
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