1. 100 TRAILER TORQUE
TRAILERTORQUE THAI STYLE
TRAILER TORQUE 101
THAI
STYLE
TODAY
Panus Oceania is moving slowly but
strongly into the Australian market
diverse range of products in the trailer market including
general freight and skeletal trailers, car carriers, rail wagons
and semi-tippers to complement their involvement in
producing vehicle for other sectors including mining,
aviation and the military.
Panus Assembly CEO, Mr. Panus Watanachai, is the son
of the founder of the company, and he found time recently
to discuss with TrailerTorque the development of the Panus
brand and how the company views its recent decision to
enter the Australian market.
“The company was started 45 years ago by my father.
At that time, the trailer market in Thailand didn’t really exist.
Although a truck chassis at that time was built from steel,
the bodies were built locally from wood. Initially, my father
started cutting timber and building boats and also furniture.
But he was a pioneer and he saw the opportunity for
transportation to move from wooden boats to truck bodies,”
said Mr. Panus.
Today the Panus company is the largest manufacturer
of trailers in the Thai market. From the factory south east
of Bangkok at Chonburi, Panus Assembly is currently
building 200 trailers per month with a workforce of
900 employees. When operating at peak capacity with
1,100 employees, the 52-acre factory site is able to
produce up to 350 trailers per month.
“Our main market is of course Thailand, but in the future
we have the ASEAN Economic Community to consider and
to that potential we have added Australia and New Zealand
as well as India, South Korea and Japan,” said Mr. Panus.
“There is a very diverse range of technology requirements
amongst the different countries, with the lower technology
markets being Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and Myanmar.
“What interests us most is the ability to participate in
markets that have already moved to adopt levels of higher
technology such as Australia, New Zealand, South Korea
and Japan.
“For our home market we specialise in skeletal container
carriers and flat top or curtainsider trailers. We also currently
supply 90 percent of the market for car carriers in Thailand.
“In the past we have built aluminium tankers, but demand
for the use of aluminium in the Thai market dropped off
around 10-15 years ago. Today we still build tankers, but in
steel. We are the number-one supplier of container skeletal
trailers and hold around 40 percent of the market segment.
In terms of flat top trailers, we hold around 30 percent of
market share.
“Because of our experience in skeletal container trailers
and flat tops, we are concentrating initially on these products
as the first stage of our product range availability in the
Australian market.
“I see Australia as being closer to Thailand and with
established links because of Australian companies such as
Linfox and Toll already operating here. Working with Rod
Cunningham in conjunction with experienced Australian
engineers and local Australian component suppliers, we have
established a strong platform for our trailer solutions and
entry into the Australian transport market.
Backed by a product line that is already certified to
ISO9001: 2008 plus OHSAS 1800:2007/TIS 1800:2011
standards, Panus has established its Australian base in
Melbourne, under the brand name of Panus Oceania.
Heading the Panus Oceania division is CEO Rod
Cunningham, supported in the sales and marketing team
by Jo Horvat, both of whom are well known and highly
experienced through working in the local industry.
“We have introduced
our first two products
into the Australian
market and both are
what we term our base-level units,” said Rod Cunningham.
“We have started our product range with a flat top semi-
trailer and a skeletal semi-trailer. Components such as axles,
suspension systems, king pins and lighting are all sourced
in Australia and exported to Thailand for manufacturing
and assembly. This ensures the components are not only
commonly available in the Australian market and are
supported by their suppliers, but ensures our trailers are
completely ADR compliant.
“This form of supply does add a little extra cost but it also
enables us to establish the brand while offering a variety of
specifications and components. Our base level units at this
stage include Watson and Chalin tri-axle road friendly air
suspension, Wabco brake kits, and LED multivolt lighting and
as we move into the fleet space, we will add products from
other locally well-known and trusted suppliers.
we live in a totally
global world, so
different from that of a
century ago when the
aim of each country was
to be economically self-sufficient. The national pride that
formed the glue of developing manufacturing industries has
been replaced by an operating strategy focused only on
economies of scale.
In recent years, Thailand has advanced its position as
being a favoured location for auto manufacturing to the point
where the nation is often now described as the “Detroit of
Asia”. Unlike the Detroit of today that bears no resemblance
to the major manufacturing hub it was during the 50s and
60s, Thailand continues to grow its manufacturing base and
is today the largest single source of utes and pick-ups from a
plethora of different makes.
With manufacturers such as Isuzu also establishing
production facilities to supply local markets in Indonesia and
Malaysia, it is not surprising to find associated industries
such as trailer manufacturing and bodybuilding are also
experiencing rapid growth.
Panus is a new name to the Australian trailer market,
but in the Thailand market this privately-owned company
ranks as the country’s largest trailer builder. It boasts a
Panus Assembly CEO, Mr. Panus Watanachai :
“We specialise in skeletal containercarriers and flat top or curtainsider trailers.
We also currentlysupply 90 percent of the market for car carriers in Thailand."

2. TRAILERTORQUE
102 TRAILER TORQUE
“That’s our starting point. We had originally included side
loader pads and other items for the rental spec market. The
Australian product at that stage was slightly heavier than that
of the future product. Our second design on the skel features
further refinements to the product design and it is now within
100 kg of the expected benchmark. All 2015 product and
beyond will feature EBS as standard. By moving to EBS,
universally, we reduce the complexity overall,” said Rod.
Panus commented on how the evaluation of the European
trailer market illustrated further opportunities for the future
development of his company’s products
“I think the main thing would be disc brakes and super
singles. The Thai market is very much based on drum brakes
and dual tyres. In some of the European manufacturing,
their technology for building trailers is to use a modular
system with nuts and bolts. If you use that many
nuts and bolts, it’s a high level of labour. In terms
of the spec, it would be heavier than welding.
We have to compare all these varieties,” said Panus.
“We are picking particular markets that have the
opportunity to suit our manufacturing and product
design strengths. We will start as a boutique
supplier and then move from there.
“Our vision is to be a leading provider of specialist
carrying equipment and logistical solutions, with innovation,
efficiency and good governance,” added Panus.
Panus has also just completed the
purchase of the Bliss-Fox company.
Previously a division of NEPEAN
Transport, the aircraft tractors
are fabricated by
Panus Assembly.
Panus is the largest currently provides The Panus range of
products extends from trailers to vehicle body trailers.