SCG opens first showroom in India at Gurgaon
SCG Trading joins hand with India’s Hydrobaths Ramco opening its first showroom of home decor products in India at Gurgaon, targeting India’s home building market with high quality SCG products.
Thai Ambassador and Team Thailand at SCG Smart WOOD section
On 7 March 2013, SCG Trading, the trading arm of Thailand’s top business conglomerate Siam Cement Group (SCG), officially opened its first showroom in India, under a joint-venture with Hydrobaths Ramco Private Co., Ltd., in the city of Gurgaon, State of Haryana, just minutes from Delhi’s IGI Airport.
Ambassador Pisan Manawapat lights the candle to open the showroom
The opening ceremony was presided over by Mr. Pisan Manawapat, Thai Ambassador to India, and attended by members of Team Thailand, New Delhi – a group comprising Thai government offices and private sector in Delhi who meet monthly to review plans to promote Thailand’s interests in India – to which SCG Trading has recently been included.
The Thai team was warmly welcome by Mr. Vineet and Harsh Bhutani, the two brothers who founded and now run Hydrobaths Ramco, as well as their Indian business associates including some high ranking officials from both local and union governments.
Mr. Yongyos (right) with COTTO team from Bangkok
The opening of the showroom is SCG’s fresh move to make inroads into India’s booming home construction market. “SCG’s initial focus will be to create brand awareness by targeting architects and home builders who influence home owners on their choice of products”, says Mr. Yongyos Pholtanawat, Regional Head of SCG Trading.
COTTO ceramic tiles (left) and sanitary ware (right)
Product line to be on display at the new showroom includes SCG Smart BOARD, SCG Smart WOOD, and COTTO’s ceramic tiles and luxurious sanitary ware.
SCG Smart BOARD
COTTO is a popular brand for sanitary ware in Thailand and has grown considerably in the ceramic tile business. It is currently the world largest producer of ceramic tiles, annually making 160 million sqm of ceramic tiles with plants in countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Apart from SCG, Hydrobaths Ramco is also in a partnership with SONITE, a Thai brand for synthetic mosaic tiles, which focuses on creative design for luxury living as well as environmentally friendly materials.
SONITE synthetic mosaic tiles for luxury homes
The showroom will also host a design centre which potential home owners can visit to get expert advice from in-house architects on how they can best build their dream homes. Having just recently opened, the centre is now visited by 5-10 walk-in customers daily.
SCG Trading has been in India for nearly 5 years and is currently conducting trade in 4 main areas: 1) construction materials; 2) recycled materials; 3) raw materials; and 4) auto parts, and are planning expansion into agro-machinery.
It currently runs offices in Chennai and Mumbai, with plan to open an office in Gurgaon. In addition to the showroom in Gurgaon, two more showrooms are in the pipeline in Mumbai and Kolkata.
The Gurgaon showroom is located at 86, IDC, Industrial Development Area, Sector 16, Gurgaon, Haryana 122007, and open from Monday – Saturday.
Praphan Samphaiworakit
Reports from New Delhi
8 March 2013
