PATHUM THANI, THAILAND — CPRAM Co., a food manufacturer under Charoen Pokphand Group, announced plans to open a nearly 2-billion-baht ($58.1 million) baking plant next year, according to The Bangkok Post. 

Construction began last year on the baking plant, located in Pinthong Industrial Estate in Chon Buri province, said Wisade Wisidwinyoo, the company’s managing director. The facility is opening a year later than originally planned due to COVID-19 challenges. 

The facility marks the company’s 16th nationwide and will have a production capacity of 1.2 million items per day, according to The Bangkok Post.

Six of the company’s current facilities produce bakery products, while the other nine make ready-to-eat meals. CPRAM’s baked food offerings include cookies, pies, sandwiches, sliced bread, buns and rolls for both domestic and international markets. 

The new facility will help meet the growing demand in CPRAM’s bakery business, which has grown 12% per year on average, Mr. Wisidwinyoo said. He said the company plans to expand its bakery production to cover all regions of the country and aims to double its sales in five years.

According to The Bangkok Post, CPRAM posted sales of 20.4 billion baht ($592.4 million) last year, a number expected to rise to 22.6 billion baht ($656.3) million this year.

To achieve its sales goals, Mr. Wisidwinyoo said CPRAM plans to focus on expanding its healthy, plant-based and functional food production in both domestic and international markets using biotechnology.

“Thais are paying more attention to their health, both in terms of prevention and treatment,” he said. “Diseases are expected to become more complex and difficult to treat, therefore we use biotechnology.”
 
The company also allocated nearly 300 million baht ($8.7 million) to set up a food technology exchange center at its office in Pathum Thani, according to The Bangkok Post.