Hexagon Metrology Thailand: Supporting Vietnam's industry development

Since before the construction of the great pyramids the need for accuracy and precision in construction and manufacturing has been paramount. The achievements of all of history's great engineers, architects, designers, and manufacturers have only come about through their ability to measure accurately.

With the technological advancements over the last one hundred years, and the development of sophisticated metrological equipment, manufacturers have been able to make incredible products that even twenty years ago would have seemed impossible to produce.

Hexagon Metrology, one of the world leaders in the manufacture of metrological equipment, has been at the forefront of developing measuring tools for almost two hundred years, and during his visit to Metalex Vietnam, held in HCMC recently, Anthony Evans of International Metalworking News for Asia (IMNA) caught up with Taveesak Srisuntisuk, Managing Director of Commercial Operations, Hexagon Metrology Thailand and Vietnam, and asked him a number of questions about Hexagon Metrology's global operations,their products and their experiences doing business in Vietnam.

IMNA: Tell us a little bit about Hexagon Metrology, and how long you've been doing business here in Vietnam. 

Srisuntisuk: Well you could say Hexagon Metrology is a truly global corporation; A Swedish Company with headquarters in London, and more than 20 production facilities and 70 Precision Centres for service and demonstrations, as well as a network of over 100 distribution partners on five continents. Hexagon Metrology has a long history in manufacturing measuring equipment, dating back almost 200 years. We've been operating here in Vietnam for almost ten years now, with our Vietnamese operations being managed through the company's Thailand office since 2006.

Srisuntisuk: We are in the business of manufacturing metrology equipment for an array of industry applications, products such as traditional CMMs (Coordinate Measuring Machines), Stationary CMMs, Portable CMMs, including portable measuring arms and laser trackers, sensors, and we also offer a range of multisensor and pptical systems. Additionally, we're also heavily involved in software development for various computation and automation applications, so in general you could say we're in the business of creating measuring solutions for the global manufacturing sector, particularly where a high degree of precision and accuracy in their finish product or service is required. Our equipment also plays a big role in a company's quality control and quality assurance endeavours. 

IMNA: With regards to the actual manufacturing of your machines and machine parts, is this still predominantly European based?

Srisuntisuk: No, we have number of manufacturing facilities across the globe. For instance, in the USA we have manufacturing facilities for our traditional CMMs, as well as factories in Italy, China, all manufacturing similar components. Other high-end CMMs are manufactured in Germany and we also have several specialised products such as our optical systems or sensors, made in Switzerland. There's also Japan, Korea and the list goes on.

IMNA: What are some of the industries Hexagon Metrology targets with your finished products?

Srisuntisuk: Well that depends on the country or region we're talking about. For example; in Thailand, we do around 50% to 60% of our business with the automotive sector; but this is not surprising when you consider that Thailand is ranked tenth in the world for car manufacturing. But in other countries such as Vietnam; yes they haveNike Odyssey React