Exhibition
Manufacturing Expo 2025
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Surging Crowds! Direct Buyers Urgently Need Local Supply in Thailand
The show held from June 18 to 21 at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC) saw visitor numbers fill up within just half an hour of opening each day, clearly surpassing the attendance of the previous edition. This year’s event featured several notable new characteristics compared to last year’s:
Greater Diversity in Country Pavilions
In addition to the China and Taiwan pavilions, this year included pavilions from Singapore and South Korea, along with a dedicated section for industrial tools and tooling. A highlight was the Taiwan Excellence Award pavilion, which not only promoted award-winning Taiwanese companies but also hosted keynote presentations on Taiwan’s manufacturing technologies.
Increase in Japanese Exhibitors
Japanese companies have increased their investments in Thailand over recent years. Many Japanese exhibitors seen at the show either have local factories or joint ventures with Thai firms. They employ local Thai staff to provide on-site supply services. Most of these Japanese companies were from machinery and materials sectors outside the fastener industry.
Explosive Growth of Chinese Exhibitors
Unlike other country pavilions, there was not just one China pavilion but multiple scattered throughout the venue, and by including numerous smaller Chinese booths, exhibitors with Chinese backgrounds accounted for over 50% of the total exhibitors. Fastener World talked with a Chinese exhibitor who even estimating this share to exceed 70%. This exhibitor explained that intense involution in China has suppressed domestic sales, prompting many to target Thailand for export growth. To him, the surge in Chinese presence in this show came as no surprise.
Visitors Were Mostly “Direct Buyers”
The majority of buyers came from four key industries: electronics, assembly, automotive, and machinery. These sectors require fasteners in smaller quantities for assembly, so their purchase requirements share common traits: support for small-quantity supply, local manufacturing presence in Thailand, and the ability to provide customized products. This trend reflects that fastener companies able to supply locally in Thailand are the most competitive in entering the Thai market.
Outlook for Fastener Demand in Thailand Remains Positive
Many visitors to the Fastener World booth expressed difficulty finding local fastener suppliers despite strong demand. Fastener World offered them matchmaking with global suppliers and promoted fasteners, dies, tooling, and machinery through company reports and catalogs listed in Fastener World publications. Understanding the characteristics of these buyers offers interested suppliers a valuable opportunity to capture business in this Southeast Asian industrial hub.
