On 13 June 2022, an agreement signing ceremony was held between NSTDA and Summit Auto Body Industry or SUMMIT to strengthen the collaboration on design and manufacturing of auto parts. The agreement was signed by NSTDA President Dr. Narong Sirilertworakul and SUMMIT President Mr. Kornkrit Jurangkool.
SUMMIT is a Thai manufacturer of auto body parts supplying to car manufacturers in Thailand. To stay competitive, SUMMIT founded a Research & Development Center and since 2012 has been collaborating with NSTDA in the areas of engineering design, materials science, manufacturing and testing to enable the company to apply cutting-edge technologies to its production to meet new demands of auto makers. At present, the two parties are working on two joint research projects and have completed nine joint projects over a decade of collaboration. One notable example is the development of a lightweight car side step. The newly developed part is 24% lighter, exceeding the 20% weight reduction that the company was aiming for.
In addition to research collaboration, NSTDA also provides R&D project certification service to SUMMIT for corporate tax deduction purpose. Since 2011, a total of 26 projects with a combined value of THB 202 million were certified by NSTDA.
The automobile industry has long been a crucial pillar of the Thai economy. This collaboration will bolster the capacity of Thai auto part makers with advanced and innovative technology to underpin this essential industry.