Dr. Nattapol Rangsitpol, Director-General of the Department of Industrial Promotion (DIPROM) in his capacity as the chairman of economic spearhead program recently announced the successful development and demonstration of an auto storage and retrieval system (ASRS) under the economic spearhead program.
ASRS is a type of warehouse automation technology designed to store and retrieve product and inventory on demand. The system enhances the competitiveness of enterprises, enabling them reduce errors, save labor and energy, while achieving greater efficiency. Despite multiple benefits, ASRS can be out of reach for Thai SMEs with limited budget to invest in such advanced technologies that need to be imported.
The economic spearhead program supported the development of ASRS to bring down the cost of this promising technology for the benefit of Thai SMEs. The development followed the public-private partnership model to not only create but also bring the innovation to market. The result is a cost-effective and fully integrated ASRS complete with computer-controlled equipment and system, including stacker crane, storage rack, and warehouse management system developed and manufactured entirely in Thailand. The research team and Menam Mechanika – a Thai smart warehouse solution provider– have already delivered the ASRS solution to enterprises in Thailand, including DSV Solutions and Western Digital Storage Technologies (Thailand).
Dr. Sampan Silapanad, Vice President of Western Digital Storage Technologies (Thailand), commented that his company has full confidence in this Thai-made ASRS. This cost-effective ASRS will help SMEs improve their warehouse/inventory management efficiency and support Thailand’s Industry 4.0 transformation.
Under this project, two types of ASRS were developed. A low-rise ASRS, reaching a 12-m. height, is designed for SMEs with a small space and modest budget, whereas a high-rise ASRS, able to reach as tall as 23 m., is suitable for a large space and supports future expansion. This domestically developed innovation will fulfil the ASRS demand whose market size is expected to reach THB 10 billion in five years.