Thailand flooding closes two factories at industrial park

Flooding at an industrial estate east of the Thai capital has forced the closure of two foreign-owned factories producing electronic spare parts, but the estate’s operator said other plants there had no plans to halt operations.

Thailand is the world’s largest producer of hard-disk drives and a big supplier of electronic components and car parts, and devastating floods in 2011 hit some of the world’s biggest manufacturers, delaying shipments and disrupting supply chains.

On Wednesday, Thailand’s biggest industrial estate developer, Amata Corporation, said two factories owned by foreign companies at its industrial park in Chonburi, 114 km east of Bangkok, had temporarily shut.

“The factories notified us that they will suspend operations for two days because some workers are finding it difficult to travel to work,” said Executive Director Wibun Krommadit, but he declined to identify the companies.

“No other factories have notified us of plans to close.”

The estate was pumping flood water out of the margins of its premises and would be dry within a day’s time, he added.

Amata Nakorn estate, spread over 3,020 hectares, is home to companies producing parts for Japanese automakers. Nearly half the factories there hail from Japan.