With an ongoing trade war, and Canada facing tariffs from the U.S. across multiple industries, manufacturers have looked to other countries to bolster their supply chain and explore alternatives for their raw materials and manufacturing needs.
Countries across the globe are jockeying for better positions with various economies as tariffs are levied by the U.S. Thailand’s Board of Investment reached out to Canadian Manufacturing to join a press delegation showcasing Thailand’s advanced manufacturing and semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.
Positioned in Southeast Asia close to critical trade partners in China, Vietnam and Singapore, Thailand has seen investments from a variety of multinational electronics and semiconductor companies in recent years. Delta Electronics, Hana Semiconductor, Silicon Craft Technology and Kimball Electronics are just some of the companies servicing clients in Asia and Europe.
The companies visited as part of the press delegation emphasized that they could and were already servicing North American manufacturing needs as well.
“Recently, in the past two or three years, we have many companies from the U.S. making investments in Thailand for their data centres. Google and AWS are some of the recent companies that have chosen to make investments here,” says Tanita Sirisup, Senior Executive Investment Advisor at the Thailand Board of Investment’s introductory presentation at the beginning of the week.
Thailand is a growing hub for automotive and electronics manufacturing, with its largest foreign investors being Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.
“Many companies choose Thailand because the cost of operating business here is very affordable. We can also provide help to businesses setting up their operations here, through ideas like the Long-Term Resident Visa, which includes the ability to bring your spouse and family,” Sirisup added.
“As a mature economy and a conflict-free zone, we’re very attractive to many Asian countries because of the security and reliability offered here,” she added.
The Thailand Board of Investment presented the press delegation with five key areas of focus in its pitch to Canadian manufacturers. Sustainability products, automotive manufacturing, advanced electronics including IC design and wafer production, data centres, and more regional headquarters.
Over the course of a week, the press delegation took a tour of Silicon Craft Technology, Hana Semiconductor, Delta Electronics, Thailand Microelectronics Center, Kimball Electronics and even a school to showcase Thailand’s role in the semiconductor supply chain, KMITL, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang.
The press delegation also had the opportunity to attend SUBCON Thailand 2025, an ASEAN-based subcontracting tradeshow, pairing businesses with their manufacturing needs in the Southeast Asian region.
Additionally, the delegation presented two industrial parks hosting manufacturing companies, AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate and WHA Group, along with Thailand’s busiest port, the Laem Chabang Deep Seaport.
Silicon Craft Technology and Hana Semiconductor showcased their semiconductor designs and electronics manufacturing capabilities, including a plant workforce that was visibly mostly women.
Our own 2025 Advanced Manufacturing Outlook report, which surveyed hundreds of manufacturing leaders, found that 74 per cent of the respondents were male, reflecting a manufacturing workforce, especially at the leadership level, that has work to do when it comes to diversifying its workforce.
The manufacturers visited were queried about how they ended up having workforces primarily comprised of women, both in more highly-skilled labour roles requiring some sort of engineering degree, and technical roles which required weeks of training.
“Nearly 40 per cent of our engineers are women,” says Dr. Bodin Kasemset, CEO of Silicon Craft Technology. “Compared to other companies in other places, we know this is a good number. A lot of our QA employees and chip design employees are mostly women, even across our global supply chain.”
When asked how they had been so successful with a more equitable labour force, Silicon Craft’s CEO said that women are ‘very precise’ and more attuned to the advanced manufacturing tasks found in Thailand.
According to the Ontario Network of Women in Engineering, female-identified undergraduate enrollment in engineering programs was 24.2 per cent in 2020, a stark contrast to countries like Thailand.
According to Dr. Pitcha Prasitmeeboon, Vice President of International Affairs, at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, “The relatively high number of women in engineering can be attributed to a combination of inclusive cultural attitudes, equitable educational opportunities, and practical career motivations. Unlike in some countries where engineering is heavily gender-stereotyped, Thai society tends to view science and engineering as gender-neutral fields.”
Dr. Prasitmeeboon delivered part of a presentation from KMITL, showcasing the school’s engineering programs and facilities. She added, saying “Additionally, engineering is seen as a respected and stable career path in Thailand, offering strong job prospects and financial security. This makes it an appealing choice for both students and families, regardless of gender. As a result, more women are empowered to pursue and succeed in engineering careers.”
Engineering and advanced manufacturing careers are being supported by Thai manufacturers making investments in schools as well. KK Chong, the Head of Marketing Communications and Sustainable Development at Delta Electronics referred to investments made by the company to create programs and design a curriculum to support Thailand’s labour force needs.
“We donate a significant sum to Thai universities and set up a curriculum to help train students for careers in electronics manufacturing,” he says. “We do not require any of the students who take advantage of the training to require a work contract with us. Careers in electronics manufacturing are very competitive. Most Thai students prefer arts and humanities subjects so by nurturing engineering talents we’re benefitting the industry as a whole.”
Delta Electronics showcased a variety of products Thailand is capable of manufacturing, including various thermal management solutions and electric components servicing the automotive and telecommunications industries with products like sensing existers, magnetic components, automotive sensors, power converters and other products.
The real estate parks in Amata Industrial Estate and WHA Group provided the delegation with bus tours of the interconnected properties which included large multinational manufacturers involved in the automotive supply chain, such as Yokohama Tire Manufacturing, Continental Tires, Bridgestone Tires and others.
Laem Chabang Deep Seaport presented a view of their port operations, demonstrating the technologies involved in ensuring that manufactured products are sorted and delivered without any delays across the globe.
Kimball Electronics provided a factory tour of their electronics manufacturing operations, with General Manager Meechai Charatpattanawong commenting on the global trade war and how it has affected the business, which primarily services the automotive, medical and high-end industrial markets on a contract manufacturing basis.
“We don’t have much control over the tariffs obviously, but we try to reroute manufacturing operations outside of the U.S. to help our clients. Because we have seven manufacturing locations, our supply chain is resilient enough to move operations wherever our clients will be least affected,” says Charatpattanawong.
“We have to work with our customers to find the optimal route. It’s not a simple process in our line of business of course, but we do hope the trade situation ends with a positive outcome for everybody involved,” he added.
The manufacturing operations in Thailand point to lessons Canadian manufacturers can implement as well, from investments in educational programs across universities and colleges, or simply more technology investments across operations, all of which
might help to keep Canada competitive amid a trade war.
According to World Bank Group data from 2023, Canada is ranked 19th in the world in terms of global manufacturing output, and Thailand is now 21st.
For organizations with electronics assembly needs at a larger scale, companies like Delta Electronics or Kimball Electronics are offering a reliable alternative to the U.S. or other North American and European counterparts.
Regardless, at a time when Canada is trying to diversify its trade partners, mature economies like Thailand with advanced manufacturing capabilities deserve a long, hard look.
