Thailand has a population of 61 million, 60 per cent of whom are Thai and 40 per cent are Thai Chinese. Both groups follow Buddhism as their religion. Most importantly, only one language, Thai, is spoken throughout the country.

Thailand is known for its exotic cuisine. The Government of Thailand is slowly converting the country into "the kitchen of the world". The aim is to promote tourism and attract tourists with different varieties of world cuisine.

The locals are very kind, helpful, warmhearted and friendly. Though very few people speak English, they understand the universal language.

One of the businesses which the E&E Services Division is involved in pertains to marketing energy conservation solutions in compressed air.

We have an 80 per cent market share of controllers in India. Last year, we launched our controllers in Thailand. Thailand, in many ways, represents a growing economy. It has a large manufacturing base and use of compressed air is extensive. Almost all the well-known manufacturers of automobiles, two-wheelers, heavy machinery, pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, appliances, etc., have manufacturing activities in Thailand.

Though the cost of energy in Thailand is lower than that in India, the Government is very progressive and gives tremendous importance to energy conservation.

Not only does the import of energy saving equipment fetch very low import duty (10 per cent), but the Government also funds 50 per cent of the energy conservation project cost. Thailand is also one of the first countries in Asia to successfully implement energy-efficient labelling.

In the first year of operation, E&E Services has already bagged two orders: one from Union Mosaic and another from Ronda for a total cost of USD 25,000.

Our agent in Thailand, M/s. Power Air Systems, is owned by the family of Nipon Toviriyavet and Nipet Toviriyavet. M/s. Power Air Systems markets Elliot Compressors manufactured in the U.S., SullAIR Compressors manufactured in the U.S. and China, and Elgi Compressors from India.

Nipon himself has 30 years’ experience in the compressed air industry, having worked as Marketing Manager of Atlas Copco for over 20 years before starting his own business.

The compressed air market in Thailand is very mature and the manufacture of reciprocating compressors has been totally stopped for the last 10 years (in India, reciprocating compressors are still being manufactured). The market is governed by rotary, screw and centrifugal compressors, which are energy efficient.

Further, there is tremendous awareness of energy conservation.

The business prospects in Thailand for marketing of compressor air solutions is very bright and we are targeting achieving more than 10 large orders by this year end. Once this unique technology is understood and becomes popular in Thailand, we are sure the sales will grow at a volume of 25 to 30 per cent every year.

|{|{

Pursuant to the CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre at Hyderabad getting the Platinum Award from the LEED-United States Green Building Council, the E&E Services Division has started working jointly with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on a number of Green Buildings coming up in the country.

Godrej’s E&E Services, with 25 years of experience in energy management and having taken up a number of internal and external projects on energy conservation, is an ideal partner to CII as commissioning agent for Green Building Projects. A commissioning agent is an independent third-party agency, which reports only to the owners of the building and it is the owner’s means of verifying that the planning, designing, construction and operation processes are achieving their goals, and ensures delivery of high-quality efficiency with maximum asset value.

A good commissioned building provides optimised energy efficiency, high indoor air quality and comfort, and sets targets for minimal operation and maintenance cost. The successful implementation of commissioning processes can increase energy efficiency by 5 to 15 per cent.

The USGBC conducts a number of workshops on Green Buildings in the U.S. R.P. Engineer, Manager — Energy Conservation, E&E Services Division, and I visited Boston for a seven-day training programme in the LEED Workshop conducted at MIT, Cambridge. The Workshop was conducted by Dr. Kath Williams, Ed.D., Past Vice Chair, Education Committee, and Nadav Malin, Chairman, BuildingGreen Inc. (Material and Resources Training Advisory Group). It was an excellent programme and there were nearly a hundred participants, mostly from the building construction industry.

After the Workshop, Engineer and I appeared for the LEED Accreditation Examination, which both of us cleared with good results. It was a unique experience for me, having to study once again and appear for an examination 33 years after my graduation. It was highly gratifying scoring over 80 per cent marks in the LEED Examination, which was extremely difficult and challenging.

Engineer and I had the privilege of visiting two building sites, which have achieved high levels of energy efficiency.

Along with Dr. Kath Williams, we visited the Harvard School of Public Health and the Landmark Center in Cambridge.

The Harvard School of Public Health recently occupied one floor of the building of 40,000 square feet gross area and refurbished the entire area, based on LEED criteria for commercial interiors. A number of unique measures such as displacement ventilation, achieving over 90 per cent of air change effectiveness, have been implemented. The project has also achieved water efficiency worth 20 per cent, reduction in lighting energy worth 40 per cent and efficient floor ventilation with programmable timers contributing 15 per cent improvement for the purpose of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and utilising 50 per cent of renewable energy. It has completely refurbished the HVAC system, which was originally chlorofluorocarbon-based, and has implemented the HVAC system with only hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) at considerable expense.

The Harvard School of Public Health has achieved the unique distinction of only part of a building applying for LEED certification and implementing LEED criteria to achieve a high level of energy efficiency. It has been awarded the Gold Rating under LEED commercial interior, which is a major achievement.

The Landmark Center is a large building housing a number of different businesses and independent agencies occupying different floors.

We also visited the Ray and Maria Stata Research Center and Alex Dreyfoos Building of MIT, where the existing unit has been pulled down and a new research centre is being constructed in its place. The building is 90 per cent complete and is aimed at achieving LEED certification.

The building has implemented a number of unique features: