By Wu Xiaohan

Aiming High

By Wu Xiaohan

Dr. Sangchai Sodtivarakul, president of the Tio Chew Association of Thailand, is an accomplished entrepreneur and educator

A third-generation descendant of Chinese immigrants to Thailand, Dr. Sangchai Sodtivarakul is an accomplished entrepreneur of the Thai paper industry. His family has operated three large paper and carton mills for more than 40 years in Thailand, and despite now being in his 70’s, Dr. Sodtivarakul remains vigorous and energetic. On Jan. 10, 2016, he became the 39th president of the Tio Chew Association of Thailand after being elected with an overwhelming majority of the votes.

Innovative Entrepreneur

Dr. Sodtivarakul took over the family business from his father at the age of 32, but he soon found that fi ve of his family’s seven enterprises were suf f ering heavy losses, and the only way the loss-making enterprises survived was through subsidies from the family’s two prof i table businesses. The young successor was determined to seek a new path to growing his business. After thorough investigation and analysis, he shut down all of his family’s business apart from the manufacturing of thermoses, electric cookers and washing machines.

Forty years ago, the Thai papermaking and packaging industries were underdeveloped. Realizing that packaging paper boxes were highly sought after but in short supply, Dr. Sodtivarakul launched a carton factory to meet the packaging needs of the products of his family’s businesses, while also accepting orders from clients. In just six years, his three electrical appliance enterprises showed reduced losses and the carton factory business grew rapidly.

A few years later, due to a shortage of raw materials, the carton factory was faced with major disruptions to its supply chain. Seeing the arrivals of increasing numbers of orders for cardboard boxes, Dr. Sodtivarakul made the decision to establish a paper mill to produce raw materials for his own carton factory. As the paper mill gradually expanded in capacity, its production surged, resulting in surplus stock. He then began selling the paper to other carton factories, thus forming an industrial chain for papermaking and carton production.

Dr. Sangchai Sodtivarakul, president of the Tio Chew Association of Thailand.

Pollution treatment is a prevalent issue for paper mills all over the world. By adopting environmentally-friendly equipment imported from Japan, Dr. Sodtivarakul’s paper mill became a model enterprise in environmental protection in Thailand. After more than 10 years, the paper mill, with more than 500 workers producing 800 tons of paper daily, has grown into a leader in the Thai paper industry. Furthermore, Dr. Sodtivarakul has expanded his business abroad, with plants set up in other Southeast Asian countries including Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Dedication to Chinese Teaching

The Tio Chew Association of Thailand.

More than a decade ago, when an industrial park fi rst emerged in Samut Sakhon, where Sodtivarakul’s paper mill is located, there were no schools focused on Chinese language education in the entire province. Leaders of the local overseas Chinese community decided to establish a Chinese language school and agreed to name Dr. Sodtivarakul, who holds a Ph.D. from a university in the United States and is highly prof i cient in Chinese, English and Thai, as the schoolmaster.

Dr. Sodtivarakul was initially hesitant, but thanks to the encouragement of leaders of the area’s overseas Chinese community, he decided to run the school as a way of contributing to society. He actively mobilized various social resources to secure the land and capital required to establish the school. He also published a fundraising statement in various newspapers and even took the lead in donating money to help the school prepare for its opening.

In May 2004, Samchaiwitaedsuksa School was officially founded, and Dr. Sodtivarakul has served as the chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees ever since. Today, Samchaiwitaedsuksa School has become a major player in Chinese language teaching in Thailand. In October 2011, it was cited by the Overseas Chinese Af f airs Office of the State Council of China as a “Model Overseas Chinese Language School”, and Dr. Sodtivarakul was honored with the title of “Overseas Enthusiast for Chinese Education”.

Apart from establishing, managing and developing the Samchaiwitaedsuksa School, Dr. Sodtivarakul was also elected as president of the Western Thailand Association of Chinese Schools. With a membership of 17 Chinese schools totaling 48,000 students and 2,700 teachers, the association is committed to planning and organizing various inter-school academic activities and contests, as well as enhancing exchanges and cooperation with Chinese educational institutions. On Jan. 10, 2016, Dr. Sodtivarakul took office as president of the Tio Chew Association of Thailand, and the following day he fl ew to southern China’s Guangdong Province to discuss cooperation plans with Lin Lunlun, president of Hanshan Normal University.

Cultivating Successors

Three years ago, Dr. Sodtivarakul’s wife died. His children asked him to retire and simply enjoy life. However, he told them that instead of resting, what he really needed was more work. “I want to continue contributing to our society, and this is how I would like to spend the rest of my life,” he said.

Contrasting with those engaged in traditional family businesses, he divided his enterprise shares into six parts— each of his fi ve children now holds 15 percent while he holds 25 percent himself. According to his will, both his sons and daughters have equal rights to inheriting the family business and properties.

Not only his children, but also his employees were taken into consideration. Currently, more than 2,000 people work at the family’s three factories. Dr. Sodtivarakul believes that enterprise development depends on the painstaking ef f orts of staf f members, and managers should give them a sense of security and belonging. Therefore, he donated 5 percent of his shares to the establishment of a fund for rewarding employees with special contributions to the enterprises. His 58-year-old driver, who has served him for 42 years, almost feels like a member of the family. “He’s a wonderful boss, and I would like to always serve him,” the driver said.

As president of the Tio Chew Association of Thailand, Dr. Sodtivarakul is keenly aware of the importance of preparing a successor. At present, most of the leaders of overseas Chinese societies in Thailand are in their 70’s, 80’s or even 90’s. Dr. Sodtivarakul assumed the post at age 70, younger than all of his predecessors. He worries, though, about a lack of potential successors.

To cultivate a successor and select talent from the tens of thousands of members of the Tio Chew Association, he provides training classes on a regular basis and encourages young and middle-aged members to attend such training sessions. “Teochew people are traditionally diligent, united and willing to help each other,” Dr. Sodtivarakul said. “We should help our members build a sense of pride as descendants of Teochew immigrants and inspire them to love their hometown, love their motherland and make contributions to the development of both China and Thailand.”

Hanging on the walls of Dr. Sodtivarakul’s office at the Tio Chew Association headquarters are calligraphy plaques denoting prizes such as “Outstanding Chinese-Thai”, presented by the local government of Chaozhou (Teochew), a city in Guangdong. Dr. Sodtivarakul said that his favorite calligraphy work is one that reads, “The one who conquers the mountain is the peak”. This perhaps truly ref l ects the lifetime pursuits of a hardworking man.