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Factory in Bangkok opens doors to sustainable environment

Sonite Innovative Surfaces Co. Ltd, opens its factory in Bangkok, Thailand on March 14, 2026 for the Thaifex-Horec Asia 2026, showcasing recyclable materials like rice husks, coconut fiber, eggshells, discarded bottled water and even old money. In an interview with The Manila Times, Sonite President Nitiphan Darakananda said that people have become more conscious of the environment that many customers were now asking for sustainable items to be used in their hotels and restaurants.

VIDEO BY RED MENDOZA

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Transcript
00:00We started with this concept where actually one of the first materials that we developed is solid surface, right?
00:08And coming with a name, what do we want to call it, right?
00:13So we thought about solid surface, which was the product we were trying to develop.
00:18And we want people to feel that it's strong, like granite.
00:23So solid surface and granite, and it became sarnite.
00:26Nice.
00:27That's kind of where the name came from.
00:29So it's a combination of a solid surface and the shininess.
00:35Oh, the strength of a granite.
00:36Strength of a granite.
00:38Well, you know, we saw that, you know, in our other businesses, we saw that there's a lot of waste.
00:45And there's two thoughts about waste.
00:48How do you make it less?
00:50And how can you do something with the waste?
00:52I mean, does it necessarily need to be a waste, right?
00:55So what we did was trying to develop, you know, using the waste into something that people might want to
01:02use.
01:03So the solid surface was one of the initial projects that we did.
01:07And interestingly, at that time, this is, oh, I think 15 plus years, maybe 20 years ago, we started this
01:17kind of concept where we were working with a professor here in Thailand.
01:23He was the eco-guru in Thailand.
01:28And, you know, we were working with him.
01:30And we said, hey, we have this technology.
01:33We have this idea.
01:35And it happens that he was a consultant for Starbucks here in Thailand.
01:43And we were talking, hey, what can we do for Starbucks in Thailand?
01:49And what happened was that, well, obviously, there's a lot of coffee grounds that get discarded.
01:56And yes, people make it for, you know, composting or using it for plants.
02:02But there's only so much you can do.
02:04And what other things can we do?
02:05So we decided, hey, you know, we did the solid surface for, you know, the material.
02:14Can we do something with the coffee grounds?
02:17And so we started developing that.
02:20And we came up with the material was a composite of our coffee grounds and our material.
02:26And then, you know, we made tabletops for Starbucks.
02:30And the tabletops are made from coffee grounds?
02:33Yes.
02:33So if you go to Starbucks and say this table is made using coffee grounds, we were, you know,
02:38that was the result of the project that we did.
02:41So it's on brand.
02:43It's not only on brand.
02:44It's also sustainable.
02:45Yes.
02:45Because you're in a coffee shop and then you're...
02:48It's using it commercially.
02:49And it's been, I think, the first one is probably at least 15 years old.
02:53And it's still in use.
02:55Wow.
02:56You know, so I think it's just, it's strong.
03:00And other than that, you know, when we started doing the tabletops,
03:03we were like, hey, what else can we do for this market?
03:08So coffee shop, what did they use?
03:12Coasters, right?
03:13Or trays.
03:13Great.
03:14So that's how the decor line came about.
03:17We're like, okay, let's try making.
03:19We have this material.
03:21Yes, we need to adjust the formulation and technique, technology to make it.
03:25But, you know, we decided let's try making coasters and trays.
03:32Yes.
03:33So we made coasters and trays for Starbucks.
03:36And so it kind of grew from there.
03:38You know, when you have the basic technology, going to the next product.
03:45It goes from there.
03:46Yeah.
03:46It just grew from there.
03:47And, you know, when I was mentioning the rice house.
03:51Right.
03:51You know, at that time, PM 2.5, you know, and then like, what can we do that looks,
03:56it has a really natural texture, but still, you know, a refined texture, right?
04:03So we started applying the technology from the initial Starbucks development into this.
04:14.
04:14.
04:14.
04:14.
04:14.
04:14.
04:42I'll see you next time.
04:45I'll see you next time.
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