ETERNITY JOINS HANDS WITH REGIONAL GROUP

       Eternity Grand Logistics has joined the recently established ARE group to expand its new door-to-door delivery service to the Asean market to compete against giant multinational rivals.
       "We position the ARE services as a competitive model, translating into 'lower' prices than our rivals." Poonsak Thiapairat, managing director of the locally owned company, said recently.
       The move is part of the firm's revised strategic plan to focus on its core business, ground logistics services, rather than on diversification, he told The Nation.
       ARE, which stands for Asia Road Express, was established by four logistics firms two months ago to provide door-to-door delivery services by road in Asean, where international firms like TNT, DHL and Kerry Logistics are big players.
       ARE's range already covers Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore Vietnam and Thailand and would expand to Cambodia, Burma and South China.
       It would start the Bangkok-Vientiane, Bangkok-Hanoi, Bangkok-Ho Chi Minh routes next month. Bangkok-Cambodia would follow by year-end.
       The minimum shipment is 200 kilograms. Less-than-containerload service is available.
       As Eternity Grand Logistics is responsible for ARE's management, the company is also an authorised agent that can sell services under the ARE brand.
       "We don't have any stake in ARE as wejoined hands with it for only the purpose of business cooperation," Poonsak said.
       Doing business with ARE would help the company strengthen its network especially in Indochina, he said.
       Eternity Grand Logistics is a medium-sized company listed on the Market for Alternative Investment. Its books were not as pretty as expected after diversifying via a joint venture into coal trading a few years ago.
       The company posted a huge profit drop of 98 per cent on year to Bt230,000 in the first quarter, due partly to a coal inventory burden, besides the shrinkage in demand for shipments in the wake of the economic crisis. Revenue also saw a 34.77-per-cent drop on year to Bt210.19 million in the first quarter.
       "Now we're repositioning ourselves by focusing on only our core logistics and related services after making an exit from the coal trading business three months ago," Poonsak said
       As the company has no experience in coal trading, it could not generate income well, he said.
       The company would employ its imported coal storage and distribution centre on 100 rai of land in Nakhon Laung, ayutthaya, to provide coal warehousing and distributing services to energy firms such as Unique Mining Services, Asia Green and Banpu.
       The company's first-half sales of Bt466.35 million were substantially behind its target of Bt1.2 billion for this full-year.
       "Anyway, we still keep our sales target with no revision," he said. Firsthalf net profit was Bt2.89 million, down from Bt48.58 million last year.
       To boost sales in this half, the company would extend its capability to provide multi-modal transport services using road and rail, with the focus on import and export shipments.
       The company is now doing trials for shipments in the automobile, food and agricultural industries and expects to launch full services this year. It will also expand into new markets with potential for growth such as oil and ethanol, as there is still demand.