39 / 143
GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT • 37
GREENER JEWELLERY
CRAFTING
Our new crafting facility in Thailand is
setting new standards for the jewellery
industry in terms of scale and speed – and
is one of the most environmentally friendly
jewellery-crafting facilities ever built.
Built on a greenfield site in an industrial
area in Lamphun, outside Chiang Mai in
Northern Thailand, the facility is LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) certified, and features a number
of design aspects that significantly reduce
water and energy consumption. This includes
8,500m² of solar panelling, which delivers
around 14% of the facility’s energy – the
equivalent of powering around 700 Thai
homes.
Water conservation is increasingly important
around the globe, not least in Thailand, and
our new facility recycles water within the
production process to greatly reduce the
use of water from the municipal supply. In
addition, toilets are flushed with rainwater
when possible, and a nearby lake is used as a
fire-fighting water tank.
The new facility opened internally in
October 2016, with commercial production
beginning in early 2017. Built for around
5,000 employees, it is primarily optimised for
more complex products, and includes flow
principles and semi-automated areas to reduce
lead times. Many employees at the facility
have been working at our existing facilities
in Bangkok for a number of years. They have
chosen to relocate to Chiang Mai with their
families and will bring their knowledge and
expertise in jewellery crafting with them.