GC Estate, or GCEC, a new subsidiary that is fully-owned by GC, recently launched a new full-scale multipurpose meeting room service offering various meeting room sizes to serve a large number of users. This new service aims to take this concept to the next level by providing a cool and pleasant ambiance with a natural forest garden.

What’s the original idea and inspiration behind the concept? Let’s get the latest about GCEC’s new service from Mrs. Watcharee ‘Pong’ Harnwongpaiboon, Managing Director of GC Estate. 

Mrs. Watcharee Harnwongpaiboon Managing Director , GC Estate

“It all began with GC Estate realizing that the majority of GC’s plants, which are located at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate, and Phadaeng Industrial Estate, often held activities, training programs and seminars, whereas there was a limited number of meeting and conference rooms. It also takes a considerable amount of time to travel to and from the facilities to the selected hotel to hold a meeting with fairly high expenditures – and it can also be problematic when something should be done urgently. Meanwhile, there are plenty of vacant spaces within GC’s office buildings. This led to the idea of maximizing our corporate space for everyone’s benefit. In considering the opportunities and feasibility study, GC Estate saw the potential to provide professional meeting and seminar room management services that match those of hotels, and our vacant spaces were rearranged and redesigned to offer functional areas comprised of conference rooms and renovated separate spaces for rent. International joint-venture companies that rent our office space can choose from office or meeting rooms for their contractors, foreign investors and dealers from Bangkok who come to meet clients at the industrial estates, contributing to seamless work processes and managing costs.”

How many square meters in total of meeting rooms and office spaces are available for rent?

“We have a common area that is divided into multipurpose meeting rooms, small meeting rooms, and temporary office space for rent which cover a total of over 1,700 square meters. We also provide a parking area which currently can accommodate over 80 vehicles and we are now building an indoor parking area that has space for over 100 vehicles which is set for completion in October. Furthermore, the indoor parking facility has a solar rooftop that generates electricity in the office buildings, which adheres to our values of promoting the maximum use of natural resources and environmental awareness.”

Five Highlights of GC Estate’s multipurpose meeting rooms that offer an alternative choice for GC Group’s subsidiaries are:

1. Easy and Convenient Access: The company is located in the Asia Industrial EstateSuvarnabhumi (AIES) which connects to other neighboring industrial estates, including WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate, Padaeng Industrial Estate, and Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, making it easy and convenient to travel to in order to attend meetings or seminars. It’s only 17 kilometers to the U-Tapao toll gate, making it very convenient to travel to and from Bangkok. 
2. Located in the middle of a natural forest garden: Offering a cool and pleasant ambiance, and clean air, GC Estate’s grounds are packed with a variety of plants and different species of birds and butterflies, in a beautiful and natural setting.
3. Offering services and facilities equivalent to the high standards offered by hotels, but most importantly, costs are almost 50% lower.
4. Connect to fast Wi-Fi networks (equal to GC Group’s standard) with coverage in all areas, with automatic compatibility with GC’s staff’s smartphones and notebooks: Receiving internet service here is just like working at RO or ENCO. Additionally, the service provides third-party agencies with access to the internet.
5. Supporting local communities in Rayong: GC Estate provides opportunities to locally-recognized communities and operators with expertise in food preparation and cooking. They are hired to prepare food for seminars, which helps improve local employment, increases local incomes, and allows visitors to experience the authenticity and unique culinary features of Rayong.

We were particularly interested in GC Estate’s natural forest garden because it’s currently difficult to find a place that offers clean air and shade. So, we asked Pong-Watcharee to tell us more about it.

“This is considered Thailand’s first ecological pilot project for an industrial estate which demonstrates that ‘industry, community and the environment’ can co-exist sustainably. The garden also works as a natural or ecological ‘protective strip.’ The ecological forest garden can absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) two times faster than a regular forest and also produces over 700 tons of clean air per year. In addition, we can find a rich biodiversity here including rare and indigenous plants, and various bird and butterfly species. The project covers over 80 rai (around 3.6 acres) and is regarded with pride by everyone at GC.”

How many types of multipurpose meeting rooms does GC Estate offer and what are their respective sizes?

We wanted to know the details in order to choose the best one that suits our needs. Pong-Watcharee filled us in with the following table:

“Apart from the multipurpose meeting rooms and temporary office/co-working spaces, GC Estate also offers office space for long-term rentals (tenants are allowed to set up and decorate their offices as needed). We currently have over 800 square meters available for rent along with facilities for workers such as elevators, over 20 restrooms on one floor, canteens, and a creativity space. Our office building achieved LEED certification, Gold Class, which incorporates high standards in terms of the construction and layout, all of which promote an environmentally friendly facility,” added Pong-Watcharee.

How are you setting your future strategic goals?

“Our future operational goals are to be a One Stop Service that supports and facilitates renting space to build industrial plants. Therefore, we plan to collaborate with our partners that have potential in different fields such as construction, licensing, safety procedures, procurement, demineralization water or clarify water, as well as NO2 and ‎SO2  emission quotas. Our procedures will be implemented based on existing management principles and practices which ensure that existing resources are shared achieving maximum benefits, which in turn, helps reduce costs on redundant investments.”

Last question, do you have anything else to tell our readers?

“You are invited to try our services. We are offering special promotions. Please follow GC Estate’s Facebook page – if you ‘like’ or ‘share’ or page, you will receive a 5% discount.”

To inquire or make a reservation, please contact:

Wannakorn Changbu (Ou) Tel. 087-536-8012 Email: wannakorn.cha@pttgcgroup.com
Unruen Boonmee (Un) Tel. 094-563-9297 Email: zaunruen.b@pttgcgroup.com
Kornnarin Polprom (Kade) Tel. 063-979-7973 Email: zkornnarin.P@pttgcgroup.com
Nattakarn Mahittirook (Hui) Tel. 0830229876 Email : natthakarn.m@pttgcgroup.com

It was a nice and pleasant evening with a gentle breeze when we had to say goodbye to Pong-Watcharee and thank her for her kindness and spending some time talking with us. We learned a lot from her perspective on finding things around you that you’re passionate about and making things happen without any hesitation in order to broaden business opportunities, and that collaborating with business partners can further drive the growth of your business. Most importantly, today, GC Estate has shown everyone that industry, community and the environment can succeed concurrently, supporting one another and growing together sustainably.

Learn more about GC Estate!