1969
First oil palm plantings
at Thai Oil Palm Industry Co., Ltd (TOPI Estate) in Plaipraya District of Krabi Province, pioneered by Mr Chean Vanich
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Timeline of Development
1974
First palm oil factory opened
at TOPI with an initial processing capacity of 10 tonnes fruit per hour
1978
Expanded plantings
at nearby Hup Huat Palm Oil Co., Ltd, pioneered by Mr Chean Vanich
1980
Second palm oil factory
commissioned by Siam Palm Oil Co., Ltd in Aoluk District with initial capacity of 10 tonnes fruit per hour
1983
Joint venture of the three pioneer companies
with Unilever Plantations Group from UK to form the Univanich Group under the Chairmanship of Mr Akapojana Vanich
1986
Univanich joined the international Combined Breeding Programme (CBP)
to exchange pedigree oil palm seeds with leading overseas Research Centres
1991
Univanich Oil Palm Research Centre (OPRC)
constructed to enable advanced Agronomy and Breeding trials, and for farmer training
1992
Replanting commenced
at TOPI with a new generation of palms
1995
Legal amalgamation
of the three joint venture companies to become Univanich Palm Oil Co., Ltd. Combined planted area of 38,088 rai (6,094 hectares) and two factories
1996
Expansion of the two Univanich factories
at TOPI and Siam Palm to create crushing capacity of 30 tonnes fruit per hour at each
1998
Unilever's withdrawal from agribusiness
sale of its 51% Univanich shares to the Thai joint venture partners led by Mr Apirag Vanich
1999
Commissioning of the Akapojana Oil Palm Nursery
in Plaipraya to produce 1.0 million seedlings annually for local oil palm farmers
2001
Expansion of the TOPI factory
to 60 tonnes fruit per hour crushing capacity, combined with a new palm kernel crushing plant of 75 tonnes kernels per day
2003
Public listing
of Univanich Palm Oil PCL on the Stock Exchange of Thailand under the abbreviation UVAN. New records: 507,000 tonnes of fruit processed, 102,000 tonnes of palm oil produced
2004
Third Univanich factory constructed at Lamthap
with processing capacity of 45 tonnes fruit per hour
2005
Second Univanich Palm Kernel Crushing plant commissioned
at Lamthap with capacity of 75 tonnes PK per day. By 2005, three factories: 105 tonnes FFB/hour and 150 tonnes PK/day combined
2006
Thailand's first Tissue Culture Laboratory
established at the Univanich Oil Palm Research Centre for research into cloning elite palms
2008
Three pioneering Biogas Power Projects constructed
at the company's factories to generate approximately 6 MW of renewable electricity for the national grid and CERs of ~100,000 tonnes carbon equivalent annually
2008
National Award
Univanich received the Stock Exchange of Thailand Award for the Best Performance from a mid-cap company
2008
Pioneering palm oil exports
Univanich exports 151,000 tonnes of palm oil to Europe and Asia
2009
Acquisition of 2,000 rai new site in Nakhon Sri Thammarat
Establishment of the Cha Uat nursery to provide up to 1.0 million oil palm seedlings annually to farmers in that region
2009
National recognition
Univanich ranked in Thailand's Top Ten companies for shareholder returns (2003–2008), Bangkok Post Scorecard
2010
Expansion of Tissue Culture Laboratory
To scale-up production of oil palm clones following OPRC research success since 2006
2011
United Nations Gold Standard CERs
Issued to Univanich factories for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. First palm oil company in Asia to receive this standard
2011
Major expansion of the Siam factory
to 45 tonnes FFB/hour using new vertical sterilizer technology to improve energy efficiency and reduce wastewater
2012
Record sales of renewable electricity
Univanich biogas power plants generated more than 34 million kWh and sold a record Baht 80 million electricity to the PEA grid
2012
International Award
The Univanich – Plaipraya Community Enterprise Group became the World's first group of independent smallholders certified as RSPO Sustainable Growers
2013
Expansion into Philippines – Univanich Carmen Palm Oil Corporation
Began construction of the first palm oil crushing mill in North Cotabato Province of Mindanao
2013
First exports of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO)
from Univanich port at Laemphong to Hamburg, Germany
2013
International recognition
Univanich selected to present a lead paper to 2,000 delegates at the International Palm Oil Congress in Malaysia on planting densities and replanting techniques
2014
Sale of 203,000 Gold Standard CERs
from Univanich biogas power projects. Equivalent to more than 200,000 tonnes reduced carbon emissions under UN CDM
2014
Award: Palm Oil Plantation Company of the year
at 2014 Thailand Excellence Awards
2014
Completion of Carmen factory in Mindanao, Philippines
JV Carmen Palm Oil Corporation factory with 30 tonnes FFB/hour capacity
2015
Purchase of new factory site
401 rai for a factory and oil palm nursery at Pabon in Phatthalung Province
2015
Purchase of new port site
for bulking tank installation (Tank Farm) at Laemphong deep-water port in Krabi
2016
New oil palm nursery and farmer training centre
commissioned at the Pabon site in Phatthalung
2016
International recognition for sustainability
At RSPO global congress in Thailand, Univanich showcased Four Pillars of Sustainable Palm Oil to 800+ delegates and Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister
2017
Million tonne milestone
Univanich Thailand factories processed 1,075,000 tonnes of fruit and produced 204,000 tonnes of palm oil
2017
Excellence Award – Palm Oil Plantation Company of the year
at the annual Thailand Excellence Awards
2017
Acquisition of Chok Vallapha Palm Oil factory in Phang Nga
Crushing capacity of 60 tonnes FFB/hour. Renamed Univanich CVP Factory
2018
Fifth Univanich Palm oil factory at Pabon, Phatthalung
Univanich Pabon Factory with initial crushing capacity of 30 tonnes FFB/hour
2018
Expansion of electricity generation from biogas
Company can now generate 7.66 MW renewable electricity at three sites, plus 2.8 MW JV at Univanich CVP factory
2018
Fifth Univanich Oil Palm nursery
at Bang Wan District of Phang Nga Province to supply farmers in that region
2019
Major expansion of kernel crushing
at both TOPI and Lamthap factories. Completion of Port Bulking (Tank Farm) at Laemphong Port in Krabi – 8,000 tonnes shore tanks
2020
Expansion of Univanich Carmen factory in Philippines
From 30 to 60 tonnes FFB/hour. By 2020, six Univanich factories in Thailand and Philippines: combined 300 tonnes FFB/hour and 345 tonnes PK/day. Latest record (2021): 1.3 million tonnes of fruit processed, 260,044 tonnes of crude palm oil produced