Floating Candle Ms. Kanya Sungkagaroon

Details of member:
     Currently, there are 7 workers and their monthly income are average about 3,600 – 4,500 Baht For the worker who gets paid less than the minimum rate, it causes of the health problem about brain sickness that makes that one can work only half-day after operation.
     For the production management, Ms. Kanya creates new design of various kinds of candles to presenting to her customers. When she gets the orders, she will then distribute the job as the skill of each worker. Finally, the quality control will be done. For packing, it depends on customer's requirement. She also gives the reward to her workers by taking them to travel 1-2 times a year.

Background:
     Ms. Kanya is graduated in the field of product design from Technology Rajamongkol Institute. In the past, she sold ceramic products but it was not successful and this item is quite fragile. Afterward, she tried to make candle to put in these left ceramic products as a consignment product that causes the good feedback. From then, she started her own business with the seed fund from her mother in the year 1995 and she has continuously developed her candle products by the assistance of Y. Development Cooperation Co.,Ltd. to provide her more production knowledge.
     The pricing regulation is considered of materials, wages, depreciation of equipment including overhead cost. From the business, she can earn enough to support her family and 7 workers. She could not identify the average income because she has to divide a sum of profit to buy material and equipment for production. Moreover, she needs to try on new mould and experiment on the new technique in order to prepare for extending the business in the future. Candle production is her main career and she also has a shop at Khamthieng market to sell the plants as a hobby which is a good business in the winter season about 4 months.

Production:
Materials - Paraffin
• Candle wick
• Perfume
• Color substance

Machine/ Equipment
- Gas stove
- Boiling container
- Mould
- Pieces of cloth

Procedures:
1. Boil paraffin as the fixed proportion.
2. Mix perfume and color as we want.
3. Bring candle wick to dip in the boiled paraffin and then strip it off to make it is straight.
4. Cut the candle wick in different size according to each design.
5. Put the boiled paraffin in the mould.
6. Leave it for a while and stick the candle wick from no. 4 in the mould.
7. Wait until the candle freezes and then take it out of the mould.
8. Decorate it.
9. Packaging

Procedures for the production of the five-petals flower candle:
1 .Boil paraffin 5 minutes and wait until it is little warm. Then mix the color and scent, which it takes 1 hour for this step.
2. Pour it on a tray and leave it for 30 minutes.
3. Take it out of a tray and cut it as a straight line with a cutter.
4. Take each stick from no. 3 to dip in the boiling candle to stick the sticks together in order to prepare it for composing it as a flower.
5. Keep the purple stick in the center and put five blue sticks around it.
6. Dip all sticks in boiling candle and squeeze softly to let the candle sticks join together and get the same size of petal.
7. Cut it as the size you want.
8. Put the candlewick inside.
9. The candlewick is made of cotton thread 100% that already dipped in boiling candle and cut it.

Product distribution:
- Middlemen buy the products as their orders.
- Sell the products to regular customers in Chiangmai.
- Sell the products to regular customers in Bangkok. (small order)
- Export the product via the order of Y. Development Cooperation Co., Ltd.
- No certain market at this moment.

Problems:
- Lacking of production skill such as choosing the color, design of products.
- Revolving funds.
- The outlet of product distribution.

Environment of production area and working condition of producer:
     The place where workers make the products is an opened one floor building with tiled roof and good ventilation. There is not dusty and noise pollution. They have not build up a treatment water well.

Woman status:
     Women involve with every process of production and they also have the right to get the order and training same as men.

Value of order:
     At the present time, there are 4 customers and the value of order from Y. Development Cooperation Co.,Ltd. is about 80% of all income. The business is a kind of wholesale and Ms. Kanya has not yet searched for new customer because of limited production force.

Asking for assistance:
     She needs to participate in the training course in order to gain more management knowledge and exchange opinion with others. As well, she would like to have more outlets for her products.