Perfect Paper strives for world-class standards

The family-run business is modernising itself with help from the bank UOB, writes Chiratas Nivatpumin

- Chiratas Nivatpumin

The Chinese proverb “wealth does not pass three generations” is nearly universal, rooted in Confucian values.

For Americans, the saying “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” can be traced back to hardworking immigrants in the 19th century migrating to the New World to find their fortune, only for it to be squandered by their grandchildren.

Other cultures and languages offer similar proverbs, whether Italian (“From the stalls to the stars, and back to the stalls”), Japanese (“Rice paddies to rice paddies in three generations”), or Spanish (“He who doesn’t have it, makes it; and he who has it, destroys it”).

Sarintorn Phansopa is determined to be an exception as she pursues her goal of making Perfect Paper Co a world-class waste management company.

“My father started this business 52 years ago as a scrap collector. He was a mechanical student, but after seeing trucks with wastepaper passing by, he wondered why this rubbish was being collected and where it was going,” she said.

“That's how he found out that wastepaper had value. In his younger days, he would collect this rubbish and sell it, using a pickup borrowed from a relative.”

From those humble beginnings, Perfect Paper is now a billion-baht company that plays a foundational role in the recycling supply chain by collecting, sorting, processing and distributing recovered paper to paper mills for production into paper products.

Ms Sarintorn, 48, said her parents’ passion and commitment to customer satisfaction is the foundation for the company’s success.

Perfect Paper was incorporated in 1998 as the family realised that to pursue larger supply contracts with local paper mills, the company had to expand. As demand grew, the company looked to expand its facilities, understanding that as a commodity business, success hinged on consistent collection using scale and volume.