Bangkok - Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) Thailand has won the bulk of the US$3.25 million Siam Cement corporate travel account, generally considered the largest national travel account in Thailand.

The account was previously held by Bangkok-based Business Travel Management (BTM), which apparently still holds about 30 per cent of the business while the rest was transferred to CWT in September.

CWT’s clients include Accenture, Alcatel, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, GE, Kimberly Clark, Mettler Toledo, Nestle, Nortel, Proctor & Gamble and several United Nations agencies. Its combined annual billing this year is expected to reach US$14.11 million.

CWT general manager in Thailand, Mr Brian Croucher, said Siam Cement's switch from BTM indicated that large clients needed the services of large agencies.

"Siam Cement comprises about 130 different companies and you need sophisticated back-office systems to run this sort of account productively," Mr Croucher told BTN Asia-Pacific.

He added that CWT could give large clients the consolidated data they needed in order to see where savings could be effected.

The practice of dividing large accounts between two or more TMCs is not uncommon in Thailand, where long-standing relationships are often valued even more highly than efficiency and profitability.

BTM was only set up in July last year and is run by former CWT executive, Mr Chitvee Leelasiri. It will miss Siam Cement, but has already recouped some of its losses after landing an estimated 30 per cent chunk of the Coca-Cola account.

"Accounts come and go in the corporate travel business. It is something you have to accept; you win some, you lose some. We are pleased to have landed the Coke business; it is just the sort of account we want," Mr Chitvee said.