Krit Darases, senior manager of the industrial department of Thai Olympic Fibre Cement Co, Mahapant Group's subsidiary and distributor, said the product, made of fibre cement, a raw material used in producing roof tiles, had already been widely used in the residential segment but not in the industrial sector.

"Fibre cement was widely used in the industrial sector for 50 years before metal sheets became popular in the past 10 years, causing fibre cement to gradually disappear from the industrial market. We are currently thinking of how to reintroduce it," said Mr Krit.

Metal sheets were originally designed to be small and plain-looking, but they later became longer and modern-looking and last longer, he said. Buildings in the past 10 years have been larger, and metal sheets were lighter and were designed for modern architecture, he said.

But because of its weight, Corroshield will be aimed at small and medium-sized buildings, those under 1,500 square metres without structural problems.

Large buildings of 2,500 sq m and above, meanwhile, might take into account the structural costs, said Mr Krit.

The product will also be useful in factories where there is high corrosion; for instance, in coating steel factories and factories located near the sea, where salt might cause rust.

Corroshield can also help lower the temperature within buildings by reflecting 80% of the heat from the sun.

The product is sold at around 180 baht per sq m, compared with 100-120 baht for normal roof tiles.

Currently, factories represent around 50% of the customers of the product, with the residential sector making up 30% and the rest other sectors such as the agricultural sector.

Factories of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 60% of the total factory market. Out of the 60%, 40% are large buildings.

"We think that for the first few years we would want to gain at least 20% of the 60% market," said Mr Krit.

The company, which claims a 50% market share of the fibre cement segment, expects sales from the product this year to reach 8 billion baht.

Its marketing strategies focus on industrial estates and provinces that have many factories.

"If we meet our target sales, sales from Corroshield will account for 6% of the company's total sales," said Mr Krit.

He said the overall roof tile market in small and medium-sized factories this year was expected to grow by more than 5% to 30 million square metres or more than 4 billion baht.

Meanwhile, the 3% gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast by the government will bolster confidence among business operators who will be more inclined to build new factories, he said.