East West adds Thai motor plant to bypass US tariffs

East West Manufacturing says its strategic motors partner, Changzhou Baojie Motors (CBM), has opened a new AC induction motor plant in Thailand. The companies aim to expand production capacity in Asia and offer an alternative manufacturing base for customers shipping to the US.

The factory is in Thailand's Pinthong Industrial Park, about 12km from Laem Chabang, the country's largest port. East West is positioning the site for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) facing tariff exposure when importing China-made products into the US.

For some shipments, East West says Thailand offers a more favourable reciprocal tariff rate than China, affecting total landed cost. The company says it can provide lower overall unit pricing and greater tariff flexibility for AC induction motors produced in Thailand.

Tariff Context

The announcement comes as manufacturers and customers continue to reassess supply chains in response to tariffs and geopolitical risk. Motors are a significant bill-of-materials item for many industrial and consumer products and a critical component in final assembly. Changes in country of origin can also affect tariff treatment and shipping lead times.

East West describes the new partner site as focused on US-bound goods subject to tariffs, citing benefits in supply-chain diversity and geopolitical positioning for OEMs.

The Thailand factory adds another production node alongside existing capacity in China. East West says the goal is to enable a smooth transition between manufacturing in China and Thailand as customers adopt the expanded footprint.

Manufacturing Footprint

CBM is headquartered in Changzhou, China, and has been a strategic motor partner to East West for more than 20 years, according to the companies. The relationship has included production of permanent split capacitor motors and other motor types.

AC induction motors are widely used across industrial, commercial, and consumer equipment, including pumps, fans, compressors, and other systems requiring consistent rotational power. For OEMs, sourcing decisions typically consider cost, reliability, regulatory compliance, and delivery schedules.

East West says it worked with CBM during the Thailand plant setup, focusing on quality and regulatory expectations. This included aligning processes across the partner network for customers that require consistent specifications across sites.

Dave Purvis, Senior Director of motor business development at East West, said the new facility gives customers an option for motor production outside China.

"This new facility helps us offer customers access to Thailand for motor production. The CBM team identified the final location after researching and exploring a number of options in South Asia. We are looking forward to continuing our long-standing collaboration with CBM to ensure a seamless transition between our respective manufacturing sites in China and Thailand."

Purvis said the site decision followed a wider evaluation across South Asia and that the companies plan to maintain continuity between the two manufacturing locations.

Partner Roles

East West says the Thailand site reflects an extended partnership model in which a specialist manufacturer provides motor design and production, while East West supports customer engagement and broader assembly operations. The company positions itself as a manufacturing partner that can manage programmes from early design through scaled production across multiple geographies.

Charlie Simons, technical director of OEM motor products at East West, said the teams worked through quality and regulatory requirements during setup and that the relationship will expand into new customer activity and additional assembly work.

"The support of CBM has been invaluable as our teams worked hard to meet all of the required quality and regulatory requirements at the new plant during the setup phase. Our partnership will continue to grow from here, with CBM relying on East West to drive new customer growth opportunities and leverage higher level assembly operations, while we in turn rely on CBM for its design and manufacturing expertise," Simons said.

East West says it has more than 2,700 employees across nine facilities in seven countries and expects the Thailand plant to feature in sourcing discussions with OEMs seeking Asian capacity with different tariff exposure for US-bound shipments.