Students from KMITL Win First Place at MECA Thailand 2025

Part 1: The Competition Results

Groups of three studying in 2nd and 3rd years from engineering colleges and universities across Thailand were invited to compete in MECA Thailand 2025 for honorary prizes and a royal trophy. Four of the 15 teams advanced to the final pitching days, which were held on the “Automating the World Day 2025” on 9th and 10th of October, 2025, at Burapha University in Chonburi, about an hour from Bangkok. This year’s championship was awarded to the Chalongkrung team from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology, Ladkrabang – KMITL. The winning team took home the royal trophy graciously bestowed by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, a 100,000 bath cash prize, and secured a place at MECA Global Japan 2026.

The other finalists were Autogen from Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok, Greenovator from Mahasarakham University, Greendynamic Trio from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology, Ladkrabang, and FAlogic from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology North Bangkok. They were awarded 1st runner up, 2nd runner up, 3rd runner up, and popular vote prize, respectively. Besides trophies and monetary prizes, these students became eligible for internship opportunities at Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation Thailand before completing their degrees.

The Winners Talks

Chalongkrung, the winning team, compromised three KMITL students: Aphisit Lakhonket, Weerasit Surindarporn, and Phonthakorn Wongwattana. They presented a project titled: Development of an AI model for yield improvement and environment impact reduction in surfactant manufacturing. The goal was to improve the quality acceptance rates while helping manufacturers reduce raw material waste and energy costs. After clearly identifying the pain point and clarifying technical capabilities, the team designed a solution using Mitsubishi Electric's SCADA, HMI GOT2000, and MELSOFT MaiLab to monitor and analyze process data.

The result showed significant improvements in various areas. First, operators no longer needed to send material samples to the lab for testing, which improved productivity up to 60 percent. Second, the manufacturer reduced parameter setup time. Previously, activities like parameter control and data collection were carried out manually, but with MELSOFT MaiLab, key controls could be processed automatically, allowing manufacturers to take corrective action immediately. Third, the project reduced the rate of scrap and rework, which helped reduce the electricity consumption by 2.61 percent. By using a Life Cycle Assessment, the team concluded that their project helped reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 17.70 percent.

Winners’ Appreciation for Mitsubishi Electric's Support

When asked what helped them to win first place, the team said they had a clear understanding of industry pain points and strong potential for waste reduction. They also said they were well prepared, which helped them answer the committee's questions confidently during the pitching. One of the team members compared their project to cleaning an air conditioner. Once the clogged filters are cleaned, the airflow and system efficiency improve. It’s that simple.

The team were also grateful to Mitsubishi for arranging the event and the training that allowed them to demonstrate their potential. "This competition has made us aware of the long-term impacts of global warming and carbon emissions in manufacturing processes. Mitsubishi provided training on carbon reduction and systems analysis, which inspired us and gave us a perspective on technologies that aligned with global sustainability," said Weerasit Surindarporn. Phonthakorn Wongwattana revealed that having the opportunity to attend seminars and practical events held by MELT opened up a new world for him; In addition to technical skills, such as learning how to create a dashboard or utilize the SCADA software, he gained other soft skills and personal development that strengthened the team’s presentation.

With MECA Global 2026 months away, the team plans to implement their project in a manufacturing company to further improve its performance. But before that, they will take internships at Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation Thailand during May and June.