Biography of CBS Founder, Mr Phaiboon Pimla
Mr. Phaiboon Pimla was born on 14 September, 1963 in Cholburi. His father was a farmer and his mother was a merchant from Yasothorn. Mr. Pimla was introduced to the gems business at the tender age of 7 when he went to live with his uncle who was a gems manufacturer in Chantaburi. He moved back with his parents at age 11 when they opened a lapidary in Chantaburi, and started cutting gemstones at age 14. Soon he was able to develop stone cutting skills that matched the best craftsman in the factory. At 18, he moved to Bangkok with his uncle and worked at the most famous lapidary for Ceylon sapphires. After a year in Bangkok, he got married and moved back home. He was drafted into the military and stationed in Cholburi province. He learnt many life lessons in the military, including a time when he was punished by his superiors. He after went to stay in a temple as a monk for 9 months.
His stay at the temple marked a major milestone in his life. It was during this period of inner reflection that he came to understand Buddha’s teaching of the sufferings in the cycle of birth-aging-illness-death. This understanding introduced a new dimension in his dealings with others, in his personal life and in his business dealings.
After one year of practicing Buddhism, Mr. Pimla returned home and moved in with his family who had now moved to Boe Rai district in Chantaburi. Most of Boe Rai locals were gem diggers in Cambodia. Believing that his period of monkhood would give him good luck, his parents sent him to dig for gems in Cambodia. He joined a group of 7-8 people treasure hunters.
Only halfway up the mountains in Cambodia, he passed two groups of treasure hunters carrying down fellow hunters on stretchers with dangling limbs from land mine explosions. After crossing the mountain, he reached an area known as “Klong Petch and Klong Turian”. The area had no law and no police. Khmer Rouge soldiers aged only 13-14 years old wielded machine guns or bazooka guns patrolled the area. They did not cause any harm to the diggers, only occasionally requesting for sardines or cigarettes. After work the diggers went to clear land mines, play cards or smoke. Vendors went around selling snacks, alcohol, and tobacco. The sound of exploding land mines going off was a normal occurrence in the middle of all this “market” activity. Yet treasure hunters still had the freedom to dig around the area for gems.
Upon arriving at Klong Petch and Klong Turian, he was shocked to find so many people already there digging away in their own pit. Every square meter of soil was taken, for as far as the eye could see. It was either an empty pit or a pit with someone in it. After unsuccessfully looking for open space to dig a pit, the group decided to settle at an empty pit in case some stones remained. After 3 days of digging, the yield from this pit was small stones which were of not much value. Soon the team learned of another area called “Bo Phailin” which was under the control of Heng Samrin, where there was supposedly an abundance of stones.
The next day the group went on traveling to “Bo Phailin”. They traveled through the jungles following the trails of wild animals. This was a dangerous journey because they were forewarned that the dangers in Cambodia were: landmines, mosquitoes, and Heng Samrin Soldiers. After 7 days of traipsing through the jungle, the group found a potential area for digging and set up camp, planning to dig the following day. The next morning, the group was shocked to wake up and find a hundred people around them digging the ground. The third day, there were 300-400 others digging the ground. The yield was still small stones. In the afternoon of the third day, the Heng Samrin soldiers came. Everyone hastily picked up their belongings and ran for his life. To be captured by Heng Samrin soldiers was to be doomed. Mr. Pimla’s group of treasure hunters ran back into the jungle following the wild animal trails and ran into a herd of wild boars. Both the boars and the people were frightened of each other and dispersed in opposite directions. After realizing that they were headed back to the Heng Samrin soldiers, the group reversed directions. By now the sound of wild boars had disappeared. The group had a good laugh about their close calls with the Heng Samrin soldiers and the boars and the running around back and forth.
Leaving the jungles, the group returned to the area controlled by the Khmer Rouge. After a period of unsuccessfully digging for gems, and depletion of food, the group headed home.
Returning home, Mr. Pimla noticed a roadside fried banana vendor in the middle of nowhere, but had brisk daily sales. He asked for the recipe and was fortunate enough to get it provided that he would not open shop in the vendor’s territory. He decided to open his fried banana business in Kang Koi Saraburi province where he had a friend already living there. The fried banana business failed. After the fried banana business, he opened a small food shop. This also failed.
He then moved back home to Chantaburi when a friend suggested that he become a “runner” of gems, taking gems from factories and selling them to jewelers with pre-existing demand. This went quite well. After a year of “running” gems, a friend suggested that they form a partnership to buy gems to sell to jewelers. At that time Mr. Pimla had only Baht 1,800 cash on hand and his friend had Baht 1,000. The first gem was bought at Baht 1,000 and resold for Baht 1,800 within an hour. Pooling money together, the partners were able to buy a Baht 4,000 gem. It took 2 days and the gem sold for only Baht 4,100, almost making a loss. From there on, his partner did not dare buy any more gems, leaving the purchase decisions on Mr. Pimla.
The gems trading business started to grow, buying only colored stones that the pair was familiar with. If they were unsure of a certain stone, they would try “running” it taking profit from the price differential and 2% of the final price. Most of the business came from buying and selling. The partnership ended after 2 years. His partner went on to successfully buying average quality sapphires in lots and re-selling them individually. Mr. Pimla tried buying Burmese gems in lots and selling them individually but was unsuccessful.
Mr. Pimla then attempted to crack the Pattaya gems market. Initially, his efforts were unsuccessful. After adjusting his marketing strategies, offering gem guarantees and competitive prices, he was able to successfully penetrate the Pattaya market. During the Pattaya low season, Mr. Pimla ventured into the Bangkok gems “runner” market. He was successful in Bangkok, especially after acquiring new jewelry factory clients. He stopped after facing fierce competition and risky terms offered by new players in the “runners” market.
Returning to Chantaburi, Mr. Pimla took a break but went back into trading gems again after a few days. During this period he met Mr. Lee, a Chinese gems trader. This chance meeting was a major milestone in his life. Mr. Lee bought gems from Chantaburi and sold them in China. He also sold gems from China in Thailand. Mr. Lee brought in dark colored rough stones from China which were sold by Mr. Pimla for a handsome profit. Recognizing this opportunity, Mr. Lee and Mr. Pimla formed a partnership selling Chinese gems. After 3-4 years, the pair parted and Mr. Lee went on to open a large gems trading company.
In 2002 in a weak gems market, a group of 100 Chantaburi gems factories a 40 gems brokers joined forces to form a cluster for the gems business. The group’s objective was to share and develop know –how in doing business in the gems market. The group joined 3 trade fairs, achieving 3MM baht sales in the last trade fair as a group. One year into the union, the cluster fell apart.
After the cluster fell apart, Mr. Pimla decided to establish Chantaburi Boonkumkrokrong Stone Factory Group Co. Ltd., or CBS Co. Ltd. The logo of the company is 3 lotus flowers on one another with a ruby in the middle. Ruby is the gem that put Chantaburi on the gems map. Lotus flowers represent sacrifice, faith, and honesty which are key principles in Buddhism. The objective of CBS is to bring together upstream gems manufacturers and downstream lapidaries in a partnership arrangement so that roadblocks and obstacles can be removed:
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Roadblocks arising from mistrust and misunderstanding
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Reduce cost of manufacturing from more accurate sales forecasts resulting from more open channel of communication between factory and end user
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Produce new products and designs faster from the more open channel of communication.
Gems has been around more than 40,000 years and is considered high art.
CBS aims to sell to jewelry factories. To counter the global economic slowdown in 2008, CBS has embarked on a mission to perfect the color of “black sapphire”. The impetus to go into the black colored segment came from Mr. Pimla’s observation that black diamonds were making a comeback, and there were repeated requests from customers for black colored stones. He researched and tested several heat treatment processes to come up with the perfect way to make the sapphire evenly black. From the beginning, the Black Sapphires by CBS were highly sought after and supply could not meet demand. Today, stocks have been replenished and CBS can now fulfill all orders.
The company has seen sales increased significantly every year. In 2009 amid tough economic conditions, CBS will be able to maintain the same sales level as prior year. In 2009 it aims to invite investors to pool together resources to reclaim Thailand’s status as a powerhouse in gems trading. CBS has decided build on its strengths and embark on a brand building process for “Black Sapphire by CBS”. It has joined a government sponsored brand building project through the Institute of Small and Medium Enterprise Development. The first step in the brand building process was to introduce the brand and company in the Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair 15-19 September, 2009.
Epilogue
Mr. Pimla’s life experiences have taught him many valuable lessons. Coming from a family of 5 siblings :
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An eldest brother, with a bachelor degree from Kasetsart University
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Mr. Phaiboon Pimla, with a grade 7 education
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A younger brother, with a grade 12 education
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A younger brother, with a bachelor degree from University of Thai Chamber of Commerce
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A younger sister with a bachelor degree from Ramkhamhaeng University
from the worst of the pack to the one that made his parents most proud”
The life changing influences can be attributed to philosophies he has learnt and internalized from his practice in Buddhism. He practices these philosophies everyday :
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“no one in the world can make you sad except for yourself”
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“mistakes are lessons but do not let that lesson destroy you a second time”
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“if you think you are smart, make the least mistakes”
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“no one is above karma