Danish fashion jeweller Pandora has expanded its Thai production base as global sales continue to grow.

The Pandora Thailand factory – located near Chiang Mai – is the company’s main production site globally. It has been expanded at a cost of US$261 million to incorporate what the company describes as a state-of-the-art crafting facility. Reuters reports the plant will reduce by half the time it takes to produce a standard piece of jewellery from eight weeks to four. That will help the brand deliver new designs to stores faster.

The company says it is part of a broader strategy to double the brand’s production capacity to 200 million pieces a year by late 2019.

“Our consumer’s increasing demands and expectations on improved flexibility are met by our new facility in Lamphun, where craftsmanship walks hand in hand with highly effective LEAN-oriented production principles creating a state-of-art production system” said senior VP Thomas Touborg.

Once running at full speed the plant is expected to employ almost 5000 people.