Then Sophon Suphapong, a former Petroleum Authority of Thailand executive arrived and did the seemingly impossible — pulled the ailing business out of its financial crisis.

Keeping the company, which had assets worth 200 million baht weighed against liabilities of five billion baht, from falling apart was hard enough, but, under Sophon’s leadership, Bangchak began turning a profit in just three months.

“When Privy Council president Gen Prem Tinsulanonda [who was prime minister at the time] told me I could do something to help Bangchak, I accepted the job. Still, I had no clue at that time what I could do, but I promised to turn a profit in five years. In just three months the company started making a profit, after 25 years of operating at a loss,” he said.

From that point onward, Bangchak went from strength to strength. By the end of 1985, nine months after his appointment, the company had generated 206 million baht in profit. By the end of 1990, it was enjoying profits of 1.35 billion baht.

The dramatic turnaround was not based on luck, but on the talent and wisdom of a man who was determined to make Bangchak’s 700-strong workforce realise its full potential.

Back then several technicians at Bangchak could not even read, so Mr Sophon had them play video games for six months to help them adapt to the refinery’s newly implemented computer system.

The refinery also had an outstanding safety record during his 14-year tenure. There were no accidents that resulted in a shutdown because every employee took their job seriously, knowing they had each other’s lives in their hands.

“I told them I didn’t want to know who did it [cause an accident]. I wanted to know what made it happen. I realised an accident was the result of something amiss in the process. And this level of trust meant they were all willing to share and solve the problem as a team,” he said.

Bangchak is also widely known as a community-minded businesses thanks to Mr Sophon. At the back of the refinery some space was allocated for vegetable farming so employees could take home whatever they grew. It expanded to become what is known as Khrobkhrua Rak Nok (the Bangchak Birdwatching Club).

Mr Sophon left Bangchak Petroleum when the country was hard hit by a financial crisis. The refinery was among the public assets put up for sale by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a plan he disagreed with because it went against his business creed. He preferred it to be owned by local entrepreneurs which was reflected by Bangchak’s “mini petrol stations” initiative, run by local communities.

After he left the company, he pursued his dream of helping people in need to help themselves and established himself as a community development worker.