KUCHING: The establishment of Matech Innovations (M) Sdn Bhd yesterday marks another milestone in the development of the engineering industry in the state. Officiating at the soft launch of the company at the Muara Tebas Land District was International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal and Entrepreneur Development Assistant Minister Datuk Naroden Majais.
He commended the formation of the company which is led by a young Sarawakian of Sebuyau-Simunjan origin (managing director Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Ahmad) and hoped more youths would go into the industrial sector.
“The industrial sector has a lot of spin-off effects such as downstream industry, job and entrepreneurship opportunities as well as increasing purchasing power for the people.
“This is because when you have an industrial sector, it will create the demand for activities such as spare parts, gaskets and other raw materials.
“That is why the state government has introduced a lot of initiatives. It is one way of attracting interest in the industrial sector.
“Those initiatives include training those interested in entrepreneurship, and giving out financial assistance such as Gerak (Gerakan ke Arah Keusahawanan), Ustev (Technical and Vocational Entrepreneurs Programme), SPIKS (Loan Scheme for Small and Medium Industry) and most recently SKMS (Micro Credit Scheme),” he said.
According to him, there are about 62,000 business enterprises in the state with 98 percent of them Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) entrepreneurs.
“They contribute no less than 38 percent of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) and their contributions include employment and tourism products,” he said.
Matech Innovations (M) Sdn Bhd is a product of a joint venture between three major players in the industry namely, Buruuj Engineering Sdn Bhd, Japan Matex (Co) Ltd and Ningbo Vander Carbon Material Inc.
The three companies are no strangers to engineering, procurement and construction companies as they are well-known suppliers in their respective fields.
Speaking at the event, Wan Abdul Aziz said the objective of establishing the partnership is not only to provide a direct line of supply to the market in the country, but also to provide world-class customer service to cater to the immediate needs of existing and future clients.
Japan-Matex Co Ltd, a company originating in Japan, will be supplying high performance fluid sealing products which are widely used in industrial plants such as chemical, petrochemical, refining, pulp and paper, power generation, steel and various other plants.
Ningbo Vander Carbon Materials from China will be supplying various products such as gland packing, packing rings, sealing gaskets, sheets, fireproof insulation products such as graphite, PTFE, carbon fibre, glass fibre, ceramic fibre and many other products.
“The products’ quality and reliability have been thoroughly tested and have an excellent track record,” Wan Abdul Aziz assured.
“Matech Innovations does not only supply products; services such as field survey and inspection, maintenance, repairs and replacement of parts and technical consultation are also provided by the company via its collaboration with the Japanese counterparts.
“The company is also looking forward to expanding further in this region where work is being done to supply not just existing clients, but also future potential clients such as Petros.
Wan Abdul Aziz holds 60 percent shares in the company while Zhu Ying Ying and Hiroaki Tsukamoto each holds 20 percent.
