E-ISSN 2756-827X
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November-December 2020 e-ISSN 2756-827X NEWS Close MPIC-MTC ties a boon to timber industry Enhancing engagements with industry captains SPECIAL FEATURE JA! to timber from sustainably managed tropical forest INDUSTRY FOCUS Showcasing the journeys of five Malaysian timber industrialists in various aspects such as succession planning, automation and business transformation. A CASE FOR TIMBER Timber is chic for IDr Ismail Chik GREEN GROWTH Sustainable forest management for the planet, people and profit COVER STORY Low Fatt Group – A proud heritage with extensive capabilities EDITORIAL CONTENTS Dear Readers, MTC WINDOW Bringing the timber industry to greater heights – that is An Update from MTC Management 03 the underlying objective behind the series of meetings and visits between the Ministry of Plantation Industries and MTC Treetop Spotlight 03 Commodities, timber industry captains and MTC held during November-December 2020. For more details of these high-level NEWS engagements, please turn to pages 4- 6. Close MPIC-MTC ties a boon to timber industry 04 In the spirit of “giving is sharing”, MTC contributed RM10,000 each to 10 charitable and non-profit organisations to help support Enhancing engagement with industry captains 06 their operations including promoting environmental education among young children. This Corporate Social Responsibility Courtesy calls on MTC Chairman and CEO 07 programme led by MTC CEO, Tuan Muhtar Suhaili, is reported Annual consultation on MTC’s programmes 08 on pages 8-9. Giving to the underprivileged 08 Congratulations to the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification for receiving the highest rating against the Streaming towards digital readiness 10 ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry, paving the way for the Malaysian PEFC gets ASEAN nod, boon for MTCC 11 Timber Certification Council to easily demonstrate alignment Getting architects-to-be to use timber 12 with the guidelines. Please see page 11. Has the anti-tropical timber campaign mellowed in Europe? SPECIAL FEATURE Director of Centrum Hout, Mr. Paul van den Heuval, provides an insight on this and other updates including the levels of JA! to timber from sustainably 13 collaboration between the two organisations in promoting managed tropical forest sustainable Malaysian timber in the Dutch market. MTC’s Q&A with Mr. Paul van den Heuvel is on pages 13-15. INDUSTRY FOCUS Five Malaysian timber-based companies - Low Fatt Group, Low Fatt Group 16 Inter Moulding Industries Sdn Bhd, A&A Chesterfield Sdn Bhd, True Acclaim Sdn Bhd and T-Forest Holdings Sdn Bhd - share Inter Moulding Industries Sdn Bhd 19 their respective company’s endeavours such as on succession plans, automation, branding, market penetration and business A&A Chesterfield Sdn Bhd 22 transformation. Please turn to pages 16-30. True Acclaim Sdn Bhd 25 Inspired by nature, interior designer, IDr Ismail Chik, incorporates T-Forest Holdings Sdn Bhd 28 wood and other natural materials in most of his works. As such, timbers such as Nyatoh, Merbau, Balau and other forest products A CASE FOR TIMBER such as bamboo, coconut trunks and even tree leaves are creatively incorporated into his designs. IDr Ismail’s passion for nature is Timber is chic for IDr Ismail Chik 31 reflected on pages 31-35. CLT pavilion and park in Tokyo 36 Happy reading! GLOBAL COMMUNITY The Editor. UN Climate Dialogues 38 56th Session of ITTC 39 Extraordinary Meeting of COP to CBD 40 www.mtc.com.my Climate Ambition Summit 2020 41 GREEN GROWTH SFM for the planet, people and profit 42 Ulu Kenas Recreational Forest, Perak 46 MTC WINDOW An Update from MTC Management As we bid farewell to the year 2020, I hope we are all excited to launch into the new year with optimism. November and December have been very busy months as I began performing my tasks as CEO. Despite the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, let’s remain confident that we can power through this challenging period together. The new year will see the implementation of many MTC initiatives as a result of our 2021 Budget which will form the backbone of our 2021 tasks and targets. In early December, I have shared MTC’s strategic plans and our 2021 Budget with all the associations’ captains during and value-adding, to move towards ODM and OBM. This goal covers my various engagements with them, especially on MTC’s Roadmap all timber companies, including companies under MTC’s Bumiputera and the 7 Must-Wins for 2021. Entrepreneur Development Programme (BEDP) which will be carried out in close collaboration with the Malaysian Timber Industry Board. The first must-win is business succession planning. It will be Good design is a game changer. Manufacturers that offer original kickstarted with the Young Entrepreneur Society (YES) plan designs under original brands have an edge over their competitors. which will be my personal commitment to see it through. Also, to recruit young engineers into the timber industry, MTC will MTC will intensify its efforts to promote the adoption of automation embark on its maiden Engineer Placement & Internship in and digitalisation among timber manufacturers as a prelude to IR4.0. Industry Programme (EPIP). We will also have Automation and Digital Technology Acquisition, Smart Manufacturing Consulting and Retrofitting of Sawmill projects The continuity of timber raw material supply is also fundamental. as part of our Factory Automation & Smart Manufacturing programme Thus, MTC will provide more resources to carry out the Import on top of our Financial Incentive for Purchase of Machinery (FIPM) Assistance Programme (IAP) and Task Force on Pest Risk Analysis programme. (PRA) to augment the supply of raw timber materials for the continuity of timber processing activities and the growth of The good news in our effort to motivate more green initiatives is that downstream value-added products. MTC will incentivise the purchase of APC equipment and solar PV system for SMEs and non-SMEs. All the above will come into play as we Another must-win area is cultivating market access. We will continue continue to strengthen our relationships with stakeholders. to hold webinars as well as host online B2B sessions with our counterparts overseas. A Virtual Reality (VR) project to enable the Last but not least, please take care of yourself and your family to stay creation of more trade opportunities is in the pipeline, which will in good health and good spirits. ultimately incorporate IR4.0 with ICT-capabilities into the industry. “LET’S POWER PROGRESS TOGETHER!” The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the market, bringing into focus the need to be outstanding especially with rising competition. MUHTAR BIN SUHAILI The industry needs to strengthen its downstream manufacturing Chief Executive Officer MTC Treetop Spotlight This issue, the MTC Management would like to recognise Ms. Nornajjua Ariffah Mohd Nasir, Executive from Market Promotion Division (MPD) for her work and dedication. Since July 2020, she has coordinated 10 sessions of MTC Marketing Webinars focusing on “Digitisation and Digitalisation”. The main objective was to introduce and provide information to the timber industry about the latest trends in the digital sphere that the industry can explore in response to new norms due to the COVID-19 situation. Not only had she sourced for and coordinated with the speakers, she has also worked with our ICT Unit to iron out the technicalities of the necessary equipment to conduct these online sessions. At the same time, she was also the emcee for all the 10 sessions. Congratulations! November-December 2020 Timber Malaysia 3 NEWS Close MPIC-MTC ties a boon to timber industry YB Dato’ Dr. Mohd. Khairuddin (centre) together with Tuan Haji Mazli Zakuan (right) and Tuan Muhtar at MPIC. Several high-level meetings and courtesy visits between the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) and MTC had taken place since the recent appointment of MTC Chairman, Tuan Haji Mazli Zakuan Mohd Noor, new members to the MTC Board of Trustees and MTC CEO, Tuan Muhtar Suhaili. One of the first visits was undertaken by Tuan Haji Mazli Zakuan and Tuan Muhtar to the Minister of Plantation Industries and The following day, Tuan Muhtar and Mr. Chin paid a courtesy Commodities, YB Dato’ Dr. Mohd. Khairuddin Aman Razali at his call on the Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and office in Putrajaya on 5 November 2020. With the mutual objective Commodities, YB Tuan Willie Mongin, at his office in Putrajaya. to uplift the timber industry, the meeting’s focus revolved around the Minister’s aspirations and plans for MTC to bring the timber industry The month of December 2020 also saw YB Dato’ Dr. Mohd to greater heights. Khairuddin making a working visit to the MTC Headquarters. On hand to receive YB Dato’ Dr. Mohd Khairuddin were Tuan On 19 November 2020, YB Dato’ Sri Dr. Wee Jeck Seng, Deputy Haji Mazli Zakuan, members of the MTC Board of Trustees, Tuan Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities visited MTC’s Muhtar and other MTC management staff. This visit, Headquarters in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. The Deputy Minister, who on 8 December, marked the first meeting between the was accompanied by his Special Functions Officer, Dr. Lee Soon Heng, Minister and the MTC Board of Trustees. was briefed by Tuan Muhtar on the Council’s operations. Also present were MTC Deputy CEO, Mr. Wong Kah Cane, MTC COO, Mr. Roger YB Dato’ Dr. Mohd Khairuddin, whose delegation included MPIC Chin and MTC Financial Controller, Mr. Philip Liew. Deputy Secretary-General, Tuan Haji Mad Zaidi Mohd Karli, November-December 2020 Timber Malaysia 4 NEWS Tuan Haji Mazli Zakuan (centre) presenting YB Dato’ Dr. Mohd. Khairuddin an advanced birthday gift from MTC as Tuan Muhtar looks on. and Senior Undersecretary of the Timber, Tobacco and Kenaf Industries Development Division, Mr.