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COMPANY NEWS
Max Rubber's Plant may not be the largest in Malaysia but it claims to offer high quality products
Max Rubber tests each batch before and after curing in its own laboratory to ensure consistency and quality
Managing Director Lee Chee Keong
Maxrubber Secures Firm Foothold in Malaysia with Premium Precure Tread Liner
Established in 1989, Maxrubber Industrial Sdn Bhd (MRI) has been in the market for over 20 years. Despite its low profile, the company successfully obtained the award of ISO 9001:2000 in 2005, and has built a solid reputation in the Malaysian rubber compounding industry.
As the world gets more connected everyday through the use of internet and wireless technologies, product buzz now spreads much faster. Besides the use of internet marketing, Managing Director Lee Chee Keong also realizes that word-of- mouth is one of the most powerful forms of communication in the market today. It can help the company effectively sell its products, if it is controlled and managed properly.
“It is important to promote and stimulate the positive word-of- mouth and avoid negative word- of-mouth, which will affect the image of a company or a brand.
The effective way of achieving that is to ensure our product quality and services. When one has inconsistent raw materials, one will have an inconsistent final product. This will result in varying degrees of products being delivered to the customers. Thus, we are very cautious of the raw materials that we source, and this is also why we decided to enter a partnership with Fukuwa Gomu, a rubber mixing company that is under the leadership of a Japanese Technical Consultant, Miyazaki Yoshitaka, ”said Lee. Initially, the core business of MRI was mainly focused on rubber moulded products for the automotive and industrial sector. In 1993, with the progress in industrial modernization, MRI then expanded its business to the manufacturing of tyre retreading materials for hot cure such as camel back, Orbitread, etc.
It is the far-sightedness of Lee that led the company into precure
tread manufacturing five years ago.
“With the increase of radialisation of truck tyres in the local market,” Lee said, “ we knew that we had to move to meet the trend, which meant that we had to expand into precure tread liner manufacturing.”
This has proven to be a successful move, which led to the company’s continued growth and expansion. To cope with the market demand, MRI shifted to a larger and more accommodating manufacturing facility six months ago. With 2.2 acres of space, the new plant has ver y well equipped R &D lab and brand new machiner y including extrusion, buffing machine, curing and packaging machine, etc.
“Our total investment is about RM 12 million. The reason
has 180 sets of moulds with 43 patterns for different applications and requirements.
“In terms of product positioning, I would say we are targeting at the upper middle and premium segment. Thus, our customers are mainly the major players in the local market. It is important to maintain our product quality and consistency, as we believe this is the best way to keep our regular customers and to attract new customers through word-of- mouth.”
To ensure the best quality and consistency, MRI will make sure that it tests every batch of its precure liner after mixing and before curing.
When asked about the challenges the company faced, Lee replied that the hike in raw material pricing is the greatest challenge
18 Retreading Business
behind us making such a significant investment is to stay competitive in the market place. We believe that if we do not continue to upgrade our facilities and technology, we will be gradually phased out by the market,” added Lee.
Currently, the company's product capacity is 300 tons per month. 50 per cent of their production is for the export market while another 50 per cent is for the domestic market. Asia is their main overseas market, with a small amount going to Australia, South Africa and the Middle East. MRI markets its precure liner under two brands, Max and Max Cool. Max precure liner is meant for the more price concerned customer whilst Max Cool is for the premium market. The company has invested significantly in moulds, to date it
that the industr y faces. “Sourcing raw materials was already a challenging task. With the rapid price increases, sourcing has become even more difficult. Luckily, our parent company has considerable experience in rubber trading which enables us to source our material wisely and effectively. In addition, the co- operation with Fukuwa Gomu is also a win-win partnership. Fukuwa Gomu's expertise in rubber mixing and cushion gum has helped us control the quality consistency of our final product.” Apart from precured liner, the company also provides camel back for truck, bias and OTR tyres, orbitread strip, repair ropes, cushion gum, sidewall veneer, rubber solution/cement, masterbatch and compound, as well as a customised rubber mixing service.