KUALA LUMPUR: Woongjin Coway (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a leading water and air care specialist from South Korea, is in talks relevant government agencies to pump more investments into Malaysian operations by this year.
Coway Malaysia managing director Kyle Choi Ki Ryong said the additional future investment is for a possible factory set-up and details 'to be revealed upon confirmation.'
The company spent RM70 million original investment in 2006 to set up the branch here and further invested an additional RM370 million in 2017 to further expand its presence in Malaysia.
"We own 42 per cent of the market share, which puts us at the No 1 spot in Malaysia. That said, we are still expecting constant growth, and we are still in the midst of penetrating / expanding to different target markets, while maintaining our position as the leading water and air care specialist in the current market – offering various products at different price range based on the needs of our audience," he told The New Straits Times recently.
Choi said Coway Malaysia banks on its innovative research and development (R&D) centre, where test and quality are assured to meet highest standards.
"We are also the only official water quality testing lab in Korea, with the highest number of certified water specialists in the world," he added.
Choi also noted that since Coway Malaysia was established in Malaysia back in 2006, the focus has always been in providing quality products and service.
"We believe these are the main criteria that customers are constantly looking into when they are searching for new water purifiers for their home or for others that may benefit from our products and services.
"We have a stronghold in quality, as we own our own R&D centre in Coway headquarters in South Korea, that conducted over 1 million tests on each of the water purifier models before they are marketed.
"Our manufacturing plant in South Korea is recognised as the first overseas branch to obtain JAKIM’s Halal cert on our manufacturing, and we directly import our products from Korea to customers in Malaysia," he said.
Elaborating on domestic market patterns, he said for mid household income and above, the penetration of water purifiers are rather high.
"People these days feel the need to lead a healthier lifestyle, and we are encouraging that notion by practicing the concept of “Living Pure” with our target audience.
"With Coway Malaysia holding the largest market share in Malaysia, we still have more to penetrate on different audiences, offering value-for-money products with different specs to suit different kinds of needs and lifestyle," he said.