SHAH ALAM: Car components-maker EP Manufacturing Bhd (EPMB) is optimistic over its business prospects in the current financial year amid the increasingly challenging environment for automotive industry.
Its deputy executive chairman Zulkefly Baharuddin said the company’s recent diversification plan in terms of its customer base will help to boost its revenue in 2016.
“While the Malaysian Automotive Association has revised its projected TIV for the year, it is not specifically directed towards passenger cars. Besides passenger cars, the projection also involves the industrial vehicle sales.
“And we believe that whatever shortfall recorded in one brand will be taken up by another. And we believe that our diversification plan in the next one to two years’ time will help us mitigate the shortfall,” he told reporters after EPMB’s annual general meeting here today.
Last year, EPMB acquired nine parcels of land in Malacca for RM43.85 million, with the intention of commissioning a new manufacturing plant with automated robotic assembly lines to enhance its localisation partnership programme it has developed with Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
Zulkefly said the company is investing RM28 million for the construction of the Malacca plant, which is expected to be operational by early next year.
On the other hand, EPMB executive chairman Hamidon Abdullah said the company plans to consolidate its expertise with its new technical partners in seeking more efficiency opportunities to cultivate more value.
“With this strategy and with new models to be rolled out, we expect to see better sales in the coming year,” said Hamidon.
EPMB had recently forged two technical collaborations with Japanese Tier-1 automotive components manufacturers Keylex Corp and Y-tec Corp to assist with the group’s production of body panels and chassis parts for Perodua and Mazda Malaysia, respectively.
“Both companies are major suppliers of automotive parts in Japan, so our collaboration will involve leveraging on their expertise and technology for the localisation of Mazda’s parts here in Malaysia and also for Perodua’s new product.
“We have acquired new technologies and skill sets from our partners, which will enable us to achieve greater efficiency, quality standards, and scalability in the long term.
“For the Mazda business, this exercise will equip us well for when our plant in Sungai Petani, Kedah begins production this August,” Hamidon said.