Wenge Works’ top-quality interiors ensuring satisfaction in Kingdom
BRINGING the highest international standards to Cambodia, Wenge Works is raising the bar for the quality of interior fit-out works in the Kingdom.
Started in Singapore in 2012 by Evans Lee, the company has grown to work across Southeast Asia, completing projects in Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Having worked with a range of high-end brands such as Tod’s, Valentino, Jimmy Choo, Roger Vivier, Diane von Furstenberg and Gucci, the company first came to the Kingdom in 2015 to fit the Salvatore Ferragamo store in Phnom Penh’s Vattanac Capital Mall.
“We are a company that is committed to ensuring customer satisfaction, supplying the highest levels of quality having worked with high-end international brands for many years.
“I want Cambodia to have the best quality interiors, matching that found in Singapore or anywhere else in the world, be it London, New York or Paris,” Lee said.
A pioneer in building high-end brands’ stores in Cambodia, being responsible for the shop interiors for most of the high-end brands in
Phnom Penh, Lee is committed to ensuring his customers are entirely satisfied.
“We have the greatest responsibility to deliver the highest standards and are always seeking to improve through a process of never-ending learning,” he said.
In 2000, Lee started at a major shopfitting company in Singapore specialising in high-end brands, working for a man who he describes as his “mentor”.
“I had no background in shopfitting, but my boss, Jay Chiu, fully supported me, becoming my mentor as I learned and gained experience in project management. And after 12 years of working on high-end projects I had the confidence to branch out on my own.
“I set up Wenge Works in 2012, naming the company after my favourite luxury wood veneer finish. I started off very small, with small projects, but previous clients who understood my strengths gave me support and encouragement as
Wenge Works grew from humble beginnings.
“With recommendations and growing awareness from other brands the company went from strength to strength, and I have shown that with a dedication to ensuring the highest standards, a small company can thrive,” Lee said.
And the Singaporean says that by remaining small it allows him to focus on quality.
“Even now we are relatively small compared to the big players in the market, but this means we can better ensure quality.
“We have an in-house team of 15, with three main project managers who I can fully rely on to uphold the highest standards, while our carpenters are highly experienced and extremely skilled,” he said.
While the majority of Wenge
Works’ projects are satisfying the highest-end retail brands, the quality of the firm’s store interiors has led to private projects.
“I was invited to design and create the interior of a house in Phnom Penh after the client noticed the
quality of the store he was shopping in – one that we had built – and he tracked me down.
“With such projects, we speak with the client to understand their tastes, working closely with them at each step of the way to ensure they are entirely satisfied,” Lee said.
Lee said the success of his first projects in Cambodia shows the appetite is there for the highest quality.
“I thought my first project here was to be a one-off, but I saw potential and more followed. And more are in the pipeline, with Wenge Works having been approached by a major Cambodian conglomerate and a top construction company,” he said.
With his company built on the commitment to excellence, Lee says that as the Kingdom develops, he is seeing Cambodians also expecting higher standards.
“Some of the projects I have been called in for have been to rebuild interiors that weren’t done to the standards demanded by the client.
“This demonstrates how important it is to have a reliable and trustworthy contractor like Wenge Works. I want to ensure Cambodia has the highest standards available. Quality pays for itself,” Lee said.
AN INDONESIAN village was inundated by crimsoncoloured water after flooding hit a fabric dyeing centre in central Java, sparking a social media frenzy.
Residents of Jenggot, near the town of Pekalongan, were seen wading through bloodred water on February 6 and many shared images of the rare phenomenon online.
Officials later confirmed the unique colour came from harmless fabric dye used by several batik factories in the area.
Pekalongan itself is well known for its batik textiles industry, with many cottage industries flourishing across the town.
“They did not dump the dye on purpose, but several home industries were flooded and the dye packages were carried away by the water”, local disaster agency official Dimas Arga Yudha said on February 7, adding that the batik dye was not toxic or dangerous.
Local officials deployed pumps to drain the flooded area and it was cleared in less than an hour.
Floods are very common across the Indonesian archipelago, especially during the rainy season.
Last month at least 21 people died and more than 60,000 were evacuated after a series of major floods hit South Kalimantan.