Sabah’s lime juice to be showcased in Thailand
KOTA KINABALU: Kitzai (lime juice) - the latest calamansi juice produced by Sabah based company, Life Water Industries Sdn Bhd has been chosen as one of the products from the state to be showcased in Thailand Food Fair in June this year, under Sabah Department of Industrial Development and Research.
Its managing director, Liaw Hen Kong, said the company had been producing various types of quality beverages with its most popular products such as K2, Sasa, Tritonic Isotonic Drink and 2More Sparkling Soda.
“This is our first step to go beyond the Malaysian market, and we are hoping to get as many inquiries from the world, so that we can give more opportunities for Sabahans.
“We are using calamansi planted by farmers all over Sabah and there will be a huge opportunity for them if we go international,” he said.
The launching of Kitzai yesterday was done at Life Water second factory at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Parks (KKIP).
The company was started by Liaw and his wife, Chin Lee Ling 16 years ago in a factory they bought from a friend located in Sandakan. They started operating manually by producing 5,000 bottles of purified water every day.
Their second factory in KKIP is certified with ISO 22000 and FSSC, sanctioned by MNC (Multinational Corporation).
“Starting a business was not easy, especially when there is no support from the locals. When we just started, Sabahans have that mentality that Sabah products are not comparable with overseas products.
“However, we took it as a challenge, and today we are proving that Sabah products can go further. From 5,000 bottles produced every day, we are now talking about a million bottles of beverages per day. We expand almost 200 times,” he said.
Liaw added the process of producing quality water was not an easy job. In Life Water, their beverages went to 17 level of purification system, where their water quality is tested every four hours.
The company is using trace ability system, where the management team will be able to locate the water delivery in case of any complaints, while the quality control team is keeping samples of every beverage produced.
Earlier at the event yesterday, Life Water announced the setting up of its third factory in another lot in KKIP, where the technology in the upcoming factory will reduce about 25 percent of plastic usage in their production.
The ground-breaking ceremony of the third factory was done by Deputy Chief Minister cum Industrial Development Minister Datuk Seri Raymond Tan Shu Kiah.
“In the new factory, we will use the latest technology where the mechanical system will be fully automated and the usage of carbon dioxide will be reduced.
“We are also working closely with the local authority to spread awareness on preserving the environment by printing those message in our bottles so that public will know their responsibility after drinking from bottled water,” he added.
Tan, in his speech, said the story of Life Water started from a humble beginning to where it is now and should be shared with the young Sabahans who are interested in business.