US firm Porex boosts investments in Malaysia
SHAH ALAM: United Statesbased Porex Corp has committed to increasing investments in Malaysia as it sees demand in the region growing at a fast rate.
Porex, a unit under Filtration Group, has recently doubled its footprint in Malaysia, its Asia Pacific export hub, following the opening of a new customer and commercial centre and the expansion of its manufacturing plant.
Porex chief executive officer and Filtration Group president of Life Sciences Jon Peacock said: “We are using the base in Malaysia to fulfil demand not only in Southeast Asia, but also globally. About half of what is manufactured here is going somewhere outside Asia.”
“The primary reason we picked Malaysia is because the country is business-friendly, particularly to exporters. The existing policies are positive for us as an exporter,” he said in an interview recently.
Peacock said Malaysia provided access to a large pool of highly educated human capital.
“We have a need for skilled talents, particularly engineers and scientists, and this is a perfect place for us,” he said.
Peacock said the expansion enabled Porex to work closely with customers in the region, helping them to overcome product development challenges to create exciting and novel products.
The company’s new customer and commercial centre would focus on providing commercial, business development, marketing and product development engineering services to customers in Asia, particularly China, Japan and South Korea, he added.
“The 40 per cent increase in operational floor space will enable Porex to scale up production of its unique fibre lines to better serve customers locally and globally, in addition to its already established sintered particles lines. We anticipate expanding staff to respond to new design trends more quickly and thoroughly,” said Peacock.