Petra Group invests RM45 mln into furniture business
KUCHING: The Petra Group has invested RM45 million into the furniture business through the setting up of PETRA Mobilia, which is expected to become the standard bearer for Malaysia’s furniture manufacturing sector.
With the new deal, Petra Mobilia now holds the license to manufacture and supply furniture under the Tempur brand.
Petra Mobilia will design and manufacture seating products such as recliners, home theatre seating, sofa beds and modular sofa systems under Tempur.
Tempur is an iconic global brand that is available all over the world, a rank that can be attributed to its patented and highly sought-after memory foam technology.
Petra Mobilia also owns the Rize brand (medical furniture products such as lift chairs) that specialises in medically designed therapeutic lift chairs that place equal emphasis on style and comfort, intended to improve the quality of life of those with mobility issues.
As such, this is big news for the Malaysian furniture industry, which consists mainly of original equipment manufacturers (OEM) competing on the lowest cost basis, increasingly losing out to other cost competitors such as those in Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
Ranked amongst the top 10 largest exporters of furniture in the world, Malaysia exports around 80 per cent of its production.
However, the value of furniture export from Malaysia has been declining significantly due to a lack of technological innovation.
“What distinguishes us from other local furniture manufacturers are our intellectual patents (IPs) and international brands,” Petra Mobilia chief executive Abbi Kanthasamy said.
“We are proud to be a Malaysian-owned company that uses technology and innovation to create high value products that can compete on the global stage.
“By using innovation and design, we have been able to increase our margins and also create high value jobs for the local workforce.
“Hopefully, this will set a trend for other local manufacturers to innovate and capture a larger share of the global furniture business.”
Kanthasamy looks forward to working closely with Petra Group chairman and chief executive Datuk (Dr) Vinod Sekhar, allowing Petra Mobilia to not only expand its global presence but also leverage on the group’s other businesses.
“We see synergies with Green Rubber to provide its revolutionary recycled rubber for our furniture products, and to partner with PETRA Modular, a global manufacturer of modular high-quality homes in future.
“More importantly, Datuk Vinod’s vision of social capitalism and ensuring all Petra’s businesses support solutions for socio-economic issues, is compelling.
“It is critical for society as a whole and all companies to embrace this thinking.”
The company has already begun production on Tempur products for the export market and is already receiving orders for the Rize brand, which will commence production very soon.
Its annual turnover is projected to be US$1 billion within the next three years. The Petra Group is a global innovation-based conglomerate controlled by Sekhar.