In its press release the company mentioned that it intends to increase the capacity of its two original equipment manufacturing (OEM) companies located in Thailand and Vietnam. Board Chairman Tan Sri Fumihijo Konishi expressed that the OEM companies in Thailand and Vietnam have given them a lot of benefits where the labour and material costs are cheaper.
It is informed that Texchem engineers and technicians have been collaborating on manufacturing and processing activities with the two OEM companies. They are over there to supervise the production before they sell the products to us and we export them to the European Union (EU). In June 2008, the EU set a ban on Malaysian seafood exports because of their inability to meet sanitary requirements.
According to Konishi they are losing about five percent of the selling price in Asia when compared to Europe, as Seapack [one of Texchem’s subsidiaries] is more well-known in the EU. Sea Master Trading Co Sdn Bhd and Ocean Pioneer Food Sdn Bhd are subsidiaries of Texchem which remain unable to export into the EU. However, they have kept their business afloat because their main market consists of Asian countries.
It is told that Texchem decided to divide the responsibilities of the chairman and CEO in hopes of boosting the standard of corporate governance as well as developing a proper top management succession. Texchem ‘s current activities include trading in speciality chemicals and consumer products, the manufacturing of industrial packaging, household insecticides and food processing.
