By doing a short check on the global industrial brushes, this particular market is expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5 -8 % from 2020 to 2030 and is forecast to reach valuation around US$ 950 million by 2030. Industrial brushes have many applications, the uses of industrial brushes may range from conveyor and blanket cleaning and glass washing. Besides, it is used in food processing industry, pharmaceutical industry, textile processing, and metal finish circuit board production and so on.
Factors like the rapid developments in emerging countries, technological developments in several industries and growing international trade have contributed to growth in the industrial brushes market.
BusinessToday had the interview with Mr. Ang Lee Leong, the managing director of Yew Lee Pacific, the leading industrial brush manufacturer in Malaysia, which made its debut on the Main Market on Bursa Securities.
BusinessToday met up with newly listed Yew lee Pacific and spoke to the man behind the success of this well-diversified corporation. Here’s how the interview went.
Mr. Ang Lee Leong is responsible for the Group’s day-to-day operations for manufacturing segment, strategy, corporate affairs and overseeing the overall management. He has over 36 years of experience in industrial hardware and industrial brushes industry. From valuable hands-on experience in sales and knowledge of industrial supplies, trading and distribution, he ventured into manufacturing of industrial brushes and continue to spearhead the Group into the success it is today.
Given glove sector contributed to 78% of Yew Lee Pacific’s revenue. As we entered into endemic period, how would you see the glove sector for the company’s sector going forward? Which sectors would Yew Lee Pacific expand its presence?
We have allocated RM3.60 million from the proceeds of our listing to purchase monofilament materials used in the manufacturing of industrial brushes to support the increase in our manufacturing activities in tandem with the increase in demand for our range of industrial brushes.
We intend to expand the range of industrial brushes by developing customisable industrial brushes with features, design and sizes that caters to the specific manufacturing requirements and needs of other end-customers such as the quarry, semiconductor glass-making industries. This will allow us to further diversify our customer base while reducing our dependency on the rubber gloves manufacturing industry, as well as enable us to further improve and expand our existing product offerings.
We also intend to capitalise on the growing market demand for specific industrial brushes that we currently manufacture (such as lath brush, circular brush, disc brush and custom-made brushes) and increase our revenue from this product segment. This is in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic outbreak which has resulted in increasing demand for our range of specific industrial brushes by key industries, which includes rubber gloves manufacturing, food and beverages and consumer products industries.
- How would Yew Lee Pacific become a leading brush manufacturer in the SEA region? What value proposition and product differentiation strategy would the company take?
- We have the ability to manufacture custom-made industrial brushes to cater for varying manufacturing needs and requirements as we understand and assess the needs of customers.
Our ability in customising and manufacturing these custom-made industrial brushes are backed by our in-house manufacturing capabilities and technical team. We are able to customise nearly every aspect of an industrial brush, including the brush length, bristle length, stiffness, density, coarseness and fill materials for differing manufacturing requirements.
We have established and maintained long relationships with both customers and suppliers. Customers include the big names among rubber glove manufacturers who dominate the global rubber gloves market.
We continue to diversify the customer base from other industries such as industrial manufacturing, E&E contract manufacturers, food processing, glass making and wood manufacturing as well as industrial and commercial cleaning.
Our good working relationship with suppliers ensure timely delivery of raw materials and supplies.
We have a comprehensive range of industrial brushes comprising roller brush, lath brush, circular brush, disc brush, spiral brush, forklift sweeper, twist brush, strip brush, oil brush, sweeping and cleaning brushes as well as custom-made brushes. We also produce household brushes and distribute a wide range of industrial hardware and machinery parts which complementing the manufacturing of industrial brushes business segment to support customers with their manufacturing or production hardware issues.
A major challenge impeding the industrial brush market growth is the volatility in raw materials. With the ongoing war in Ukraine, how does this volatility in costs of raw materials affect the profitability of the company? Any measures to mitigate the adverse effects?
We use natural hedging by coordinating foreign currency sales and purchases to be in the same currency as much as possible to minimise foreign exchange exposure.
In addition, in anticipation of the growth of the business, we have allocated RM3.6 million from the IPO proceeds for the purchase of raw materials. Such advance purchases will improve our overall inventory levels and availability of raw materials for the manufacturing of industrial brushes, which will shorten overall lead time for delivery of industrial brushes to customers.
The challenges faced in the logistics and supply chains with the ongoing war and also the 2 month lockdown in China.
The good relationships with our suppliers ensure that we minimise disruption from raw material supply. We have also taken prudent measures to ensure we have sufficient inventory for raw material.
Has the landscape in terms of the industry, market trends and technology changed a lot for the manufacture of industrial brushes since you started?
The landscape has certainly changed. When we started, rubber glove manufacturers were the main users of industrial brushes. The increasing demand for consumer electronics stemming from technology advancements has also meant demand from electrical and electronic (E&E) manufacturers for industrial brushes has risen. Industrial brushes play an important role in the manufacturing of semiconductors, whereby industrial brushes are used for surface treatment processes such as removing dust and other contaminants from the surface of semiconductors or wafers. We are also seeing an increasing amount of automation in the agriculture sector and in the food processing industry.
Technology is also playing an important role for our production processes as we intend to increase automation levels by acquiring additional automated machinery and equipment. We have allocated RM10.90 million for this purpose.
With the benefit of your experience and knowledge, where do you see the industry heading?
Industrial brushes are used by a wide range of industries catering to an even wider range of end-users. Take for example consumer electronics and the trend to automate. The process to produce these gadgets and machinery will need the use of industrial brushes. Automation is also happening in the agriculture and services sectors, both of which will require E&E manufacturers to produce machinery to cater to their processes.
From the IMR report attached to our prospectus, the industrial brush industry in Malaysia was valued at RM219.7 million in 2021 with a 10% growth rate. Between 2021 and 2025, we are looking at a CAGR of 7.5% and a market valued at RM286.6 million in 2025.
Was bringing your daughter, Amber Ang, into the business always in the plan or did she need to be convinced? What has it been like to groom her to eventually take over the business?
Regardless of me being the Company’s Managing Director or a father, I always encourage people to do things that they’re interested in, or they feel happy to do. I always believe that you can only excel if you have a passion for the things you do.
What would the biggest nightmare that keep you awake at night?
We believe that transparency and honest dealing is the best policy. This goes for everyone we work with, be it our employees, customers, suppliers or shareholders. There won’t be nightmares as long as we keep to these parameters.
What would be the sweetest accomplishment that you have achieved, or you like to achieve in future?
We want to continue growing the company and repay investors’ confidence in us.
