Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad (KULIM), through its plantation subsidiary, Mahamurni Plantations Sdn Bhd (MPSB), will build its first palm-fibre oil extraction (PFOE) plant in Sedenak palm oil mill in Johor.
As part of its waste to treasure initiative, the PFOE plant extracts oil from mesocarp fibre from the processed fresh fruit bunches to produce red palm oil that can be sold at 85% of the crude palm oil price. It would generate a new income stream for the Group with an estimated RM8 million annually.
MPSB also signed a contract agreement with Eonmetall Technology Sdn Bhd (Eonmetall), a subsidiary of Eonmetall Group Berhad based in Penang, to build the plant, which is to be ready in the third quarter of next year.
The agreement was signed by Mohd Faris Adli Shukery, Managing Director of KULIM, on behalf of MPSB, and Yeoh Cheng Chye, Managing Director of Eonmetall. Also present were Fairuz Ismail, Chief Operating Officer of KULIM, and Dato’ Mohammad Radhi Abdul Razak, Independent Non-Executive Director, Eonmetall Group.
“The project is part of our efforts to implement a circular economy through harnessing waste oil as feedstock for biofuels and utilising renewable energy for plant operations from sustainable sources. More importantly, it is a testament to our commitment towards the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda,” said Mohd Faris.
Eonmetall, which owns the patented technology, has installed more than 20 plants in the palm oil industry since 2007.
“This is a significant direction for KULIM to invest in an integrated-valued-additional approach to produce high-value palm fibre oil. The plant is designed with continuous and fully automated operation with minimal people operating, in line with the adoption of IR 4.0 in their oil palm-related processing,” said Yeoh.
