Exclusive Interview with PS MECHANICAL SDN BHD & SEPARATECH MECHANICAL SDN BHD

1. As an established professional mechanical repair and maintenance service centre accommodating to the palm oil and general industries, could you share more about PS Mechanical and what it does?

PS Mechanical was founded in 2000 and supplies a wide range of services and products including machinery, replacement parts, servicing, refurbishing and repair to machinery primarily used in the palm oil sector. We have built up a solid reputation with customers across Malaysia due to our technical expertise as well as the wide range of parts which we stock and dispatch with short notice. Over the past few years, we have experienced a higher demand for parts from overseas customers such as Indonesia, Thailand as well as palm oil mills in West Africa where this industry sector is experiencing a high level of growth and development.

2. What was your vision behind starting PS Mechanical back in 2000 and has that vision changed over the past 19 years?

I started PS Mechanical having had experience of working in engineering within the palm oil sector. During that time, there was a high demand for local supply of engineering products and there were also a much-limited range of products available on the market. This meant that local businesses would need to rely often on overseas suppliers who would charge a premium price. My vision was to be able to match the same quality as our global competitors but offer a faster service at a cost relative to the local Malaysian market.

This was the key formula we worked with and for the most part we still retain this concept today. In 2017, we expanded into a new 22,000 Sq Ft premises in Serdang and we also have a regional service centre in Sabah which serves our customers in East Malaysia. As well as our success of the years, I am also very proud that we still operate as a family business with my sons, daughter managing different aspects of the business.

3. What are the advantages of your product which are Decanter and Pre cleaner over similar market players?

We understand the importance of using high-quality materials to ensure that our products able to compete on quality and reliability. Our Research & Development team are constantly testing new materials and solutions to increase both performance and quality of our products. We also understand that in most circumstances, our customers require parts in a speed time due to the loss of operating time of their machinery. Because of this, we continue to heavily invest in stocking a wide range of parts allowing us to dispatch to our customers efficiently with short notice.

4. How do PS Mechanical’s products and services assist palm oil industry development?

We are proud to say that we have supported this industry for the past 19 years. One of the key ways we have done this is by adapting to the market and its growth. We do not direct or limit our clients to a certain product or brand, instead we focus on delivering what is best for the customers’ needs and at the most affordable price point. It is because of this that our customers choose to work with us for so quite a long years and trust our experience together with knowledge in this industry

5. As I understand, one of your specialties is the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine which produces precise dimensions to enable characterization of all products. Could you discuss further about it?

We introduced our first CNC machine this year (2019) and we aim to heavily invest in this area over the coming years in order to save production time and costs. The benefits of using this technology is being able to produce with more precision as well as able to manufacture more complex shapes and sizes which if done manually are more time consuming and labour intensive.

6. Has PS Mechanical faced any major hurdles in trying to get the products established in the palm oil industry? How did PS Mechanical overcome this challenge?

Due to our many years in this industry, we no longer face the issues that we encountered early on as we have already established our name and we have the confidence of our customers. Today, our focus is to continue to grow and develop our products as well as maintain the strong relationships that we have with our customers. Over the years, we have seen more competitors enter the market but it is our view that your product is only as good as your knowledge. In order to fully satisfy the demands of customers today, you must be able to provide the technical knowledge and understanding of your customer needs in order to meet your customer's expectations.

7. What would you say are among the greatest achievements of PS mechanical since its establishment in the year 2000?

Our biggest achievement is that we are able to compete with the leading multi-national companies in the industry. Being able to maintain and develop employees for so many years is one of our biggest keys of success and something we are very proud of. Being trusted by some of the largest palm oil mills in Malaysia including government projects for FELDA.

8. Finally, where do you see the company going in the near future, say the next five years?

Over the next few years, we plan to further invest in CNC technology which will allow us to produce a wider range of parts and sizes without the worry of additional manual labour costs. Due to the higher demand from overseas customers, we are also expanding our export department so that we can provide a wider range of services and products to the customers in developing regions such as West Africa and South America.