Road to success for three Bumi companies

DRIVEN by the commitment and the will to excel in sectors where Bumiputeras' participation is still far from many, three companies have embarked on a journey of success, setting the path for others to follow.

Source from (Business Times): http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/punbrup2/Article/index_html
Published: March 13, 2013

About three decades ago, little-known ABX Express Sdn Bhd tried its luck in the logistics business in Labuan.

The venture paid off well. Today, it is a courier services company with 66 service centres nationwide and the only local logistics company offering services in 220 countries.

ABX Express also clinched the third and 9th place in the Enterprise 50 award programme in 2007 and 2003, respectively.

Its other major achievements include the SMI Service Excellence Award 2006 and 2007, Brand Laureate 2008, 2009 and 2011, and SMI Best Overall Award 2008.

At the helm of ABX Express is chief executive officer Mohamed Ali Nordin who joined the group in 1991 with 10 years of experience in various senior management positions at DHL-Malaysia and Skypak (TNT)-Middle East & Africa.

His vast experience, especially in marketing, has helped ABX Express generate an annual turnover of RM45 million.

The company believes that under Mohamed Ali's leadership, ABX Express, which is currently the fastest growing courier in Malaysia, will propel to new heights.

Meanwhile, Cyberjaya-based IC Microsystems Sdn Bhd started humbly with its own funds in the early stages of business due to the lack of interest from investors.

However, in 2001, the company's prospects turned a little brighter when US-based Silvaco Incorporation became its investor and has remained its largest investor to date.

Since then, it has expanded its operations to Brazil, Indonesia and a few other countries.

IC Microsystems, which is involved in the industrial design of integrated circuits (ICs), won SME Corp's Anugerah Inovasi PKS in 2010, taking home RM1 million in cash.

Its IC design is used in telecommunication and IC software products, with orders coming mainly from the US, Europe and China.

IC Microsystems first had its breakthrough in the local market when it secured a contract from Telekom Malaysia to supply single telephones equipped with IC chips.

Today, single telephone IC chips are the biggest contributor to its turnover.

ProEight Offshore Engineering Sdn Bhd is another homegrown Bumiputera company that has seen sweet success.

Set up by Azhar Zainal Abidin in 1998, it started as a consultancy firm specialising in marine engineering and naval architecture.

The company later decided to venture into the design and manufacture of mechanical seals for the oil and gas industy. It now employs over 120 local engineers from only 12 when it first started.

Last year, it was named one of the Enterprise 50 winners.

ProEight offers products and services to industrial end-users based on its passion for technology, broad and deep knowledge of market developments, product properties, applications and processing, logistics, as well as state-of-the-art infrastructure.

Its major international ventures include the ones with ProEight Petronas (Thailand) Co Ltd, Petronas Carigali (Turkmenistan) Sdn Bhd, Petroleum Development of Oman, ProEight International AG and ProEight-Oman joint venture.