There is rising demand for roofing sheets and trusses, as well as scaffoldings as a result of the recovery in the construction industry. With the construction of the new factory in Penang, BWYS Group is able to increase its production capacity by 6.1% to meet this demand. –UNSPLASH
PETALING JAYA: When Covid-19 hit, many companies that were poised to go public and list on stock exchanges found themselves compelled to delay their initial public offering (IPO) plans due to the unprecedented economic uncertainty.
Fast forward four years later, and BWYS Group Bhd successfully listed on Bursa Malaysia yesterday, with much planned to ramp up expansion and accelerate growth for the company.
Speaking exclusively to StarBiz, group managing director Kang Beng Hai said the state of the economy’s rebound particularly in construction has given the group a renewed confidence.
BWYS is mainly involved in the manufacturing of sheet metal products including roofing sheets and trusses, industrial racking systems and welded pipes. They also rent and sell scaffoldings, and trade steel materials and steel related products.
“The economy is bouncing back, construction projects are all underway and we are looking forward to participating in them using our expertise,” he said.
Big plans
The group’s listing was indeed a successful one, having been oversubscribed 48.51 times at the price of 22 sen per share.
According to Kang, now that they’ve listed, one of the first to-do’s post-IPO will be to focus on the construction of a new factory in Penang with a total built-up area of approximately 197,153sq ft which is currently underway.
“Ground works started in first quarter of 2024, we expect the factory to be completed in first quarter of 2026, and commercial production will be in the first quarter of 2027,” he said.
He added the new factory will increase production capacity by 6.1% more while the warehouse space will be 10 times larger than what they currently have.
The new factory will also be home to a lot of new automation processes.
With a team of 500 employees, BWYS Group managing director Kang Beng Hai (pic) is confident that the group will continue to leave its mark on each segment it is in. — KAMARUL ARIFFIN/TheStar
Kang said this will not only save on labour cost, but also keep the group up to date with the latest technology being used across the industry.
At the moment, there has been a rising demand for roofing sheets and trusses, as well as scaffoldings as a result of recovery in construction industry. Kang said the group provides scaffolding for sale and rental purposes but eventually wants to transition into more sales of scaffolding and boost up the revenue of the group.
The group’s industrial racking has been one of the main sources of exports, mainly to the US, Middle East and within the region.
Kang said its racking solutions include design and layout, manufacturing and installation among others. In addition, the group’s racking systems comply with the European Standard - EN 15512:2009 (Steel Static Storage Systems. Adjusted Pallet Racking Systems. Principles For Structural Design).
The new factory will also feature a new automated powder coating line for its racking systems.
“Right now our biggest export is to the US, followed by the Philippines.
“We are looking to expand the markets into South-East Asia, the Middle East and South America,” Kang said.
On what sets them apart from their competitors, Kang said the group has a range of sheet metal products and scaffoldings that caters to many industries.
“Some companies specialise in one or two main products, but we have quite a variety of products that have served us well all these years.
“One of our growing segments is supply of scaffoldings which increased from RM40.4mil in FYE 2022 to RM61.2mil in FYE 2023,” he said.
He added the group’s scaffolding products are accredited with Sirim product certification for the conformity to the MS 1462 series of standards and also accorded the certificate of standard compliance by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), which has given them an edge over others.
“The enforcement of new laws whereby CIDB-certified scaffoldings are required to be used for new construction sites from September 2021 onward, means that scaffoldings that are not certified will become void and unable to be used in the industry,” Kang explained.
Another edge BWYS has is in its roofing sheets and trusses segment which are branded and marketed under “BW”.
Kang said the efficiency and time frame in which it can deliver its products have earned them a name within the industry.
“It takes about 24 hours for us to get an order, process it and deliver it through.
“Many companies aren’t able to do that, so this is an extra service that we give to our customers,” he said.
Kang added having warehouses that are strategically located also has helped plenty.
BWYS has operational facilities in various locations such as Penang, Selangor, Johor, Kelantan, Sarawak and Sabah which enable them to access wide geographic markets in Peninsular and East Malaysia to grow their business.
Additionally, one of their segments – welded pipes is staged to see more demand as data centres begin mushrooming across the country.
Kang said conduit pipes are vastly used in the construction of data centres, and BWYS aims to jump on the bandwagon.
Strategic preparations
Meanwhile, on top of all BWYS’ plans, Kang said the group is optimistic to capitalise on the growth opportunities in the Malaysian steel industry.
The Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation (Misif) anticipates domestic steel consumption to reach between 8.3 million and 9.0 million tonnes this year, a notable increase from 7.9 million tonnes in 2023.
The group is ready to begin the projects it is involved in, including the Penang Mutiara Light Rail Transit (LRT) which is set to begin before the end of the year.
The iconic Penang Hill cable car will also see BWYS working on it to various degrees in terms of products.
Scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 2026, the project will start from Penang Botanic Gardens and feature a 50 eight-seater gondola that can carry 1,000 passengers.
“BWYS is also set to be involved in the transformation of the Penang International Airport and Kuala Lumpur–Singapore high-speed rail.
“All these projects will keep us busy for the next two to three years, as we look forward to taking on more projects,” Kang said.
With a team of about 500 employees, he is confident BWYS will continue to mark its footprint in each segment it is in.
“We have the talent and the products that are needed, we are confident that market conditions will only get better as our economy moves forward.”
