Viswanathan, who received a DSPN which carries the title Datuk, credits his state honours to the entire Flex team in Penang.
VISWANATHAN Paramasivam recently retired from Flex Penang after 29 years in various leadership positions.
Having joined the company in 1995 as a senior production executive, he retired as the vice-president of operations, overseeing eight plants in Prai, Bukit Minyak, Batu Kawan and Bayan Lepas.
His contributions in several key sectors furthered Flex’s position as an end-to-end manufacturing partner.
For this, Viswanathan received a Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN), which carries the title of Datuk, in conjunction with Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak’s 75th birthday celebration.
He credited the recognition to the entire Flex team in Penang, which he praised for their unwavering belief in the power of diversity, equity and inclusion for the sake of business and humanity.
“Most importantly, they work together to help customers and suppliers responsibly and manage every step of the product lifecycle by holding themselves to the highest global standards of labour practices,” he said.
Present in Malaysia since 1988, Flex delivers comprehensive technology and supply chain services covering design, manufacturing and logistics, supporting many of the leading global and local brands.
Under Viswanathan’s leadership, the company was named Company of the Year in both Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) categories at the Sustainability & CSR Awards 2024.
Flex was also honoured by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry as a “PwD” (People with Disabilities) friendly employer and for achieving 1.4% PwD employment rate, surpassing the government policy benchmark of 1%.
Flex was recognised as the largest employer of people with disabilities in the electronics industry in Malaysia in 2022.
It currently has 285 PwD employees working across its facilities in Johor and Penang with the majority being hearing impaired.
Viswanathan ensured that Flex employees in Penang with their diverse backgrounds, experiences, talents, perspectives and abilities became the company’s competitive advantage.
“I believe that building a successful business requires a passionate focus on developing employees, ensuring diversity and inclusion at the workplace, fostering continuous improvement and innovation and embracing sustainability.
“Our people create the extraordinary every day and I was resolute in providing a collaborative environment fuelled by inclusion, respect, open communication and development.”
With this in mind, the Learning and Development centre was established to foster learning and upskilling.
Through collaborations with local colleges and universities, Flex continues to provide management and technical courses to employees.
To date, Flex has contributed more than RM7mil towards continuous education programmes, allowing over 2,400 employees to pursue professional competency programmes.
Viswanathan also placed strong emphasis on tech innovation which is a key differentiator in staying ahead of the competition.
Flex Penang is continually enhancing its advanced manufacturing capabilities, investing in a focused portfolio of Industry 4.0 technologies including a comprehensive Failure Analysis Laboratory to support the site/region manufacturing and failure analysis requirements.
One of the proudest moments in his career was growing and encouraging the technical team in providing value-added services to customers and sister sites.
With his guidance, this advanced engineering team has and continues to engage in various STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)initiatives to nurture and support future local talents in Malaysia.
He also spearheaded various sustainable manufacturing practices including renewable energy implementation and community-driven positive change.
