German firm to take up major stake in Sanichi

SENAI: ACE Market-listed Sanichi Technology Bhd says its deal with a German automotive vendor is likely to be concluded in the first quarter of next year.

Group chairman and managing director Datuk Dr Pang Chow Huat said the German company Projektarbelt Tecnhische Beratung Venretung International (Protev) had started due diligence on Sanichi.

“Protev will take a major stake in our company, probably holding up to 80% of our shares via private placement,” Pang told StarBiz.

He said Protev had been the company's long-term client and its strong interest to become a major stakeholder reflected its confidence in Sanichi.

Prior to signing the memorandum of undestanding with the company, Protev had conducted feasibility studies with plastic injection mould fabricators in China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore.

The partnership would complement Sanichi's core business and add synergy to its operations, he said.

Pang would remain group chairman and managing director of Sanichi despite changes in equity structures and would oversee the day-to-day operations of the company.

Protev would second its engineers and conduct research and development at Sanichi.

“The alliance will open a window of opportunity for us to venture into new markets and at the same time help strengthen our position in markets where Protev is present,” said Pang.

The partnership would also enable the company to move into fabricating larger moulds to cater to larger components in the automotive sector as Protev supplies parts and components for BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Sanichi is the only plastic injection mould fabricator in Malaysia that has been given the contract by BMW to produce mould for the front-grille of the Mini Cooper four-door models.

“We are gearing up to capture a bigger market share of the advanced plastic injection moulds (APIM) globally,” he said.

Pang said many multinational corporations worldwide had switched from conventional plastic injection moulds (CPIM) to APIM for parts and components.

Sanichi has three wholly-owned subsidiaries - Sanichi Precision Mould Sdn Bhd, Asia Pinnacle Sdn Bhd and Sanichi Mould (Thailand) Co Ltd.

The group is involved in the design and fabrication of APIM, CPIM and die-casting mould which are exported to China, Germany, France, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam.

Its 96 local and foreign customers include Audi, BMW, Brother, Dyson, Daikin, Electrolux, Hitachi, Liebherr, Mercedes-Benz, Proton, Perodua, Sharp, Siemens, Toshiba, Volkswagen and Porsche.

Protev is headquartered in Fischbacherstr, Marktrodach, Germany and has offices and production facilities in Germany, Singapore and the United States.

It offers solutions for mould making through outsourcing by introducing reliable, quality and cost-effective suppliers/partners in Asia.