Thong Guan: Set-up of two new lines
Thong Guan Industries Bhd, a KLSE main board specialising in stretch film and plastic packaging manufacture, is allocating about RM19mil to set up two new stretch film production lines this year.Its group managing director Ang Poon Chuan said that since December last year, the group’s main facility in Sungai Petani, Kedah, had been operating at full capacity, generating some 2,000 tonnes of stretch film per month. He said the group’s order book for stretch film was filled until next month.
“We expect more orders to come in April as there are indications from our customers that they want to stockpile their stretch film supply in anticipation of war in the Middle East, which is expected to jack up the prices of plastic products. The prices are already rising and are expected to shoot up further if war breaks out in the Middle-East. We also expect orders to come from our customers in new markets such as India, the Middle East and Africa,” he said. Ang said that the group was now trying to source the machinery from either Europe or the United States.
“We hope to install the machinery by the 3rd quarter of 2003 and begin commercial production in the 4th quarter. The new machinery should increase our monthly output to 3,000 tonnes, making Thong Guan one of the largest stretch film manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.