THREE TIMES MORE IN CAPACITY WITH NEW SMART PAINT FACILITY

SMART Asia Chemical Bhd’s (SAC) new manufacturing plant at Bemban Industrial Park in Batu Gajah, Perak, will increase its production of water-based decorative paints and protective coatings by about threefold.

SAC chief operating officer and non-independent executive director Lim Kok Beng said the new plant, which was expected to be fully operational in the second quarter of this year, could manufacture about 27 million litres of its products annually.

Lim said this would be more than three times its current production capacity of 8.7 million litres at its factory in Johor.

“The expansion represents a significant milestone in the company’s growth strategy and commitment to innovation and customer service.

“The new facility, spanning about 95,164sq ft has been meticulously designed to optimise production processes and enhance operational efficiencies,” he said during the launch of the new plant by Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.

Lim said the new facility has two state-of-the-art systems – Industrial Tinting System and Automated Paint Production System – to enhance its manufacturing efficiency and quality.

The Smart Paint Manufacturing Plant is designed to optimise production processes and enhance operational efficiencies.

“The Automated Paint Production System facilitates precise transfer of new raw materials from storage to dispersion tanks, movement of semi-finished products between stations, automated loading and unloading and rigorous quality checks throughout.

“The Industrial Tinting System, which is integrated with the Automated Paint Production System, will enable the continuous flow of the manufacturing processes.

“The integration of software and systems enable the company to reduce their dependency on human operators during manufacturing activities.

“These advancements incorporated in the new plant further demonstrates our commitment to enhancing operational and automation capabilities across our products and services, as we strive to transition towards Industry 4.0 manufacturing plant, optimising operations while upholding high standards of product quality,” he added.

Lim said it aimed to solidify its position as a reputable national paint brand in the country.

“We decided to set up our facility in Perak to not only streamline our manufacturing operations, but also ensure we can meet the growing demand for our products.

“The Perak plant is strategically located to facilitate expansion of the company’s customer-base in the central and northern region of the country,” he said.

SAC was established in 2012, first venturing into trading of third-party branded decorative paints, protective coatings and painting services.

It then went into manufacturing the following year and recorded its first export sales to Brunei and Singapore.

They acquired the land in Batu Gajah for the new facility in 2018. Construction began in 2022, and was completed last year.

SAC specialises in developing, manufacturing, distributing and selling a diverse range of decorative paints, protective coatings and paint-related products for household and industrial applications.

The company owns brands like Smart Paints, Durra Paints, Toplus Paints and Hunter Paints.

In his speech, Saarani said the new facility would also encourage value-added activities to the use of existing mineral resources that were abundant in Perak, especially limestone or calcium carbonate.

“SAC, which also has a factory in Johor, uses our minerals as materials for their production.

“Therefore, Perak Investment Management Centre (InvestPerak), the state’s investment wing, took the proactive step to convince them to invest in the state,” he said, adding that the new plant could prevent the state’s resources from being only exported overseas without any downstream process and activities.

“SAC can save on operating cost for raw materials while the state can further strengthen the mineral sector, which is its core for economic growth.

“This effort is in line with our Perak Sejahtera 2030 Plan and Perak Industrial Plan to boost economic growth and the state’s industrial sector’s performance for 10 years,” he said, adding that the new plant would also create about 200 jobs, benefitting the people in Batu Gajah and Seri Iskandar.