PRLog (Press Release) –
Oct 30, 2007 – JOTUN IS THE BEST IN PROMOTING BI-LATERAL BUSINESSES RELATIONS BETWEEN NORWAY AND MALAYSIA
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Malaysia Norway Business Council (MNBC) together with the Royal Norwegian Embassy today named Jotun Malaysia as the company that has contribution the most in growing the business relationship between Norway and Malaysia.
“Jotun is a prime example of a company that continuously innovates itself to promote trade, commerce, industry and investment between Malaysia and Norway,” said H.E. Arild Braastad, Norway’s Ambassador to Malaysia. “We recognize Jotun’s part in fostering for this purpose friendly relations, mutual understanding and closer economic co-operation between the two countries to contribute towards the advancement of both the Malaysian and Norwegian economy.
“Corporations must appreciate that they have a larger duty beyond profitability when doing business in a another country. They are key in helping us achieve and sustain healthy bi-lateral ties,” he added.
Jotun, one of the world’s leading producers and suppliers of paints, was presented the Malaysia Norway Innovative Business Innovation Award, by YB Ng Lip Yong, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry at the Royal Norwegian Embassy’s annual dinner held at a leading hotel here. The event was also attended by guests from companies with Norwegian business ties.
“Jotun Malaysia has grown their business from a sales office to an R&D and manufacturing centre for distribution to local and regional markets,” said Daphne Wong, Executive Director of the MNBC. “Systematic and sustainable approach combined with quality products, customer focus investment in technology, product development, manufacturing and human resources, has secured the success Jotun enjoys today as a major player in the Malaysia and Asia paint arena.”
This is the first time the award is being presented by the MNBC but it will be an annual award to encourage Norwegian companies doing business here to aggressively expand their respective businesses and promote healthy relations between the two countries. 30 organisations with Norwegian business related activities were evaluated for the award this year.
The award was accepted by Mr Peder Bohlin, Regional Director for Jotun Paints in South East Asia and Managing Director of Jotun Malaysia, who was also recently recognised with the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award in the inaugural Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA) 2007. “We are honoured to be presented as the first recipient of this award and hope that we are able to share our business philosophy and management style with other businesses to help them position themselves better when doing business outside of their home countries.”
Since its establishment in 1984, Jotun Malaysia has been producing decorative paints, protective coatings and marine coatings in its Shah Alam factory. For 2007, Jotun Malaysia is expecting sales of RM200 million which is a 15% growth from last year.
Jotun is a market leader in advanced Marine coatings for ships and corrosion protective coatings for heavy-duty industries like oil and gas and petrochemical while in the decorative or architectural market, Jotun is also the leading supplier for prestigious projects such as condominiums, hotels and townships.
Jotun will continue to promote its highly successful computerised Multicolor Tinting System that was first introduced in Malaysia in 1988. The Jotun Multicolor Concept is a high technology concept that allows the customer to customise colours from more than 10,000 colours. Presently, there are over 350 Jotun Multicolor Centres throughout Malaysia.
There are currently 50 Norwegian companies in Malaysia. Between January to April this year, exports to Malaysia from Norway was some RM 150 million, a 74% rise, while imports from Malaysia to Norway was RM 338.7 million, a 9% rise over the same period in 2006.
Release on behalf of the Malaysia Norway Business Council by Rantau PR Sdn Bhd. For more information please contact:
Adeline Phun
Account Manager
Rantau PR
Tel: +603-7955 7269
