Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Aussie Diver to make a splash in Malaysia

By Sharen Kaur
sharen@nstp.com.my
Published in NST on March 20,2013



MELBOURNE: Diver Consolidated Industries (DCI), which makes components for several industries, including automotive, in Australia, is looking at Malaysia to expand its business.

Chief executive officer Jim Griffin said the company is considering joint ventures and licensing agreements with Malaysian companies for heat shields technology and thermal and acoustic shielding.

"We want to develop new business in heat chilling supply and are looking to establish some ties this year in Malaysia. We are not talking to anyone yet," Griffin told Business Times in an interview.

DCI is a family-run, privately held company. The company has been supplying components to the automotive industry in Australia since 1948.

It supplies components to companies such as General Motors and Ford, as well as exports to various countries.

DCI has two plants in Melbourne that involved in stamping, fabrication and assembly, with annual turnover of A$26 million (RM84 million), Griffin said.

"We are wishing to expand our business in two ways. The first is to penetrate the automotive industry in Asean, and secondly, the non-automotive markets worldwide, including Australia.

"Diversifying away from the automotive industry is the key strategy for us because of falling vehicleproduction volume in Australia. So we are seeking new business opportunities in neighbouring countries."

Griffin attributed the lower production volume to the strong Australian dollar and the country's open market policy that allows more foreign brands to come in, creating competition.

He said vehicle production in Australia last year was about 231,000 and it is forecast to fall to 205,000 this year.

"This is considerably low compared to Malaysia, where production was about 600,000 last year. Malaysia does present big opportunities for companies like us," he added.

No comments:

Post a Comment