ALTHOUGH it has been a tough year, the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) has been making headway in executing its plans to drive the growth of the timber industry.
Aside from implementing initiatives to tackle the new challenges faced by industry players due to the pandemic, its chief executive officer Muhtar Suhaili shared that MTC is also on track to achieving the objectives set out in the MTC Roadmap 2019-2023.
He explained, “Our roadmap took a very careful and calculated approach of what the industry would be going through on the whole.”
There is steady progress in MTC’s seven must-wins for 2021, which aim to address matters related to succession, market access, raw materials, design and branding, automation, sustainability and green initiatives and stakeholder relationships.
Among the plans it has successfully initiated include the TIMB3R Design Incubator Programme (DIP) in 2020, a programme in collaboration with the Malaysian Institute of Interior Designers (MIID), which aims to connect local designers and architects with manufacturers to develop Malaysian-made high-value products with aesthetic designs, ready for export to the international market. Designers are paired up with manufacturers to conceptualise, design and prototype a series of creative timber and furniture products.
As a result, 18 products were jointly produced by 18 pairs of manufacturers and designers. Of these, nine exclusive furniture products will be showcased at the Furniture China Digital Trade Show 2021.
In February this year, it launched TimbeReality to provide a dedicated virtual reality platform for Malaysian-made timber and furniture products to potential buyers, with a total of 41 companies applying to participate in the programme as of June.
Focusing on succession planning in the timber industry is the Young Entrepreneur Society (YES), which is designed to prepare both founder and successor in a family business for a leadership transition to the next generation. As of July 31, 26 industry members have participated in YES.
MTC also rolled out the Engineer Placement and Internship Programme (EPIP) in March, where engineers are given training for industry assimilation in factories to boost production capacities and enhance automation.
“EPIP has been well received by companies in the timber industry,” he said, noting that 38 companies registered, 135 graduates from 10 universities have applied where 63 candidates were shortlisted.
For the first batch that concluded in May, there were 15 engineers selected for on-job training in 14 companies. Whereas for the internship programme, there were 373 applications received from undergraduates, with 20 interns accepted for the programme as of June 2021.
In addition, MTC introduced Smart Manufacturing Consulting (SMC), which assists companies in implementing automation and digitalisation based on their priorities, processes and workforce. It also provides assistance and mentoring for their transformation journey.
Another new initiative developed by MTC is the Digital Marketing Entrepreneurship Programme (DMEP) to provide training and coaching to Malaysian timber-based companies in effectively marketing products and services on digital platforms.
He shared, “MTC has also helped many companies to move onto e-platforms and keep their business engagements intact through webinars, virtual dialogues and business-to-business (B2B) sessions.”
This year, MTC has so far organised eight webinars on “Online Advertising” with more than 560 participants: two virtual trade dialogues with counterparts from Bangladesh, Mauritius and Seychelles and five online B2B sessions with importers from India, Qatar, UAE, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
And as of June 2021, exports of timber and timber products stood at RM11.6bil, which was an increase of 21% over the same corresponding period in 2020.
Doing its part to help the country move onto the next phase of the National Recovery Plan, MTC has set up the vaccination centre in Olak Lempit in Banting, Selangor, as an industry-wide programme to expedite mass vaccination among workers from the timber-based sector.
MTC provides a subsidy of RM30 per vaccine for each to offset vaccination cost for 10,000 factory workers through this programme.
The Vaccination Programme for the Agricommodity Sector (VACOMS) at PPVIN@Olak Lempit, which began on July 28, has already seen 190 companies registered and well over 10,000 workers from the timber-based sector vaccinated when it ceases operations on Sept 6.
With the national vaccination initiative aiming to fully vaccinate 80% of the adult population and obtaining herd immunity by year-end, MTC is confident that the industry will have a relatively strong start to 2022.
“Our industry is resilient and will rebound strongly in 2022.
“Timber-based products are fetching good prices with the United States in its 11-month timber boom, while Australian timber prices have risen nearly 200% due to lack of supply and high demand.
“If Malaysia is able to achieve herd immunity early and factories can ramp up production, we can capitalise on this strong demand,” he said.
There is also demand for commercial and flexible plywood and finger-jointed laminated board and fibreboard in India, while some Middle Eastern and African countries will see a healthy increase in the construction industry’s growth in 2022, along with backlogged work delayed by the pandemic.
When it comes to sustainability, he noted, “Countering attacks by non-governmental organisations have over the years metamorphosed into valuable dialogues.
“MTC sees its position within the trade and its proximity with the government as a strength and opportunity to further enhance the competitiveness of the Malaysian timber industry in the sustainability aspect, by improving corporate governance and being receptive to the sustainable development agenda.”
MTC is continuously undertaking various engagement programmes with stakeholders and publicity campaigns to create awareness on sustainable forest management practices among industry players, alongside working together with the Malaysian Timber Certification Council to encourage industry players to obtain the chain of custody certification under the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme.
“It is also to send the message that timber harvested from sustainably managed forests helps address climate change by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, as the carbon is imprisoned in the wood,” he stressed.
MTC is also encouraging the timber sector to embrace green technology by expanding its assistance programme via a green incentive for the purchase and installation of solar photovoltaic systems.
He explained, “Not only will it reduce the monthly energy cost and shield from future electricity tariff hikes, but it will also help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and reduce fossil fuel dependency.”