GEORGE TOWN: AT Systematisation Bhd’s new RM15mil plant in Bayan Lepas, scheduled to start production at this month’s end, is expected to play a significant role in boosting revenue for fiscal year 2016 ending next February.

Group executive director Mak Siew Wei told StarBiz that the new plant – the group’s third – was equipped to produce about 12,000 precision tooling components per month, compared with about 8,000 produced monthly by the two existing AT plants in Bayan Lepas.

“The monthly output of the new plant, which has a market value of RM2mil, will gradually be ramped up to 15,000 per month by fiscal year 2017, based on the feedback from our existing and new customers,” he said.

Mak said the group was now in advanced stages of securing orders from customers involved in the oil and gas, medical device, textile and electronics businesses.

The group is now in the final stages of securing orders from a Swiss-based textile machinery company to produce precision components used in the equipment, according to Mak.

“We are also in talks with oil and gas multinational corporations to produce parts for their oil extraction, exploration and services equipment. We have also received new orders from an existing customer in the medical device business.

“These new businesses will generate about 20% to 30% of the revenue for financial year 2016,” he said.

The new plant will have a production floor space of 14,000 sq ft and have 140 workers.

Moving ahead, Mak said the group was planning to diversify into businesses that would enable AT to tap its engineering design capabilities.

“We are now concentrated on manufacturing precision parts. Another business segment that AT can do well is in the engineering design area. We will approach, for example, glove equipment manufacturers to provide innovative engineering solutions to enhance the performance of their glove manufacturing processes.

“Such collaboration could involve designing a whole new glove manufacturing system for the local glove industry,” he said.

Mak said that after being in the red for the past three years, the group was expected to be profitable in the financial year ended February 2015.

“Based on the group’s nine-month results for fiscal year 2015, we are confident of returning to the black,” Mak added.

For the nine months of fiscal year 2015, the group posted a net profit of RM1.2mil on a turnover of RM18.5mil, compared with RM127,000 and RM16.6mil achieved in the previous year’s corresponding period.

On the RM19.68mil raised from the rights issue of 196 million shares, the group had already utilised RM17mil for loan repayment, working capital and financing the new plant.

To-date, the group has invested about RM26mil for its three Bayan Lepas facilities.

source:The star