PETALING JAYA: Federal Furniture Holdings Bhd has ambitious plans to penetrate China and take advantage of the rising affluence of its 1.3


billion populace once its plant comes onstream by the third quarter of this year. 

Federal Furniture, which now has a plant in Banting, would manufacture fixtures from its factory in Qingdao, China, managed by its wholly-owned subsidiary Qingdao Federal Furniture Industry Ltd. 

Besides reaping market opportunities and serving clients moving there, the plant was strategically located in Northeast China to serve Korea and Japan. 

“The plant there would enable the company to capture the growth and huge potential in China and contribute to Federal Furniture’s sales and bottomline from next year,” managing director Choy Wai Hin, said yesterday. 

The company was now in the process of installing machinery for the plant covering 65,000 sq ft with an initial investment of US$165,000 to be increased to about US$3mil within the next two years. 

As for its Banting plant, Choy said its annual turnover of RM18mil could increase to RM25mil when the company reached full capacity. 

With these developments, the company’s future looks more optimistic more so having successfully completed its comprehensive debt restructuring scheme and having regularised its financial condition. 

Choy said Federal Furniture’s next mission would be to grow its top-line and bottom-line by implementing a three-pronged strategy covering the immediate, medium and long term to raise its performance and financial standing. 

Federal Furniture offers specialised commercial shop fixtures such as food service stations, merchandising counters for retailers, jewellery display cases for jewellers, book shelves, clothes display racks, CD display tower in music stores and food kiosks. 

Among its completed projects are the Malaysian Petroleum Club worth RM22mil, Securities Commission headquarters worth RM5.8mil, Hotel Maya RM14.3mil, Istana Alam Shah RM5mil and the Istana Melawati in Putrajaya worth RM3.5mil. 

Choy said Federal Furniture was eyeing more significant business projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan as well as the Iskandar Development Region and the Sentosa Island project in Singapore, including opportunities arising from the current upturn in the local construction industry. 

As for its mid-term strategy, he said the company would capitalise on the re-engineered part of the export business, which has been the star division for the past three years, chalking up a 15% growth annually. – Bernama