TKI Malaysia sets sales target of RM2b annually

TANAKA Kikinzoku International Malaysia Sdn Bhd (TKI Malaysia), a Malaysian unit of Tanaka Holdings Co Ltd, has targeted annual sales of RM2 billion in the next few years, banking on its full-scale operation in the country.
Its managing director Kentaro Hiruma said TKI Malaysia’s sales target is about 4.5 per cent of Tanaka Group’s global sales target.
“We consider TKI Malaysia as one of the main contributors to Tanaka Group’s earning due to high growth expectation of Malaysian economy in advance,” he said.
Early this month, Tanaka Holdings announced the setting up of the full-scale operation of TKI Malaysia in Penang.
TKI Malaysia was incorporated as a local subsidiary in April this year in order to serve local customers in Penang and Ipoh.
 “Before TKI Malaysia’s settlement, Tanaka Kikinzoku International K.K. Singapore branch was taking care of our customers in Malaysia.
“Our main customers by now are in the hard disc and semiconductor fields,” Hiruma said.
He said that the full-scale operations of TKI Malaysia would help the group expand its business in Malaysia, especially for light emitting diodes (LEDs) and automotive-related fields, such as power packages.
He said TKI Malaysia also trains the local personnel, so that they would be able to run TKI Malaysia in the future.
Asked whether Tanaka Holdings will set up a manufacturing facility in Malaysia to produce Tanaka’s precious metal materials, Hiruma said TKI Malaysia is currently located in the facility of one of Tanaka’s gold bonding wire factory in Penang — called Tanaka Electronics Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
Earlier in a statement, Tanaka Holdings said it aimed to increase sales of Tanaka’s metal materials products in Malaysia from RM84 million to RM120 million a month by next year, following the start of the full-scale operation.
“Speedy sell is possible for all industrial precious metal materials handled by Tanaka Precious Metals, such as semiconductor materials in Penang and Ipoh, where semiconductor industries like automotive and LEDs are prosperous, while establishing roots with Japanese and multinational companies operating in Malaysia,” Tanaka Holdings said.
The company also indicated that it plans to increase share in power semiconductor materials and copper bonding wires.
In particular, it said demand is substantially increasing in Malaysia, not only for automotive devices and industrial equipment, which require a large electric current, but also power electronics such as high-luminance LEDs.
Tanaka Holdings also said that the industry has been requiring the implementation of lead-free electronic components.
In this regard, TKI Malaysia will conduct research and development and sales with lead-free silver paste used as power semiconductor adhesive as its main product. By focusing on local customers, it aims to expand sales channels of various industrial precious metal products in Malaysia.