LiSEC & Kong Weng: long-time companions in an emerging market

Mutual trust, good communication and a common openness to each other's needs: a good, long-term customer relationship has many cornerstones. Also essential here are supporting each other in achieving economic goals and underpinning entrepreneurial development over a period of decades – in particular in an emerging market.

Mr Ng Kok Cheong gained his first experience in glass processing in his father's company. Back then, work was still carried out manually using a diamond cutter, and it was from this time that Mr Ng Kok Cheong acquired a sensitivity for glass as a material. He now runs his own successful company with 60 employees, Kong Weng Glass, in Meru, Malaysia, 23 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur. The entrepreneur fully utilises the opportunities afforded by emerging markets in conjunction with automated machine production and his heart beats for the technologies of the future.

LISEC QUALITY IMPRESSES AT GLASSTEC

Contact between Mr. Ng Kok Cheong and LiSEC was made for the first time at glastec 1988 in Düsseldorf.

In 1988, LiSEC exhibited a GFB cutting table on its stand and showed samples of the glass cut by the machine: a trim cut from 19 mm thick glass with a section length of 25-30 mm / cut length of 300 mm. The informative discussion from back then remains a vivid memory for Mr. Ng Kok Cheong to this day: "The LiSEC team is passionate about its products and solutions. You could tell that in the conversation even back then. I was fascinated by the functionality and glass processing quality of the system presented, and I can still recall how impressed I was by the glass sample on display and the machine."

KONG WENG FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

Kong Weng manufactures glass products from flat glass processing and mirror processing over a production area encompassing 4,300 m². Furthermore, the company offers various production processes – from bending and tempering small glass to water jet cutting and glazing solutions.

At the heart of production lie the LiSEC cutting systems: a GFB-37/26, which was purchased in 1997 shortly after significant expansion of the production area. The company's strong maintenance culture means that the cutting table can still be fully utilised. "The machine is in such good condition, it could be displayed in a LiSEC museum," reveals Mr. Ng Kok Cheong. Since 2020, the Base-Cut 3726 has also increased production capacity at Kong Weng, meaning that the company's specialisation in the processing of flat glass can be realised even more effectively.

SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES: TAKING THE STEP TOWARDS AUTOMATION

Glass is a sensitive material that, when processed manually in production plants, brings with it qualitative sources of error such as incorrect dimensions, time delays and the possibility of breakage. The manual processing of glass requires higher tolerances and processing allowances, and also brings with it risks of injury for employees.

"If you've worked with glass manually and, in particular, if you have cut it then you know how difficult it is. You need to have a feel for the glass in the truest sense of the word," says Mr Ng. "Things often go wrong and of course you are nowhere near as fast as with machine processing. I am of the opinion that you should always make the most of the technical options available to you. You need to have the confidence to take the next step – with a partner like LiSEC that you can rely on. And such investments are important in order to assert yourself in an emerging market, fully utilise the opportunities and satisfy your customers."

KONG WENG'S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: ADAPTABILITY AND DELIVERY RELIABILITY

Over the years, Kong Weng's business model has changed time and again to meet the demands of the market. The focus has shifted from building glazing to furniture and interior solutions. For a period of five years now, the focus has been on glass for microwaves, refrigerators, freezers, electrical glass and control panels.

With sales of USD 3.5 million, Mr. Ng Kok Cheong and his company have a clear priority: delivery reliability. "And that is also the reason why we have invested in a second LiSEC cutting system despite limited space. If we can't supply our customers on time and with high quality products, our customers can't deliver either. This results in a vicious circle of dissatisfaction that we want to avoid at all costs," says Mr Ng. "Customer satisfaction is the key to success. Many people do not fully understand how to run a company; their goal is to make a profit. But profit alone cannot be the goal. The aim must be to do a good job – in other words, to satisfy the customer."

A STRONG PARTNER FOR THE FUTURE

LiSEC will also play a role at Kong Weng in the future: a replacement for the GFB cutting table is being considered, in order to steer in the direction of strategic future goals with full production capacity. "Collaboration with LiSEC is outstanding. LiSEC is represented worldwide and the LiSEC team makes it easy to feel well looked after and supported. If we need anything, our point of contact Johari Amir Hafiiz is always there for us and gives us expert advice."