Situation

$100M+ subsidiary of $2.5B public minerals and metals company serving the global construction, steel working, automotive and electronics industries. Company’s mineral processing centers were located in Western Europe and the US with geographically restricted raw material sourcing from mines in Australia, South Africa and the US. All other minerals processing competitors were similarly geographically located and sourced. Company was supporting tremendous growth in ASEAN with materials sourced from Australia, shipped to Western Europe for processing and shipped back to customers in the regions. Delivery times, inventory levels and margins were all challenged due to the logistics of moving high density materials around the globe. There was also a significant commercial opportunity to establish the first minerals processing base of any significance in the Pacific region making it difficult for others to compete without making a similar commitment.

Action

Company previously acquired land and received an approval to apply for manufacturing license in Malaysia. Once resident on the ground in Malaysia, received siting objections due to low level of radioactivity inherent in the minerals being processed and used for decades in the construction industry. Successfully managed through the manufacturing licensing process and received siting approval. Constructed and commissioned a 40,000 SF greenfield minerals processing facility from the ground up on budget within 11 months of project start up. Additional infrastructure capacity was installed to support the doubling of the business with further future investment. Recruited and developed local commercial, finance and operations team and transitioned full operating responsibility to the local team within 36 months of arriving in country.

Result

The Malaysia facility captured significant market share immediately upon commissioning and ran to full capacity within the first year of operation. It was the most profitable of 10+ similar factories within the parent organization within the first two years of operation. Further capacity additions over the next several years allowed for the consolidation of other network operations which were high cost or no longer geographically critical. The facility remains in operation today, over 20 years later.