TR 15063 ABE Composites Australia Final Report · Composites Australia undertook an Asian Business Engagement (ABE) project, funded by the ... This made presentation of a coherent

© COPYRIGHT 2015 Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures Limited (CRC‐ACS). This report may not be copied, reproduced or published in any manner unless permission has been obtained in writing from the CRC‐ACS Chief Executive Officer.

TR 15063

Asian Business Engagement – Mission

Report and Recommendations

Andrew Beehag and Kerryn Caulfield

June 2015

Commercial‐in‐Confidence

This Activity received funding from Austrade as part of the Asian Business Engagement Plan. The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for any information

or advice contained herein.

TR 15063 Commercial‐in‐Confidence Revision 0

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Summary Composites Australia undertook an Asian Business Engagement (ABE) project, funded by the Australian Trade Commission. The project aim was to establish export market opportunities in Malaysia and Indonesia in the market sectors of aerospace, automotive, ground transportation, infrastructure and oil & gas. A scoping mission identified that infrastructure in Malaysia was a major opportunity, with supplementary opportunities in automotive and oil & gas. Indonesia had oil & gas and marine as potential opportunities, with both contingents on legislative or other reform. A full mission to Indonesia was not conducted due to external events in early 2015, and the reticence of Australian delegates. A mission to Malaysia of Australian businesses in June identified multiple opportunities for delegates, primarily in the infrastructure industry and also the supply of advanced material inputs. A summary of findings included a range of success factors that helped an SME dominated industry find market opportunities through the targeted approach of the ABE project. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the many staff in Austrade across Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore who have contributed to the ABE project. In particular the authors would like to thank Vivien Lim, who worked diligently with Composites Australia to help shape the direction of the project, as well as addressing the complex requirements of multiple sector capability presentation. We are highly appreciative of her considerable investment in making this project a success. Contributions from the mission delegates and their insights during the mission are greatly appreciated, as well as the contribution to the scoping mission from Rodney Thomson and Andre Duarte from ACS Australia


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Table of Contents

Summary ................................................................................................................ i

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... i

1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 1

2 Development of the Asian Business Engagement Project ........................ 1

2.1 Addressing Needs of Austrade and Composites Australia ............................................ 1

2.2 Summary of Australian Composites Industry .................................................................. 2

2.3 Industry Capability Report ................................................................................................. 3

3 Scoping Activities ......................................................................................... 4

3.1 Summary of Visits and Opportunities ............................................................................... 4

3.2 Attraction of Australian Composites Industry ................................................................. 6

3.3 Decision on Indonesia Mission .......................................................................................... 7

4 Malaysia Mission ........................................................................................... 7

4.1 DK Composites .................................................................................................................... 8

4.2 CTRM (Composite Technology Research Malaysia) ..................................................... 10

4.3 Construction Industry Development Board .................................................................... 12

4.4 MIGHT ................................................................................................................................. 14

4.5 DEFTECH ............................................................................................................................ 16

4.6 Lend Lease ......................................................................................................................... 17

4.7 PROTON ............................................................................................................................. 18

4.8 Master Builders Association of Malaysia ....................................................................... 19

4.9 SPAN ................................................................................................................................... 20

4.10 Leighton Contractors ........................................................................................................ 21

5 Evaluation of the ABE Project .................................................................... 22

5.1 Overview of Mission .......................................................................................................... 22

5.2 Success Factors within the ABE Project ........................................................................ 22

Appendix A Contact Listing from Trade Mission ........................................ 24


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1 Introduction Composites Australia secured an Asian Business Engagement (ABE) Grant in July 2014, aiming to showcase new composites transformative technologies in Malaysia and Indonesia. The grant objectives included the exploration and five separate industries (Aerospace, Automotive, Ground Transportation, Infrastructure and Oil & Gas). The project was conducted in multiple phases: a first phase with interaction involving Austrade personnel in Sydney, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta to establish a viable export ready business; a scoping mission incorporating visits to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia; an Australian development phase to attract leading composites businesses to join the mission; and finally a mission to Malaysia (following a decision not to proceed with a mission to Indonesia) to promote opportunities previously established in the scoping mission.

2 Development of the Asian Business Engagement Project

2.1 Addressing Needs of Austrade and Composites Australia Initial discussions highlighted the need to provide a full brief on the capabilities of the composites sector to Austrade. Austrade’s preference is for solutions marketing as opposed to capability marketing) and also evidence of being “export ready” in order to proceed. This included reference to Austrade’s International Readiness Indicator, with particular focus on a clearly defined selling proposition for the product or service. Austrade’s experience with the aerospace industry also dictated a push for relevant international certifications. This latter requirement was a challenge for some companies in the composites industry, many of which grew by material and process innovation first and credentials second. Many businesses also supplied multiple sectors including those with no certification requirements at all. The basic challenge is that composites as an industry has grown out of a material technology and engineering capability, rather than being contained within a more traditional market vertical. There are many successful composite businesses that have thrived by being generalists supplying a number of end markets. This nimble business model is particularly effective during downturns in the economy however can be challenging for international marketing. In addition, there were several sectors in which composites products were not the focus, instead composites engineering services were an export solution. For example, in infrastructure it is appropriate to sell a composite bridge, which is manufactured and installed as an end product. By contrast in automotive it was imperative to sell lightweighting, which encompassed a range of services to develop the design, manufacturing and productionisation of metal replacement components. This made presentation of a coherent package to Austrade and overseas visit targets a challenge. Following initial discussions, Austrade engaged with Composites Australia on a series of presentations of the five target sectors identified within the project. The purpose was both to refine the pitch for the upcoming mission, as well as provide education to Austrade personnel within the missions on what could be presented to engage local organisations for the mission. The briefings provided examples of solutions focus and marketplace success in the relevant sectors to Austrade. The briefings also helped to establish the likely pitch within the sector, particularly positioning within the value chain, regulatory requirements that may need to be met, and pointers to companies that were likely to provide the final products and services. This format of briefing continued through the mission. Pictorial and brief description



documents were provided to Austrade as a means of attracting organisations in the target market to a meeting, identifying companies that would be able to engage in the target market.

2.2 Summary of Australian Composites Industry Australia’s composites industry, like many sectors of manufacturing, is dominated by SMEs. This shaped the approach to much of the mission, in particular the approach to business opportunity development and business attraction to attend the mission. Businesses were considered within the following market sectors.

2.2.1 Aerospace

Australia’s aerospace composites industry is dominated in size by one major Tier 1 supplier - Boeing Aerostructures Australia. Two major additional players build components for helicopters (Airbus Group Composites) and defence aircraft (Quickstep). Defence work is additionally manufactured by Marand in Australia, mainly for the Joint Strike Fighter. General aviation operations in Australia tend to have little composites usage. The industry is relatively mature and has a depth of skills in toolmaking, design, manufacture and certification of composite structures. Technology and capability development is also strong, distributed amongst organisation such as CRC-ACS (which incorporates industry and university capability), CSIRO and Boeing Research and Technology.

2.2.2 Automotive

Australia’s automotive industry in general is not a sophisticated user of composite materials, with high composites use limited to exotic sports car manufacturers (e.g. Bolwell) and application to the motorsport and aftermarket products. However the international automotive industry has been more aggressively seeking lightweighting solutions in the past five years, meaning that Australian automotive expertise can be combined with composites expertise to forge a new market in a potentially high growth industry. Australia’s major car manufacturers have announced their withdrawal from Australian manufacture over 2016 and 2017. At the same time, Australia has a diverse component supply industry, some of which have strong expertise in the application of composites and most of which have a strong desire to engage with Asia.

2.2.3 Ground Transportation

The ground transportation industry can be broadly divided into trucks, bus/coach and rail. In Australia, both truck and bus/coach industries have been moderately high users of composites, particularly in exterior panels, interior panels and other similar structures. International trends to have major structure from composites, particularly in the bus industry, have not been followed. It may therefore be argued that Australia is not a technology leader in these fields; however it does have highly competent companies who manufacture quality articles. The rail industry has traditionally trailed international leaders (e.g. in Europe) in the adoption of composites, to some extent this has recently shifted particularly in the production of light rail products.

2.2.4 Infrastructure

Australian infrastructure use of composites is divided into three classes. A first class, including pipe manufacture companies such as RPC, are well established in the infrastructure



market and have been supplying to the market for decades. A second innovative class, including BAC Advanced Composites Technologies and Wagners, are supplying new products such as rapid installation road bridges and walkways, as well as specialised products – in the case of BAC this includes structural piles, in Wagners’ case these include structural members for electrical power transmission. A third class addresses the use of composites for infrastructure repair; this is embryonic at present but has the potential for extremely high growth where opportunities can be opened. This field is also the subject of technology development interest in Australia

2.2.5 Oil & Gas

Australia has specialist composite manufacturers in the Oil & Gas sector (notably Matrix in the supply of buoyancy systems), and a level of competence in the use of composites for corrosion prevention and moderate strengthening of structures. Like the infrastructure industry, composites repair is embryonic (in key areas this is also true internationally) but has the potential for extremely high growth.

2.3 Industry Capability Report Austrade recommended the development of industry capability document based on aerospace industry capability directory. In undertaking this task, Composites Australia engaged a specialist for four months who consulted with CRC-ACS and composites industry representatives on the form, content and delivery of an information request. Draft forms were subjected to industry testing through Composites Australia members. A finalised information request began a state by state rollout, from January 2015; beginning with Victoria. The information request identifies the company by detail, overview, capabilities and processes, type (i.e. manufacturer, consultant, R&D), sector, certifications/accreditations and unique selling propositions. In total more than 160 points of data are collected on each company. This data is compiled, sorted and cleaned into usable and useful information; to communicate the story and capabilities of each company. Extensive effort was made to engage with the industry throughout the information gathering and collation phases of the project. Approximately 950 companies have been contacted to submit information for the Australian Composites Capability Directory. This engagement was undertaken to ensure an accurate and robust representation of individual companies as well as the industry as a whole. Modelled off of the Aerospace industry capability directory, the Australian Composites Capability Directory contains a series of individual company profile pages, which detail their strengths and capabilities. Submissions were sorted considering their export readiness. These individual company profile pages are supported by a matrix at the beginning of the document. This matrix is used to direct users to product, process and service capabilities of interest. Drafted company profile pages were sent back to all companies through a stringent review and approval process, so as to ensure accuracy of representation of each company. A graphic designer was engaged to increase the professionalism and presentation of the capability directory, ensuring a high quality finished product. The directory currently lists 125+



organisations involved with the Australian composites sector.

3 Scoping Activities

3.1 Summary of Visits and Opportunities Composites Australia conducted a scoping mission in two parts over November and December 2014, with visits to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. A detailed report (CRC-ACS TR15006) has been produced and disseminated to Austrade and selected composites industry businesses. The present report will contain only summary findings and analysis. The scoping missions were undertaken and led by CRC-ACS. This allowed the scoping mission personnel to engage with local government bodies and industries representing both Australian industry and a leading exponent of composites technology. Also present on the mission was a representative of ACS Australia. This company (formed by CRC-ACS in 2008) provides engineering and technical expertise to companies wishing to use composites in new applications. Having ACS Australia on the scoping mission provided a credible base for discussing how composites were relevant to various sectors, including when there was no prior experience of composites in the target market. Following discussion and agreement with Austrade, the scoping mission was also used to reduce the number of focus sectors within the full mission. Having five major market sectors, and needing to attract businesses from each of these sectors, was likely to lead to a mission with a confused and diluted message, more likely to promote capability than offer solutions. The scoping mission to Malaysia (also incorporating Singapore and engagement at the JEC Asia exhibition) met with seven organisations. This series of meetings identified several opportunities for Australian companies, as shown in Table 1. Colour coding within the table is used to indicate the strength of opportunity, with a vivid green showing a strong opportunity, and with pink and deeper shades of red showing decreasing likelihood of success. In summary a sector coloured in green would be a viable focus of the subsequent mission, with no further work on those sectors shown in red.

Table 1: Summary of opportunities by sector in Malaysia

Aerospace • No specific opportunities for composites • Ambition for MRO but not yet realised

Automotive • Potential to engage PROTON in lightweighting technology

• Relies on Australian companies supplying cost-effective technologies

Ground Transportation • Opportunities likely to be sporadic, not likely to be influenced by a trade mission

Infrastructure • Identified interest in prefabricated bridges (political, business and technical interest)

• Broader interest in composites infrastructure feasible through identifying a flagship project and managing follow-on



• Additional interest possible in infrastructure repair technology

• Significant development work required but market potential very large

Oil & Gas • Not pursued during scoping mission due to potential for confusion with PETRONAS engagement in CRC-ACS

A significant success factor in Malaysia was engagement with the head of the Malaysian Composites Association (PIK), Habibur Rahman Ibrahim. Habibur sat as an advisor in key institutions such as the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT). More than any company personnel in the meetings, Habibur was able to function as product champion, bringing credibility to the adoption of composites, and internal champion, acting on the side of Malaysian organisations and recommending positive engagement with Australia. Fortuitously, Habibur saw engagement with Australian composites companies as a pathway to building the fortunes of the Malaysian composites industry through profile raising, and had sufficient industry knowledge to understand how a bold new product (such as a composite vehicular or pedestrian bridge) could be realistically targeted by a credible Australian company in conjunction with local businesses and authorities. Malaysia in summary provided strong opportunities for Australian businesses due to several identified factors. It was relatively easy for an Australian company to do business in Malaysia, with factors including similar population size, highly multicultural population, shared legal principles, and a high use of English. Malaysia’s very close association with Australia, including having many senior executives educated in Australia, was an added advantage. Finally Malaysia had traditionally focused on building its own industry in some sectors, which relatively recently have opened up to co-investment and joint opportunities. This provided a potential “first mover advantage” for Australian businesses even where their products did not have a particular advantage over offerings from other nations. In summary, infrastructure was the strongest sector in Malaysia for targeting, with some potential for engagement in automotive and oil & gas. No further focus was placed on aerospace and ground transportation. The scoping mission to Indonesia met with ten organisations, with a summary of opportunities provided in Table 2.

Table 2: Summary of opportunities by sector in Indonesia

Aerospace • No specific opportunities for composites • Ambition for MRO but not yet realised

Automotive • Strong existing ties to Japanese manufacturers • Low likelihood for external source of

technology/supply

Ground Transportation • Composites may be part of a broader solution, but the broader solution would need to be identified and presented



Infrastructure • Focus on existing industry and existing practices only

Oil & Gas • Opportunities present based on providing cost effective, market ready solutions

• Intended as an area of development for Austrade

Marine • Specific interest of President Joko Widodo • Proposed tax changes provide potential “first

mover advantage” • Potential for new industry establishment,

production of thousands of boats p.a. plus substantial MRO industry growth

Indonesia in summary is a comparatively challenging environment for Australian businesses. A high existing level of foreign engagement (particularly from Japan) meant that Australian solutions needed to be world leading or otherwise highly compelling to gain a foothold. Long lead times were likely in establishing new business, which was not particularly compatible with Australia’s SME base within the composites industry. Additionally, sectors such as infrastructure that held high promise in Malaysia were all but written off in Indonesia due to entrenched business practices and the likelihood of corruption. Specific actions of new President to reduce corruption in 2014 were significant but sector specific e.g. in oil & gas (external opinion gained later indicated that the promise of ongoing reform in Indonesia had significantly diminished by mid-2015, potentially undermining sector selections made in 2014). The positive within the market was the massive population with increasing affluence, providing opportunity to engage in Indonesian industry without displacing Australian jobs. These factors led to the selection of oil & gas as the sector with potential the chosen five sectors. In addition, an opportunity in marine was identified based on the potential to open a new domestic market following interest by the Indonesian President. In discussions through the 2015 year this latter opportunity was suggested for putting on hold, waiting a time for a more positive engagement opportunity.

3.2 Attraction of Australian Composites Industry A presentation was made to Composites Australia members in February 2015, consisting of a webinar summary of the scoping mission and discussion on opportunities for Australian businesses. The need for a solutions focus was highlighted in the presentation, and companies with demonstrated market credibility with composites solutions encouraged to register for the mission. A similar presentation was made at the Composites Australia and CRC-ACS Conference and Exhibition in April 2015, also incorporating information from the 2014 Price Waterhouse Coopers report “Passing Us By” to encourage a change in mentality towards export in the sector. While the Australian composites industry has worthy export potential and has some standout export performers, a majority of businesses are domestically focused. The ABE project itself was a highly significant first step for Composites Australia in putting export thinking into the composites industry and commencing the process of identifying both opportunities and creating success stories which would encourage the industry to think more broadly.



The industry attraction process also flushed out the market sectors of true strength. Amongst the sectors highlighted as main opportunities, Australia’s installation of composites bridges, pipelines and other building infrastructure is highly advanced and competitive in a world market. By comparison its automotive sector is slipping behind other countries in the rush to lightweighting technologies. The oil & gas sector use of composites is embryonic across the world, and there was difficulty locating Australian more than one or two companies with sufficient credibility to sell solutions within the constraints of a trade mission. Noting the limited timeframe of the ABE project and need to ensure continuity of opportunity beyond the 2014-15 financial year (in particular when resources from CRC-ACS would no longer be available), Composites Australia also engaged in dialogue with other organisations. Discussions with AIMEX on marine opportunities in Indonesia were positive, and led to positive information sharing and discussion between AIMEX, Composites Australia and the Austrade mission in Indonesia, and worthy prospects for these organisations to take advantage of the identified opportunity at an appropriate time. Similar discussions were held with AutoCRC, due to knowledge of their activities in the Malaysian automotive sector and a desire by Composites Australia not to confuse messages from Australia. While engagement was positive at the CEO level of AutoCRC it diminished quickly with other personnel, leaving the mission without the ability to leverage existing relations in Malaysia within this sector, and instead having to sidestep them.

3.3 Decision on Indonesia Mission During development of the trade missions, the spectre of a difficult diplomatic relation was arising between Indonesia and Australia over the execution of two members of the Bali Nine. While notionally this was a matter that was contained on a government level, likewise it was highly publicised in Australia. It was also volatile from the business perspective, in that Australian leaders and/or the Australian media could at any time make statements that inflamed relations with Indonesia, where Australian businesses and nationals could be tainted by association. In this environment, where Composites Australia was requesting that businesses invest in a trade mission with both time and coverage of travel costs, it became clear that businesses saw the timing as highly inopportune. There was also no prospect of extending the timeframe of the project, due to support from CRC-ACS ending in June 2015. Advice was sought from the Austrade personnel and a decision was subsequently made to concentrate on the Malaysian market.

4 Malaysia Mission Ten meetings were held with a range of businesses and government organisations, along with attendance at the Oil & Gas Asia 2015 exhibition and a networking event by Austrade for the oil & gas sector. A list on contacts can be seen in the appendix on page 23. Australian organisations represented on the mission are as follows:

Company Website

Composites Australia www.compositesaustralia.com.au CRC-ACS www.crc‐acs.com

ACS Australia www.acs‐aus.com

Buchanan Advanced Composites www.bac.net.au



RPC Technologies www.rpctechnologies.com.au

Penguin Composites www.penguincomposites.com.au

Regina Glass www.reginaglass.com.au

Colan Australia [email protected] N.J. Robinson www.robo.com.au

Oceania Composites Engineering www.oceaniacomposites.com.au

Risky Business www.riskybizasia.com

4.1 DK Composites

4.1.1 Meeting Summary

Attendees: 1. Habibur Rahman Ibrahim, Executive Director, DK Composites 2. Adzlan Basir, Managing Director, DK Composites 3. Faruq Carr Abdullah, Manager Partner Relations, Roof & Facade 4. Kerryn Caulfield, CEO, Composites Australia 5. Norm Watt, Managing Director, BAC Advanced Composites Technologies 6. Gary Reid, Manager SE Asia, RPC Technologies 7. John van der Woude, Managing Director, Penguin Composites 8. Mark Pontil-Scala, General Manager, Regina Glass Fibre 9. Andrew Beehag, General Manager, CRC for Advanced Composite Structures

DK Composites is a well-established composites company (one of around 60 businesses producing composites in Malaysia), with a broad range of products from marine through to domes for mosques (up to 42m diameter). A significant current contract was the production of 12,000 composites seats for the rail sector, production of which were shown to the mission members during a site tour of the extensive DK facilities. The visit provided the Australian companies with a view of existing Malaysian composites capabilities and work conditions, as well as a candidate for JV operation if relevant projects could be identified.

Figure 1: Singapore ArtScience Museum, with exterior panels supplied by DK Composites.

DK’s briefing to the Australian businesses (conducted by Habibur Ibrahim and Adzlan Basir) included a summary of issues related to doing business in the region. There were considerable opportunities to do business both in Malaysia and the broader set of ASEAN countries, in which Malaysia could be viewed as a business staging point. At the same time fine details of contracts were frequent in changing the economics of projects, a particularly important point



for Australian businesses hoping to compete on cost and potentially trimming margins to achieve this. An example was a contract awarded to DK in Singapore (see Figure 1), where unexpected changes based on a misinterpretation of local immigration laws meant that labour costs rose 500%. At the same time Malaysia’s connection with UAE, Iraq and other Middle East countries was raised, and the potential to secure good contracts with higher margins noted. Habibur is also President of the Composites Industry Association (PIK), and discussed the general environment. He noted that for many years, DK Composites had little or no competition in Southeast Asia but competition was growing. He also separated the main composites players into the categories of technology rich, labour rich with the most successful being both. He discussed “political influence” as a means of doing business in the region, both through high profile people of influence and contact with the relevant government departments. This was noted as a stronger factor than would be found in Australia but not an absolute barrier, more of a note that new business required potential contact and time with people of influence, and an understanding of who had influence in the current political climate. Habibur Ibrahim spent some time aligning Australian business strengths with potential opportunities in the meeting. Mechanisms and potential for building contacts were discussed within the meeting. Identified opportunities include:

• Australian product FireShield produced by Regina Glass Fibre. • Joint venture to make composite domes for Mosques in both Malaysia and Australia • Joint venture to repair Mosque domes in both Malaysia and Indonesia • Composite pedestrian bridges (BAC) – demonstration installation in Sarawak. The

benefits of off-site production and fast installation make these bridges highly suitable for remote areas.

• Utility poles (Penguin Composites)

Figure 2: CA delegation with representatives of DK Composites and Roof & Façade.



Faruq Carr Abdullah represented Roof & Façade, an industry-focused business media and information publisher in the Building and Construction Industry in Asia. It researches, creates, aggregates, licenses, generate technology and heavy engineering content and delivers targeted and analytical content to a broad spectrum of readers within similar and connected industries, through its branded media platforms. It delivers facades training programs, conferences and courses through the AEC Asia Academy. This provides quality workshops and training programmes for the architectural, engineering and construction industry. It collaborates with International bodies in developing curriculum and standards for the certified and non-certified courses. It has also co-organised events with CIDB (see section 4.3) on the development of the construction industry. The interest in composites facades, as well as industry education to expand the use of composites, was of interest to Composites Australia and several of the businesses on the delegation. Identified opportunities include:

• Exchange of industry training programmes • Collaboration in curriculum development • Exchange in key-note speakers • Collaboration on industry standards.

4.1.2 Major Findings

The meeting provided visiting delegates with insight and local contacts who could potentially operate on behalf of the Australian businesses to open local opportunities. The facility at DK Composites was highly suited to local manufacture of Australian engineered designs, allowing the Australian businesses to compete on a cost basis with local Malaysian businesses.

4.1.3 Next Steps

• Australian delegates to follow up individually identified opportunities • KC to exchange training programmes

4.2 CTRM (Composite Technology Research Malaysia)


Attendees: 1. Che Akhma Ismail, CEO, CTRM 2. Roslan Roskan, COO, CTRM 3. Shahrulnizam Bin Ahmad, Head Business Development, CTRM 4. Nor Azham Baharin, Head of Operation & Improvement, CTRM 5. Zulkernine Bin Abd Latip, Head of Division Business Supply Chain, CTRM 6. Yau Kian Min, Manager Business Development Division, HICOM Teck See

Manufacturing Malaysia 7. Kerryn Caulfield, CEO, Composites Australia 8. Norm Watt, Managing Director, BAC Advanced Composites Technologies 9. Gary Reid, Manager SE Asia, RPC Technologies

Barak building composite facade - Melb.



10. John van der Woude, Managing Director, Penguin Composites 11. Mark Pontil-Scala, General Manager, Regina Glass Fibre 12. Andrew Beehag, General Manager, CRC for Advanced Composite Structures

CTRM is Malaysia’s largest manufacturer of composite components for the international aerospace industry, with Airbus as a primary customer. It is a single source and the largest composites component supplier for the Airbus A320 Series Aircraft Wing, covering 20% of the wing surface. Almost 50% of the Airbus A320 aircrafts in service today, around the world, have its wing component made by CTRM. CTRM is also providing engineering design services, composites assemblies, composites R&D, manufacturing of automotive composites structures and manufacturing of defence related equipment, including the Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. CTRM was purchased by DRB HICOM in November 2013, a business with market capitalisation of MYR 4.9 billion, more than 80 operating companies in its stable and a workforce of more than 60,000 employees. This means CTRM has sister companies in which it can pursue future business including defence (DEFTECH) and automotive (PROTON), as well as its traditional aerospace business (currently 95% of its business). CTRM had also clearly overcome difficulties in meeting customer expectations since the last visit of CRC-ACS (August 2013), and under its new ownership and management was producing world class products in aerospace that the mission delegates saw as part of a site tour. Three new autoclaves had been purchased bringing the total number to twelve. As part of a request prior to the meeting, CTRM was interested in discussions with other companies on diversification opportunities, including automotive, defence and infrastructure. Opportunities were discussed between the companies, which were friendly but not likely to lead to immediate opportunities. Potential for building automotive and defence opportunities were anticipated in the visit. A further issue for at least some of the Australian companies was the likelihood of upskilling a competitor, rather than building and gaining a partner. At the same time, CTRM indicated that it had both corporate and political momentum, and therefore was well positioned to undertake new initiatives in composites with Australian involvement. CTRM is also an employer of graduates from the Australian education system, predisposing them to continue engagement. Identified opportunities:

• Australian product FireShield produced by Regina Glass Fibre.

• Utility poles (Penguin Composites) • The supply of autoclaves (the company require four new

autoclaves in 2018)



Figure 3: CA delegation with representatives of CTRM.


CTRM may be a good partner for Australian businesses to enter new markets, however particularly for SME businesses there would be a need to understand how to work with a sizeable and influential local partner. In summary for Australian businesses it may be preferable to continue monitoring CTRM to see where it is investing in diversification, and then assess the value of joining as a supporting partner.

4.2.3 Next Steps

• Australian delegates to correspond with CTRM for future engagement opportunities

4.3 Construction Industry Development Board


Attendees: 1. Ir. Noraini Bahri, General Manager Technology Division, CIDB 2. Sr. Hgh. Hashimah Binti Harun, Head of Innovation Unit, JKR (Depart. of Public

Works) 3. Muhammad Izat Ishak, Assistant Manager International Division, CIDB 4. Nadzhatul Syamiru Usmaiza Othman, Manager Collaboration of CIDBH, CIDB 5. Habibur Rahman Ibrahim, President, PIK (Composites Industry Association) 6. Reuben Foong, Business Development Manager, Austrade 7. Kerryn Caulfield, CEO, Composites Australia 8. Norm Watt, Managing Director, BAC Advanced Composites Technologies 9. Gary Reid, Manager SE Asia, RPC Technologies 10. John van der Woude, Managing Director, Penguin Composites 11. Mark Pontil-Scala, General Manager, Regina Glass Fibre 12. Kevin Armstrong, Director, Risky Business 13. Andrew Beehag, General Manager, CRC for Advanced Composite Structures



CIDB advises government on the application of infrastructure, which can include composites. Composites are new to CIDB but they have a high interest. As part of the meeting JKR (Dept of Public Works) personnel were also invited, making the focus of the meeting both new technology and also skills development. This was helpful to the delegation, as local manufacture of composites products was clearly the preferred method of local introduction. The combined presence of CIDB and JKR also signalled a good approach to coordinating engagement with relevant authorities. The primary aim of presentation to CIDB and JKR was the development of a new industry for composites bridges and other infrastructure. This has been particularly identified by PIK as an opportunity for regions including Sarawak, where infrastructure needs were clear for pedestrian river crossings, and there may be the opportunity for specific funding. Presentations of Australian infrastructure capability were met with great interest. The presented advantages included increased quality through manufacture in a controlled facility, and the ability to reduce disruption through rapid “drop-in-place” delivery of new infrastructure. When discussion focused on implementation of a composites bridge, there was a simultaneous focus on the innovation, training and regulatory requirements for implementation of a composite. In particular the delegation was asked to provide available standards and specifications which would allow more rapid implementation. CIDB recommend and requested the development of a special presentation on composite “drop-in” bridges including the benefits such as non-disruptive installation (from a traffic perspective) and low life-time maintenance. This could also include a life-cycle assessment of using composite technology.

Figure 4: CA delegation with representatives of CIDB and JKR.

A key intermediary in the discussion is the PIK, which is potentially able to foster the ongoing relation between Australian businesses and Malaysian government organisation such as CIDB and JKR. It is expected that a workable business model is to have Australian intellectual



property and capability join with Malaysian manufacturing capability, thereby making the process advantageous for organisations such as PIK. Identified opportunities include:

• Exchange of industry training programmes • Collaboration in curriculum development • Collaboration on industry standards • Opportunity to develop a showcase application for composites – a pedestrian bridge

for the Sarawak region, or similar application


The opportunity for Australian industry to build further interest in composites infrastructure. This will require finding an opportunity to demonstrate technology, as well as a longer program to establish standards and local skills to enable growth of an industry.

4.3.3 Next Steps

• Follow up with further discussions between Composites Australia, Australian industry and CIDB to identify a pathway to implementation of composites infrastructure

4.4 MIGHT


Attendees: 1. Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman, President and CEO, MIGHT 2. Datuk Wan Abd Halim Abd Majid, Consultant (National Composites Centre), MIGHT 3. Dr Khairul Dahri Mohd Aris, Consultant (Maintenance Repair and Overhaul), MIGHT 4. Nur Suraya Mustafar, Programme Executive, MIGHT 5. Habibur Rahman Ibrahim, President, PIK (Composites Industry Association) 6. Kerryn Caulfield, CEO, Composites Australia 7. Norm Watt, Managing Director, BAC Advanced Composites Technologies 8. Gary Reid, Manager SE Asia, RPC Technologies 9. John van der Woude, Managing Director, Penguin Composites 10. Mark Pontil-Scala, General Manager, Regina Glass Fibre 11. Kevin Armstrong, Director, Risky Business 12. Andrew Beehag, General Manager, CRC for Advanced Composite Structures

MIGHT’s role is to enable consensus building and coordination for Industry-Government partnership in high technology. It provides strategic technology inputs for Industry and Government, nurtures technology-based enterprises and entrepreneurship as well as prepares knowledge workers relevant to strategic and high technology industry needs. It is working to collaborate with both the United Kingdom (UK) and Japan in financing projects related to science, technology and innovation (STI) in Malaysia. MIGHT is collaborating with the National Composites Centre, an open-access research, development and innovation centre located in Bristol UK. The British government allocated £4 million a year for five years and the same amount will be matched by the Malaysian government. Several MIGHT personnel in the meeting were due to fly to Bristol on the evening of the meeting. MIGHT are keen to develop a composites cluster in Melaka, named the National Composites Centre and to be a focus for both technology and skills development in composites. Noting



the potential for RPC to establish in Malaysia given their establishment in Indonesia, MIGHT encouraged RPC to apply for assistance from the state of Melaka to establish a facility. The presentation by the delegation was slanted towards research and technology implementation, with a focus on maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in the aerospace industry, technology from Quickstep relevant to both aerospace and automotive sectors, as well as the lessons learned from establishing and running cooperative programs in Australia focused on composites. In particular there was suggestion that MIGHT and the NCC increase focus on non-aerospace applications, including infrastructure. It was clear from the meeting that there were strong and divergent opinions in the Malaysian delegation on this front, and potentially the suggestion will ultimately have little effect. Datuk Wan and Datuk Dr Sulaiman were interested in receiving information on composite training in Australia. The mission encouraged MIGHT to consider funding block release training at PARTEC in Brisbane Queensland.

Figure 5: CA delegation with representatives of MIGHT


MIGHT can be influential in the direction of composites technology adoption, and the delegation was privileged to have the CEO and other representatives present at the meeting. Further collaboration, as was under way with the UK, will require Australian industry to access its own funding in order to participate in collaboration.

4.4.3 Next Steps

• Composites Australia will wait for further contract initiated by MIGHT as appropriate



4.5 DEFTECH


Attendees: 1. Maj. Gen. Dato’ Mahdi Yusof, General Manager Sales Marketing & Legal,

DEFTECH 2. Lt Col Malek Razak Bin Sulaiman, Head of Sales Defence, DEFTECH 3. Shahrulnizam Bin Ahmad, Head of Business Development, CTRM 4. Airul Adiba bin Mohd Any, Head of Commercial, CTRM 5. Kerryn Caulfield, CEO, Composites Australia 6. Norm Watt, Managing Director, BAC Advanced Composites Technologies 7. Gary Reid, Manager SE Asia, RPC Technologies 8. John van der Woude, Managing Director, Penguin Composites 9. Mark Pontil-Scala, General Manager, Regina Glass Fibre 10. Kevin Armstrong, Director, Risky Business 11. Andrew Beehag, General Manager, CRC for Advanced Composite Structures

DEFTECH is a manufacturer of defence vehicles, and principal supplier of these to the Malaysian armed forces. DEFTECH also supplies a small range of specialist vehicles and buses. It is part of the DRB-HICOM group, and therefore has relations with CTRM personnel (who were present at the meeting). Prior to the meeting there was no knowledge of DEFTECH’s interest in the use of composites, but it was anticipated their experience was low. The Australian delegation presented on capabilities in composites, allowing discussion of defence vehicle application as well as additional relevant applications to the military, including lightweight transportable buildings and transportable bridges. The focus on vehicles showed the success of companies like RPC and Quickstep in the development of composites to significantly reduce vehicle weight, in particular on the Thales Hawkei.

Figure 6: CA delegation with representatives of MIGHT

In their discussion on defence vehicles, DEFTECH focused on the utility of composites for defence vehicles. It was noted that Thales had moved to a modular approach in its design, with composites being used for panelling outside the critical survival cell. This meant that



composites were replaceable rather than being required to survive all ballistic events. While likely to be a successful approach, this was also seen as a barrier by DEFTECH, who would have to convince their end customer of the merits of a new design direction. DEFTECH also expressed interest in metal repair by composites, which was a strength of Australia’s in the repair of metallic aircraft and could be applied in the field to specialist steels.


The interest in composites was present in the meeting, but it was clear in the short term that DEFTECH management were not yet willing to discuss the possibilities of composites with their end customer, despite the success of composites in the equivalent Australian market.

4.5.3 Next Steps

• AB to provide information on the DSTO repair system

4.6 Lend Lease


Attendees: 1. Dr Goh Tee Teck (David), Executive Project Manager (TSG), Lend Lease 2. Clarence Boudville, Project Manager, Lend Lease 3. Kerryn Caulfield, CEO, Composites Australia 4. Norm Watt, Managing Director, BAC Advanced Composites Technologies 5. Gary Reid, Manager SE Asia, RPC Technologies 6. John van der Woude, Managing Director, Penguin Composites 7. Mark Pontil-Scala, General Manager, Regina Glass Fibre 8. Kevin Armstrong, Director, Risky Business 9. Andrew Beehag, General Manager, CRC for Advanced Composite Structures

Lend Lease, one of several Australian civil engineering companies with a presence in Malaysia, has been successful in Malaysia in gaining major new developments. A notable recent success is the $2.8 billion Tun Razak Exchange (retail shopping centre, several residential towers and a hotel) in Malaysia's new financial district, which has commenced development in 2015. The representatives of Lend Lease discussed how innovative products were introduced, and there was a clear focus on products versus engineering capability. They had the capacity within projects to bring in new products by establishing performance specifications, bring forward information to educate designers and other engineering staff, and to more generally promote innovation in their products. However this was not unlimited, with cost being a major barrier. For example, modular construction is a very popular development direction in many western countries, but in Malaysia was failing to take hold due to cheap labour rates. As well as discussing the general approach of the Australian mission to infrastructure applications in Malaysia (by visiting CIDB, SPAN, MBAM and other related entities), the delegation presented a number of solutions for heavy construction, pipelines, building facades, as well as ancillary composites including power poles and lightweight bridges. The latter provided an interesting discussion point, with pedestrian bridges across atrium areas inside shopping centres being a potential application. Other discussions were more closely focused on individual company products.




Lend Lease is an example of an implementer and key ally in the uptake of new technology. In the case of Lend Lease there may be significant opportunities which individual businesses can build upon through continued contact and building of relations

4.6.3 Next Steps

• Australian delegates to follow up individually identified opportunities • KC to send Clarence and David copies of the CA magazine

4.7 PROTON


Attendees: 1. Zainal Bin Mohamad Noh, Head Group Technical Procurement, PROTON 2. Haji Azalan Bin Omar, President, PROTON Vendors Association Malaysia 3. Azman Bin Zainal, Senior Manager, Delloyd Industries 4. B.K. Lim, Director, Master Approach 5. Juliana Badli, Business Development Manager, Austrade 6. Kerryn Caulfield, CEO, Composites Australia 7. Norm Watt, Managing Director, BAC Advanced Composites Technologies 8. Gary Reid, Manager SE Asia, RPC Technologies 9. Kevin Armstrong, Director, Risky Business 10. Andrew Beehag, General Manager, CRC for Advanced Composite Structures

PROTON is a leading car manufacturer in Malaysia, one of two major domestic brands (the other is Perodua). Since 2012 PROTON has been owned by DRB-HICOM, as part of a portfolio of automotive component manufacturers and car assemblers. PROTON itself owns Lotus and therefore has a range of automotive products from low-cost cars which have little current use of advanced composites, through to exotic sports cars which have used composites extensively for many years. The Australian delegation was treated to a warm and hospitable welcome to a special supplier session that included the members of the PROTON Vendors Association. The objective of the PVA is to promote organised export programs and channels of request for technical assistance arrangements with overseas manufacturers and to facilitate relationship within the auto components industry and the government agencies. PVA members included PROTON subsidiary suppliers who had been educated in Australia and who had a strong affiliation with Australian made products. Composite products from these suppliers included bumper bars and various injection moulded and stamped products. As the parent company to Lotus, PROTON is involved with the development of the Lotus SUV in a joint venture partnership with Chinese engineering and trading company, Goldstar Heavy. It was said that China's insatiable demand for SUVs may preclude it from being exported to other markets, including those of the UK, Australia and Malaysia. Lotus is already doubling its capacity from 40 to 80 units per week in the near future. The delegate presentation focused primarily on the potential of composites into the future. This included lightweighting approaches with extensive use of carbon fibre composites,



through to the use of sustainable products based on plant fibres. While greater opportunities may be present over time, the immediate focus was on issues related to increasing throughput and maintaining quality.

Figure 7: CA delegation with representatives of PROTON and the PROTON Vendors Association Malaysia.


PROTON may be interested in future opportunities in composites, and is likely to seek engagement of its suppliers in order to achieve these ends. Upskilling of the supply chain is likely to be a necessary step for serious engagement of a company such as PROTON in the future.

4.7.3 Next Steps

• Australian delegates to follow up individually identified opportunities

4.8 Master Builders Association of Malaysia


Attendees: 1. Tan Sri A. K. Nathan, Vice President, MBAM 2. Loh Mei Ling, Executive Director, MBAM 3. Michael Thong, Manager, MBAM 4. Lee Siew Mei, Manager, MBAM 5. Reuben Foong, Business Development Manager, Austrade 6. Norm Watt, Managing Director, BAC Advanced Composites Technologies 7. Kevin Armstrong, Director, Risky Business 8. Andrew Beehag, General Manager, CRC for Advanced Composite Structures



The Master Builders Association of Malaysia is a long established organisation with more than 60 years of operation, and a proud tradition in establishing highly relevant infrastructure bodies (including CIDB) and growing Malaysia’s economy through the construction sector. MBAM indicated that it sees construction and infrastructure intimately tied with the success of the Malaysian economy. The delegation presented information on the potential advantages of composites to the building, construction and infrastructure sectors. Tan Sri Nathan indicated that he was well aware of composites and had worked hard to bring them to application in Malaysia, including a claim that he had spent MYR 7 million promoting their use. His opinion was that the industry was conservative, even where examples of construction with composites had been successfully undertaken overseas. He additionally expressed an interest in viable prefabrication technologies, and the potential to collaborate on training programs relevant to construction with universities and CIDB in the future.


MBAM is potentially a key ally in expanding the use of composites in the Malaysian construction industry, and can be assumed as supportive. However it is unlikely to put more resources into promoting composites until some successful projects are installed in Malaysia.

4.8.3 Next Steps

• Relevant Australian businesses to keep in touch as required

4.9 SPAN


Attendees: 1. Kerryn Caulfield, CEO, Composites Australia 2. Gary Reid, Manager SE Asia, RPC Technologies 3. John van der Woude, Managing Director, Penguin Composites 4. Additional representatives of SPAN

SPAN is a technical and economic regulatory body for the water supply and sewerage services in Peninsular Malaysia and Federal Territories of Putrajaya and Labuan. It is a relatively new department that regulates all entities in the water supply and sewerage services industry including public water supply and sewerage services operators, private water supply and sewerage services operators, water supply and sewerage contractors, permit holders and suppliers of water and sewerage products. SPAN regulates water services in accordance with the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (Act 655). Delegates presented opportunities to engage in supply of products for water and sewage, which have been in use in Australia for decades. The challenges of application in Malaysia were discussed, with a focus on process for becoming a registered supplier. Suppliers of equipment and services for use in water supply and sewerage services in Peninsular Malaysia, Federal Territories of Putrajaya and Labuan are required to list and register standard products with SPAN. Delegates were pointed to documentation on requirements for registering, information on product categories, recognised standards, the certification process and



recognised certification bodies. SPAN advised that the supplier certification process was entirely on-line and took between 5 to 7 working days to receive registration.


The meeting with SPAN was important for opening up information channels with Australian organisations, which had been long capable of supplying to the sector but found difficulty navigating local processes.

4.9.3 Next Steps

• Relevant Australian businesses to keep in touch as required

4.10 Leighton Contractors


Attendees: 1. Dacre Purchase, Strategy and Development Director, Leighton Asia – Pre Contracts

Team 2. Ir.Nanthakumar Sivagurunathan, Engineering Manager, Leighton Asia – Pre Contracts

Team 3. Jose Prabhu, Senior Planner, Leighton Asia – Pre Contracts Team 4. Kerryn Caulfield, CEO, Composites Australia 5. Norm Watt, Managing Director, BAC Advanced Composites Technologies 6. Gary Reid, Manager SE Asia, RPC Technologies 7. John van der Woude, Managing Director, Penguin Composites 8. Mark Pontil-Scala, General Manager, Regina Glass Fibre 9. Kevin Armstrong, Director, Risky Business 10. Andrew Beehag, General Manager, CRC for Advanced Composite Structures

Leighton Contractors is a part of the Leighton group of companies, which originated in Australia and has major presence in Australia and SE Asia in civil construction. Leighton is now part of the Hochtief Group of companies through a majority shareholding, which engages in construction, mining, engineering, public-private partnership (PPP) projects and property development. Operations in SE Asia cover Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. The delegation met the pre-contracts team, potentially a significant positive in securing future business. Example projects included upcoming bids include the Bulacan bulk water supply (130km pipes), Thomson east coast line Singapore, BP Tangguh MRY 7 billion port infrastructure in Indonesia including a 5,000 man camp, an extension to Changi airport in Singapore, KLIA roads and a series of roads in the Philippines up to MYR 1 billion. Leighton also discussed the bidding process, where contractors were first downselected on the basis of an initial bid, with final selection based on a later more detailed bid. This provided a window for innovative, cost saving or enabling technologies and products to be introduced. On this basis, engagement with the pre-contract team is potentially far superior to discussions with general engineering. The delegation presented information on solutions for heavy construction, pipelines, building facades, as well as ancillary composites including power poles and lightweight bridges. Showing a difference in construction projects to Lend Lease, Leighton discussed that building facades tended to be externally specified and were not a leading target for implementation. By



contrast a common theme of several Leighton projects was remote installation. This enabled a conversation on reduced requirements for heavy installation equipment, which is potentially a game changer in remote infrastructure installation. Based on the opportunities, Leighton forwarded a contact in Sydney (General Manager – Research and Technology) for further discussion and to enable the Australian businesses to discuss adoption of their solutions.


The meeting with Leighton Contractors holds significant promise in building new relations that may lead to adoption of composites in areas of clear cost advantage. A significant factor was to understand the nature of tendering and contracting for construction in the region, as a means of enabling new technology introduction.

4.10.3 Next Steps

• Arrange a follow-up meeting with Leighton in Sydney for relevant Australian composites companies

5 Evaluation of the ABE Project

5.1 Overview of Mission The strategy of a scoping mission, followed by further research on both domestic and target market application, followed by a mission with relevant Australian businesses, proved to be successful in key sectors. Following the completion of the ABE project, many follow-up leads are being pursued by Australian businesses related to opportunities uncovered in the project. The business negotiations from this point forward are necessarily commercial in confidence, but likewise (with considerable additional work) may open up several million dollars’ worth of additional business to the Australian composites sector.

5.2 Success Factors within the ABE Project It was noted in this report that the Australian composites industry is dominated by SME businesses. The ability of SME companies to several factors were identified which enabled SME businesses to gain from the mission to Malaysia. In summary these are:

• Meeting invitations being sent by Austrade, which opened opportunities otherwise unavailable to SMEs and lent credibility to smaller innovative businesses

• Identification of a local internal champion (in this case Habibur Rahman Ibrahim) who both acted on behalf of Malaysian interests and simultaneously argued for positive engagement with innovative composites businesses

• A value chain approach to engagement, which targeted multiple points along the value chain and sought engagement in complementary areas such as education and standards development

• Keeping the delegation modest and targeted allowed a clear and coordinated message to be delivered, and focused attention on achieving results

• Austrade’s focus on solutions was key to aligning and targeting the message from the Australian delegation, more important was solutions that had been accepted by the Australian market

• Having delegation leaders being industry association representatives (both Composites Australia and CRC-ACS) gave depth to the delegation (despite being small in numbers) and also gave a level of independence to the meeting activities, particularly in the scoping mission where gaining trust was critical



• Having the scoping mission identify key factors (e.g. the desire to see local manufacturing rather than imports, and skills shortages / certification of workers being critical in Malaysia) allowed businesses to target messages and have common themes, strengthening the delegation presentation



Appendix A Contact Listing from Trade Mission

Organisation Title Name Position Austrade Joel Backwell Trade Commissioner

Austrade Rueben Foong Business Development Manager

Austrade Juliana Badli Business Development Manager Behn Meyer - Performance Chemicals John Prineas Regional Director

CIDB Malaysia Nadzhatul Syamiru Usmaiza Othman Manager, Collaboration of CIBD

CIDB Malaysia Ir. Noraini Bahri General Manager, Technology Division

CIDB Malaysia Mohammad Izat Ishak Assistant, International Division CTRM Composites Engineering Sdn Bhd Che Akhma Ismail Group COO/CEO CTRM Composites Engineering Sdn Bhd Airul Adiba Mohd Any Head of Commercial

DEFTECH Maj. Gen. Dato Mahdi Yusof ®

General Manager, Sales Marketing & Legal

DEFTECH Lt. Col Malek Razak Bin Sulaiman Head of Sales Defence

Delloyd Industries (M) Sdn Bhd Azman Bin Zainal

Senior Manager, Group Marketing & Business Development, Auto Parts Div.

DK Composites Snd Bhd Adzlan Basir Managing Director DK Composites Snd Bhd Habibur Rahman Ibrahim Executive Director JKR Public Works Department Malaysia, Training & Innovation Branch Sr HJH Hashimah Binti Harun Head of Innovation Leighton Asia - Pre Contacts Team (SE Asia) Jose Prabhu Senior Planner Leighton Asia - Pre Contacts Team (SE Asia) Dacre Purchase

Strategy & Development Director (SEA)

Leighton Asia - Pre Contacts Team (SE Asia)

Ir. Nanthakumar Sivagurunathan Engineering Manager

Lend Lease Dr. Goh Tee Teck, David Executive Project Manager (TSG) Lend Lease Clarence Boudville Project Manager Master Approach Sdn Bhd B. K. Lim Director

Master Approach Sdn Bhd MD Khairil Bin Sarbany@Sulaiman Manager, Business Dev.Dept.

MiGHT Dr. Khairul Dahri Mohd Aris Consultant MiGHT Nur Suraya Mustafar Programme Executive

MiGHT Datuk Wan Abd Halim Abd Majid Consultant

MiGHT Datuk Dr. Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman President and Chief Executive Officer

MiGHT Habibur Rahman Ibrahim Senior Associate - Industry Intelligence & Foresight Division



Organisation Title Name Position PIK Composites Industry Association Habibur Rahman Ibrahim President

PROTON DRB-HICOM Khairil Anuar Bin Hashim Manager Chassis Design, Engineering Div.

PROTON DRB-HICOM Abdul Halim Bin Rahmad Head of TP23,, Closure & Moving Group Tech Procurement

PROTON DRB-HICOM KC Tan Senior Manager, China Project PROTON Vendors assoc. Malaysia Haji Azalan Bin Omar President Risky Business Kevin Armstrong Director

Roof & Facade Faruq (David) Carr Abdulla Manager, Partner Relations

SPAN Chow Kin Liung Senior Director, Research, Development & Innovation Centre



Documentation Page Document Number: TR 15063 Project Number: U‐MIP‐ABE

Title: Asian Business Engagement – Mission Report and Recommendations

Author(s) and Affiliation(s): A Beehag (CRC‐ACS) and K Caulfield (Composites Australia)

Summary: Composites Australia undertook an Asian Business Engagement (ABE) project, funded by the Australian Trade Commission. The project aim was to establish export market opportunities in Malaysia and Indonesia in the market sectors of aerospace, automotive, ground transportation, infrastructure and oil & gas. A scoping mission identified that infrastructure in Malaysia was a major opportunity, with supplementary opportunities in automotive and oil & gas. Indonesia had oil & gas and marine as potential opportunities, with both contingents on legislative or other reform. A full mission to Indonesia was not conducted due to external events in early 2015, and the reticence of Australian delegates. A mission to Malaysia of Australian businesses in June identified multiple opportunities for delegates, primarily in the infrastructure industry and also the supply of advanced material inputs. A summary of findings included a range of success factors that helped an SME dominated industry find market opportunities through the targeted approach of the ABE project. Keywords: Australian Composites Industry, Asian Business Engagement, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Aerospace, Automotive, Ground Transportation, Infrastructure, Oil & Gas

Release Limitations: Unlimited release approval granted to Composites Australia

Release Approval (PCT Representative):

Printed Name: Andrew Beehag

Issued by: CRC‐ACS 1/320 Lorimer Street Port Melbourne, Victoria, 3207 Australia Phone: +61 3 9676 4900 Fax: +61 3 9676 4999

Distribution: Author(s): A Beehag, K Caulfield CRC‐ACS Management: M Jones, R Paton, A Gunnion, R Thomson

CEO: Murray Scott

External Distribution: Composites Australia Executive and Board, Australian Trade Commission (Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore)

Revision History Revision Revision Date Changes

0 22 Jul 2015 Original document

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TR 15063 ABE Composites Australia Final Report · Composites Australia undertook an Asian Business Engagement (ABE) project, funded by the ... This made presentation of a coherent