NTPM Holding's Premier entry in Vietnam

Major player: Workers manning a product line at NTPM’s plant in Nibong Tebal. NTPM has six plants in Malaysia, producing 220 tonnes of tissue products daily, of which about 30 are exported.

NIBONG TEBAL: NTPM Holdings Bhd, the producer and brand owner of Premier tissue, is negotiating for a couple of orders worth about RM20mil per year for its new operations in Ho Chih Minh City, Vietnam.

Group managing director Lee See Jin told StarBiz that the orders were among the several business deals that the group were trying to seal for the new manufacturing entity in Vietnam.

“They are for monthly orders of 450 tonnes of tissue paper products to be consumed in the Vietnamese market, which is growing rapidly as the consumption level for tissue is still low.

“We expect to see orders rising in the next two months,” he said.

The new plant in Vietnam has the capacity to produce up to 1,000 tonnes of tissue products per month.

“Our actual production per month is 800 tonnes, running on one production line. There are plans to add another four production lines at the Vietnamese plant in the future.

“There are also plans to introduce personal care products such as sanitary napkins, diapers, wet wipes and facial cottons for the Vietnamese market,” he said.

Lee said the group had invested RM40mil to RM50mil in the Vietnamese operations, which would help it to grow about 3% a year in terms of revenue and bottom line.

NTPM currently has six plants in Malaysia – located in Penang, Parit Buntar in Perak, Bentong in Pahang, and Sabah – producing 220 tonnes of tissue products daily, of which about 30% are exported.

“Our maximum capacity is 330 tonnes daily.

“We still have room for expansion in Penang as the group has utilised only 60 acres of the 90 acres land bank in Nibong Tebal, where the present main plant is located,” Lee said.