KLK is example of growing from small to giant size company

Innovative company: Lee (seventh from left) with Idris (eighth from left) at the KL-Kepong Oleomas facility.

Very few companies in the country are like Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK). They have been around for 110 years, growing from a palm oil and rubber plantation business back in the day to one of the largest oleo-chemical producers in the world.

To get to know them better and upon the invite of KLK’s chief executive officer, Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian, I paid them a visit. Ten minutes in, it became clear to me that what sustains the century-old pulse of this company was the deep importance its leadership placed on innovation.