Cytron and Tanoti among finalists vying for cash prizes in innovation challenge

PETALING JAYA: Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd sees potential in promoting the businesses of craftsmen in various industries.

Two such companies, Cytron Technologies Sdn Bhd and Tanoti Sdn Bhd, are among 20 finalists vying for cash prizes of up to RM600,000 in the Alliance Bank BizSmart Academy SME Innovation Challenge 2014, which provides business coaching, workshops and networking sessions to the participants.

Penang-based Cytron is marketing its key product Rero, an educational robotics kit to assist school students in robotics education.

Nearly a decade ago, technology entrepreneurs Tan Eng Tiong and his four Universiti Teknologi Malaysia mates began building robots, starting with robotics parts and components for fellow students and researchers.

The mechanical electronics students then enrolled in the annual Malaysia Robot Contest (Robocon) and clinched the champion title for consecutive years.

Cytron went on to represent Malaysia in Robocon Thailand in 2013, South Korea in 2014 and China in 2015.

“After many years of hard work at the university lab, we gained more customers and our company became profitable. Our customer base stretched from the local market to overseas. Robotics education should start at school, not university. That is why we began Project Rero,” Tan told StarBiz at a networking and business mentoring session with Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin as part of the programme’s CEO Chatroom Series.

“Most of our family and friends did not understand our work until our product was ready recently. Yet, some of them still don’t see the potential of Rero,” Tan said.

The Rero box set comes with the necessary hardware and software that guide students to build robots easily, like that of a Lego set.

By following the different programming available, the robots are programmed to “save” moves and playback. Once the programmer masters the basics, he advances to real-time programming on the computer.

“We are working towards introducing Rero as part of school co-curiculum, starting with those aged 10 years,” Tan said.

Cytron has partnered with Creative Robotics, the country’s first robotics learning centre where Cytron supplies the robots and the school facilitates the training.

By engaging in robotics, students could enhance their STEM – science, technology, engineering and math, Tan said.

“Education institutions and many other parties play important roles in encouraging children to engage in STEM education early,” he said. “Robotics brings to life the science they learn. It helps with creativity, logical thinking and innovation.”

However, the ecosystem of commercialising a digital product in Malaysia was still very weak, Tan said.

The lack of raw materials, reliable vendors and a limited downstream industry are key limitations Cytron faces. Therefore, it is forced to source from China, Taiwan and Singapore.

But pay attention, Tan urged, for personal robots would be the next technological wave after personal computers and mobile phones.

“Our Government has injected so much funds into the research and development of digital products but there isn’t a local company like Samsung nor Apple. The idea of an achievement like that motivates us to work very hard every day,” Tan said.

In Kuching, a team of craftswomen is also hard at work. This is Tanoti Sdn Bhd, a small establishment of some 18 weavers with a mission to preserve the ancient craft of songket through contemporising and developing new techniques for it.

Back in 2008, Yayasan Tuanku Nur Zahirah established a small research and development centre in Kuching to develop new techniques for songket.

When the funding was discontinued, Tanoti was quickly set up to take over the workshop and build a business around them.

“Tanoti was set up in urgency so that the weavers could transition seamlessly. At that time, failure was not an option. We felt that we had to do everything we could to make sure they continued practising their skills. We felt that it was Tanoti’s responsibility to make sure that songket survives,” said Tanoti textile designer Ong Wan Fen.

“If the judges appreciate our cause as well as the effort it required to keep this business running day after day, they will be inclined to commend us for it. When we started, the odds were all against us. We had little resources, a veritable operating cost and no ready market. We had to build our brand and invest in research and development while at the same time making sure we had constant capital injection to continue our operations,” Ong said.

Since it started 2½ years ago, Tanoti has been invited to exhibit in London, France and China. One of its pieces won an award at the World Craft Council Award for Excellence in Handicraft 2014 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

“These were milestones beyond our initial expectations! Most importantly, we have contemporised songket in so many ways − songket from bamboo fibre, handbags with leather songket − and we have fused batik with songket to produce unique pieces of textile art.”

If Tanoti won the Alliance Bank SME Innovation Challenge 2014, the funds would go towards setting up an academy to train young girls in the craft.

“This is in line with our objectives to disseminate the skills to preserve it. This project is also critical to build capacity so that we can grow the business,” Ong said.

In a business where its standards of artistry and quality are so strong, pricing, naturally, is Tanoti’s greatest challenge in selling the pieces. The biggest cost component in its products is the man-hours required to produce them, which increases over time.

“We plan to overcome this through branding, creating awareness and producing novelty pieces,” Ong said.

“The fact that I am playing my part in ensuring that the exquisite skills in weaving songket are preserved through Tanoti is what propels me to continue investing my time, effort and resources in this business.”