Quality SMEs recognised at 1st national awards event
His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah (L) presents the SME award for Support services to Oil and Gas Sector to Hj Alif Hj Osman (R) of PTAS Sdn Bhd. Picture: BT/Saifulizam
BY LEO KASIM
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - BUSINESSES need to invest in people, have an established reputation with fresh approaches and great leadership in order to make it to the top.
Speaking to The Brunei Times, two companies that have bagged awards during yesterday's First National SME (small-medium enterprise) Award ceremony elaborated on the qualities of successful businesses.
Kevin Lau, the company representative for Aewon Garment and Embroidery, said that the award proved to be their first one as the company continues to seek excellence in their local productions.
"We just felt that we have covered a few milestones and developed ourselves until we believed that we could qualify for the SME award," he said.
In terms of driving factors, Kevin credits the company's ability to handle customers' needs and wants through constant cooperation with the front line staff.
"To begin with, we work closely with our front line staff to make sure that our customers are treated very carefully and with a great deal of respect," he said adding that good reputation and more market share will soon follow suit.
His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah (L) presenting the SME award for Small SMEs to Kevin Lau (R), company representative of Aewon Garment & Embroidery, during the 2012 National SME Award ceremony. Picture: BT/Saifulizam
Kevin pointed out that Aewon's one-to-one design approach have also proven effective in drawing customers.
"Customers can get a live preview of what their end product will be. They like that because it's straightforward and there are no second guesses," he said.
The company is also currently seeking methods to expand its local workforce.
"Most of our office workers are locals but the production line workers are not due to the lack of skilledlabour. We are hoping to achieve a larger local workforce with the assistance of incubatee centres to train locals to become skilled. This would not just be our long term goal but also our responsibility as a local company," he said.
After winning the bronze award for under $5 million in annual sales, Kevin said that the company hopes to achieve greater heights by aspiring to reach the $10 million annual sales benchmark.
As for Megamas Training Sdn Bhd, General Manager Roger Ainsworth has lauded the cooperation between clients and leadership shown by the managing director as important to the company's progress.
"We could not have done it without the help of our clients which include the Brunei government and the Brunei Shell Joint Venture companies," he said.
His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah (L) presenting the SME award for Support services to Oil and Gas Sector to Md Roger Abdullah (R), general manager of Megamas Training Sdn Bhd. Picture: BT/Saifulizam
His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah (L), the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, presents the SME award for Medium SMEs to Hjh Khadijah CA Mohamed (R), managing director of Megamas Training company Sdn Bhd, during the 2012 National SME Award ceremony, held at International Convention Centre, Berakas. Picture: BT/Saifulizam
"On the other hand, the passion of our Managing Director Hjh Khadijah Mohamed of putting staff first and re-investing profits back into the company have been the cornerstone of our success," he said adding that the company has an 85 per cent local workforce.
"The local staff themselves have also shown that they can do as well as anybody else. I have been impressed by their skill, attitude and desire to improve more. They have been our inspiration for continuous improvement," he said.
When asked about long-term goals, Ainsworth said that the company seeks to expand its training repertoire.
"We are looking to venture into sectors like transportation and perhaps technical and vocational fields in order to give Bruneians a chance to get qualifications," he said.
"We are also looking to establish a good bond with the international market. A real hope is that we can put a Megamas Flag into the regions," he added.
-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times
