Plastics Industry Business

Research Paper

Plastics Industry Business

Plastics Industry Business

English 2 (ENGL 0205) Assignment 2

Tan Foo Wong (0310004) Lucas Wong (0309421) Teo Kean Hui (0310165) Loo Giap Sheng (0310390)

FNBE SEPT 2012 - ENGL 0205 English 2

Names of group members: Tan Foo Wong, Lucas Wong, Teo Kean Hui, Loo Giap Sheng 1

Plastics Industry Business

Content
Research Proposal 4-5

Introduction

6-9

Comparative Analysis of the Loo Sek How SDN. BHD. and JH Household Merchandise retailer shop

10-15

Conclusion

16

Bibliography

17

Appendix

18-20

Plastics Industry Business

Plastic Industry Business: A Research of Plastics Industry Business

Lucas Wong Loo Giap Sheng Teo Kean Hui Tan Foo Wong

2012 FNBE March Intake, ENGLISH 2 GROUP B Mr. Woon January 24, 2013

Plastics Industry Business

The Research Proposal

Name: Lucas Wong, Tan Foo Wong, Loo Giap Sheng, Teo Kean Hui Class: English 2 Period: MON & WEDS/TUES &THURS

INTRODUCTION:

Our task is to study a same type of traditional trade or business. We choose the plastic business as our research content. We found one plastics company and one retail shop to do interview and make a comparative analysis between them.

METHODOLOGY: Firstly, we are going to search online for the shops that we are interested in. For instance, food stalls, hardware stores, sundry shops and factories which are more than 15 years. Then we are going to locate the areas of the businesses which are in Klang or Kuala Lumpur. After that, we will appoint for an interview to ask questions regarding the research. We will be looking into published books about the business that is related and relevant. Furthermore, asking shops which are next to them can also increase the research information.

CONCLUSION: As a conclusion, we could learn how the past could help the future to be a better world and how it was developed from a small business to a successful business. In the information provided, we could understand how the world of business starts or fails. We expect that every one of our member can understand and see the world of business through the experience gone through by the employers of the companies. 4

Plastics Industry Business RESEARCH QUESTIONS: 1. How to motivate the workers? 2. How to punish the workers if theyre late for their work or absent without permission? 3. What is the factorys layout plan? 4. How much is the average salary of workers? 5. Do you have innovation on you machines and products? 6. Who is the future employer that is going to carry on this business? 7. Who is the one who inspired you to do plastic business? 8. The method used for production of plastic is in modern style or the traditional style? 9. Any future plan or any big project for the company in the coming days? 10. When did the business start? 11. Who is the founder of this business? 12. What is your position when you first join this company? 13. Where is the location of the businesss first branch? 14. What is the amount of outlet? 15. How many workers are working here? 16. Is this a cooperation, solo proprietor or partnership? 17. Is the process of making plastic are good or bad? 18. Is there any other family members working together with you? 19. What is the type of plastic that used for production? 20. Do they recycle the plastic? 21. What type of plastics them selling or produce ?

Plastics Industry Business

Introduction Plastics have an important role in our daily lives because it are an excellent and very useful material, it can be functional, flexible, light, and economical. Plastics have been used by humans across many years for decoration, tools, package and more. There are two main types of man-made plastics, one is Thermoplastics, and another one is Thermosets. These two types of plastics can be found in our live. Thermosets Thermosets, or thermosetting is a kind of plastics that after we produce it out, the shape of this plastics will permanents fix as the concrete, even reheating it. It can best examples are melamine, Bakelite, polyester and epoxy resins. Usually Thermosets plastics will be used on the specific thing need to withstand with high temperature. Examples like the tools in the kitchen that use to cook, the vehicles or factory machines accessories part and more. But Thermosets plastics cannot be recycled and hardly to decomposition, so nowadays scientists keep finding and do experiments to improve and enhance the thermosets plastics become recyclable. Thermoplastics Thermoplastics, the common type of plastics that can see in our daily life, like the plastics furniture, tools, toys and more. It is made by Thermoplastic resin. The main feature of this plastic is it will become liquid form when temperature was high enough of it and can be composition to any shape according to the mould. After the temperature when cold, it will transform back to solid. This kind of material can be recycle and form into another shape of thing by reheating the product. Best example of this material products are acrylic,

Plastics Industry Business

polypropylene, polystyrene, polythene and PVC. Nowadays, Thermoplastics become widely used in plastics industry because it easy to process and it can produce become thousands of product. All the produce process is automatic and do by the machines, so the industry can save the costing and the salary of workers. Moreover, the raw material is cheaper than the Thermosets because it easy to get or get by recycled the used thermoplastic. History When we talk about plastics, who invented it? According to the PHS (Plastics Historical Society 2011), the earliest polymers material that appear in human society was the natural rubber, which can get from the rubber tree. At that time the rubber product wasn't good enough, it melted in summer and cracker in winter. Therefore, the scientist at that time keep finding a new material to replace the weakness of natural rubber. Hence, the world first man-made plastic come out in 1862, it was invented by Alexander Parker. He introduced a new material which he called Parkesine. PHS also mentions that Parkesine was based on cellulose nitrate and for it he anticipated many of the other uses of plastics. Although Parkers company wasnt successful, but it had laid a strong foundations for our future development. Market Trends Today, the demand of the plastics has grown faster than pass few years, Takoungsakdakun et. al. (2007) mention that the worlds annual consumption of the polymer materials has increased from around 5 million metric tons in the 1950s to nearly 100 million metric tons today. The chemical week magazine (2009) also study found the following:

Plastics Industry Business

The global demand for PE, the largest-volume basic polymer, is expected to grow about 4.2% per year to reach about 81 million metric tons by 2013. Demand for engineering plastics will rise by 3.1% per year to reach 5.4 billion 1bs by 2012.Polycarbonate, nylon, ABS will continues to be the largest volume engineering plastics, accounting for more than 75% of total demand by 2012. All along with this data and situation, the amount of the plastics demand continues rise, the plastics business seem can be growing up rapidly and in a short few year will become very popular and competitive business around the world. In order to improve the sale of the company and stand out from thousands of competitors, they will keep reform and enhance the feature of plastics. Examples like produce recyclable plastics, edible plastics and more.

Plastics Industry Business

Comparative Analysis of the Loo Sek How SDN. BHD. and JH Household Merchandise retailer shop

Loo Sek How Trading Sdn. Bhd. is a company which has been selling plastic products in the early 1950s. It was a sole proprietorship and the founder of the company was Mr Loo Sek How. The initial products of the business when he was in his mid-20s were plastic kitchen wares such as plastic containers, plastic bottles, plastic utensils and plastic bags. Besides selling plastic products, Mr Loo Sek How also tried to sell aluminium products such as aluminium pots and cooking utensils. Since plastics were much cheaper than aluminium in the past, the business slowly shifted all of its products to only selling plastic products. Mr Loo Sek How started his business in morning and night markets of Kuala Lumpur. Later on, he registered his first trading license Loo Sek How Trading Sdn. Bhd. in the early 1950 and opened a shop around 1960. And that was how Loo Sek How Trading Sdn. Bhd. was founded. Mr Loo Sek How passed away in the year 1995 leaving his business to his son, Mr Loo Kok Jiang.

Plastics Industry Business

Though Mr Loo Sek Hows business was a little less similar to the business owned by his son now, his business was actually expanded from selling into manufacturing. Mr Loo Kok Jiang was the eldest son of Mr Loo Sek How. He started to follow his fathers footstep when he was at the age of 16. Since the business was not very satisfying, Mr Loo Kok Jiang planned to help his father in the markets to reduce the load carried by his father alone. Mr Loo Kok Jiang did mention that if he had a chance to further his studies, he would have chosen a better profession but he is happy with his achievements now. Mr Loo Kok Jiang can be known as a professional in inspecting and checking the qualities of plastics produced since he started working with plastic products since he was young. With his experience from his father, Mr Loo Kok Jiang soon opened outlets and registered his trading license using his fathers name called the Loo Sek How Plastic Industries Sdn. Bhd. in the year of 1996. At first, there were 5 outlets including his fathers first shop but since business wasnt as good as it was, it has now decreased into 2 remaining outlets.

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As the years went by, Mr Loo Sek How began to travel around Asia to expand his business into China, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei and Sabah. While travelling, he met many other competitors which are manufacturers of plastic products. Without losing this opportunity, he opened a manufacturing factory in the year 2005. Now his business has expanded from trading plastics into manufacturing and distribution. His company which was initially owned by his father is now called the Loo Sek How Holdings. The factory soon became the headquarters of his business. The business which was initially operated by his father alone is now in the hands of his family. The Director of the company now is Mr Loo Kok Jiang. The business is also assisted by his family members who are his wife, his younger sister and younger brother. The company now has more than 30 workers who are in charge of manufacturing, packaging and distributing. The company may seem to be running very smoothly but according to Mr Loo, conflicts between the workers have always been happening. One of the contributors to the conflict was mainly the communication between the workers. Most of the workers are mainly from Indonesia. According to Mrs Loo, a warning letter would be given once before the worker is fired. Besides giving warning letters, bonuses are also given to the workers during the Chinese New Year celebration. According to Mrs Loo, bonuses are meant to increase the performances of the workers throughout the year. Besides having 30 workers, there is also another additional of 12 workers which operates for 24 hours sometimes. They are the machines that manufacture plastic products. In order for the machines to work smoothly, Mr Loo had hired professionals to educate the workers regarding the functions and maintenance. In addition, Mr Loo himself has also learned a lot about the machines from the professionals. The types of machines used ranges

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Plastics Industry Business

from small to big sizes which produce plastic products from plastic straps to plastic cupboards. This factory does only manufacturing which does not include assembling of plastic products like cupboards. In precise, the workers are only in charge of producing components of the products.

The type of policy that is used in this business is the accrued and prepaid policy. Which means the client only pays after the products are manufactured. This way, the client does not need to be binded by the factory for several years or period. In addition, both parties will be in a win-win situation. According to Mr Loo, the client which had made the longest term of business with them was the Carlsberg company. The product which was manufactured was a rack used to store beers and wines for pubs and clubs. Besides having a factory in Malaysia, Mr Loo plans to expand his range of business throughout Asia but the place where he wishes most to start off is Indonesia. Although there is no progress in his planning but he had thought of that plan for quite some time after travelling around Asia for so many years.

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The second last remaining outlet was in charge by Mrs Loo alone had force to close down in 2009 due to poor management skills. Mrs Loo had shifted to help Mr Loo in the office and currently in charge of human relation management. The only one left retailed shop is located at Pandan Jaya since 1991. At first, the shop does not belong to them and the name of the shop was Mega Kitchen Ware but in the year of 1996, the shop had gone bankrupt and had no choice but to sell the shop. At that time, Mr Kam, Mr Loos younger brothers father-in-law, bought the shop at the price of MYR 150,000. Mr Kam then passed the ownership to her daughter Ms Kam, Mr Loos younger brother wife. Before that, Mr Kam had renamed the shop to JH Household Merchandise. Subsequently, Ms Kam offered the shares to the Loo family and since then, the shop has three directors. The business was good and smooth for the first few months. Later on, in 1997 and 1998, it was the peak business so far in history. The best seller during that time was plastic water containers due to the water supply system often shut down. Therefore, people have to keep their water into storage before any shut downs occur. However, due to the poor time management of the two partners, the shop was only handled and run by Ms Kam. After many years, guiltiness from the other two partners arises and agreed to hand over the full ownership back to Ms Kam in 2003.

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According to Ms Kam, the shop required at least three people to run it. The operating hours of the shop is from 10 in the morning to 8 in the night. The average income a day is approximately MYR 1500. Thus, during the peak season like Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Haji and Hari Deepavali, the income a day could reach more than MYR 2000. Besides selling plastic house wares, the shop also sells aluminium kitchen wares such as kettles, spoons, pans and et cetera. The shop restocks plastic products from Loo Sek How manufacturer and aluminium products from the imported wholesaler. Ms Kam did mention that if the economy is good, the MYR value would increase resulting cheaper products sold by the wholesaler.

The products are marketed to local markets directly to the consumers. Superiority of the customers are married women aged 30 or above. Mid-aged women usually have more time and more aware of the needs of the house compared to the men. The business throughout these years is good and fine due two main reasons. According to Ms Kam, majority of the customers are old customers because of the long lasting name of the shop. The shop does not have to promote their product as it will be promoted itself. Although Mega kitchen ware had already closed down, the customers will also return to the same place to purchase households. Consumers that are satisfied with their product will promote the product to their friends and family. Occasionally, if the mid-aged women could not turn up, they would command their son or daughter to purchase at the shop. Another reason why the business is good until now is because the location of the shop is very strategic. The

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shop-lots where the shop is located are actually surrounded by countless number of flats. Hence, demands of the households will eventually increase.

Although the business was perpetually good, the existence of hypermarket had contributed to poorer business. Some people would have their leisure time in the hypermarket and would just purchase households there without any considerations as it is very handy and convenient. Therefore, Ms Kam had gone through surveys and comparisons and made the decision to adjust the price to slightly lower than before to maintain the customers.

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Conclusion

As a conclusion, Loo Sek How Sdn. Bhd. and JH Household Merchandise retailer shop are companies who run a similar business as both of them are related to plastic products. From the above information of the two companies, we could learn that every successful business must start from the ground up. Gaining experiences as we age and viewing things differently from the previous ones will help to alter the business smoothly. With the trust, communication, and teamwork as siblings working together, the businesses can have an advantage towards other business and prosper greatly. The lack of the essential teamwork could bring down the business in no time. Furthermore, number of staffs is important in order to operate the business. Therefore, we can learn from here that a business does not become successful instantly; it takes a great amount of time, determination, and hard work. A business can also progress further in generations and not just in one life time. A parent may inherit his/her business to his/her children in order to expand their business further when the parent is unable to continue. In conducting this research, we learnt that we need to be more knowledgeable and experienced in order to run a successful business. With the help of the knowledge and experiences we own, many things can be viewed in various points of view. Solving problems regarding business in a smarter way instead of a head on solution will bring many satisfying outcomes. Other than that, efficient workers are essential to run a successful business as well. Reward and punishments will be given in order to measure the potential of the worker. The potential of the workers does not only come from rewards and punishments but also from the treatment given by the employer. To sum it all up, this research have increased our knowledge about the success of businesses. I hope to apply this knowledge to advance my own business and knowledge in the future.

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Bibliography

1. Garmson, Gardiner, E., & Frances. (2010). Plastics and the Environment. Shrewsbury,
Shropshire, GBR: Smithers Rapra. 2. PHS Plastics Historical Society. (2011). Retrieved 1 21, 2013, from http://www.plastiquarian.com/index.php?id=50 3. Resistant Materials. (n.d.). Retrieved from Plastics: http://www.thewarren.org/GCSERevision/resistantmaterials/plastics.html 4. Subramanian, & Natamai , M. (2011). Wiley-Scrivener: Basics of Troubleshooting in Plastics Processing : An Introductory Practical Guide. Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley. 5. What Is Thermoplastic? (n.d.). Retrieved 1 23, 2012, from wiseGeek: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-thermoplastic.htm 6. Chemical Week, 171, No.16, 8th-15th June 2009, p. 12-13. 7. Takoungsakdakun, T., Pongstabodee, S.,2007. Separation of mixed post-consumer PET-POM-PVC Plastics wate using selective flotation. Separation Purification Technology 54(2), 246-252.

8. Plastics and Rubber Weekly, 28th May 2010, p.11.

9. Leaversuch, D.R., Room air conditioner with no metal bending, J.Modern Plastics, 68 (1991) 48-50

10. Schwartz, S.S., Goodman, S.H., Plastic Materials and Processes , Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York,1982.

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APPENDIX Interview 1 Time & Date: 08-01-2013, from 4.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. Questionnaire:1. When did your business start? 2. Who was the Founder? 3. What was your first position in the company? 4. Where was the location? 5. Is this the new company location? 6. How many outlets? 7. Range of business? 8. Numbers of workers? 9. What type of company hierarchy? 10. Is this a corporation, sole proprietor or partnership business? 11. Is the process of making plastics harmful or safe? 12. Who are the distributor companies? 13. Are any of your family members in this company too? 14. What type of plastics do you manufacture? 15. Does this company do recycling of plastics too?

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Interview 2 Time & Date: 09-01-2013, from 3.15 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Questionnaire:1. What is your company full name? 2. Who was the founder of this company and when does this business started? 3. What were you working as before starting this business? 4. Is this corporation, sole trader, or partnership? 5. How many outlets are there in total and in what order is this outlet? 6. Why do you start a plastic wares business in this location? 7. Other than plastic wares, do you all sell anything else? 8. Where and whom do you all receive the stocks? How often do you in stock? 9. Who are the main customers and why are they attracted to purchase your product? 10. How do you promote or advertise your products? Or do you distribute them in various places? 11. How well the business did went through so far? What was the biggest impact to the business in the history? 12. Who are the main rivals and competitors in this trade? What are the strategies used to overcome this threat? 13. What are the requirements to run the business? How long the business does operates daily? 14. What are the minor obstacles you had experienced so far? And how do you overcome them?

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15. How the improvement of technology does affect the business? Negative or positive impacts?

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