Building chemistry with partners in Asia

[SINGAPORE] To emphasise its regional ambitions, chemical distributor Maha Chemicals (Asia) rebranded itself as Maha Asia and refined its mission and vision into a single purpose: to become “Your Preferred Partner in Asia”.

Since its founding in 1975 as a distributor of raw paint materials, the company has grown into a speciality chemicals and solutions provider with more than 250 employees.

In 1993, the company made its first overseas foray, to neighbouring Malaysia. In 2001, it entered its second foreign market, the Philippines – and began two decades of regional expansion.

Supporting clients

Maha now has 19 offices across 12 countries, with an extensive distributor network. It also has 17 warehouses and seven application labs for testing and formulation, allowing it to support more clients and respond more quickly to their needs.

With its wide network and a deep understanding of the Asian market, the company hopes to be the “hands and legs” for clients around the world.

The resolve to evolve was driven partly by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the need to differentiate itself from growing competition in the region’s chemical distribution industry.

Maha’s close connections with its clients proved critical during the pandemic, when lockdowns and delays disrupted supply chains.

The company set up online group chats to provide speedy updates to customers, so that they could make informed business decisions.

It also sent out newsletters that shared the prices of stocks and raw materials, to assist lockdown-hit suppliers with their forecasts.

SEE ALSO

Richport Technology continues to polish its surface treatment offerings

Finding a greener route for transport refrigeration

Post-pandemic, Maha has continued to digitalise its business processes. It has implemented a centralised system to track data and inventory movements, enabling it to make more accurate market forecasts and share such knowledge with stakeholders and clients.

Towards a sustainable future

Beyond chemicals, Maha is developing into a sustainable solutions provider, in recognition of the need to build business resilience and future-proof the company.

It has set itself the ambitious goal of deriving 80 per cent of revenue from green or sustainability projects by 2028. This means not just delivering eco-friendly raw materials, but also providing green chemical solutions.

Maha has based its processes around the EcoVadis framework, which looks at four pillars of sustainability: environment, ethics, labour and procurement.

Using this framework as a guide, Maha implemented a detailed stock-keeping unit system to divide its products into three categories: commercial, green and sustainable.

With these categories, Maha’s customers can easily choose the products that are suitable for their own sustainability needs and budget.

To further drive its sustainability agenda, Maha has set up a dedicated sustainability committee in each regional office. These committees are tasked with implementing sustainability initiatives and ensuring that targets are tracked and met.

Even as it expands and grows, Maha harks back to its roots as a family-owned business by aiming to foster a close-knit, family-like environment. Even as the company brings in external expertise, it hopes to strike a balance between familial warmth and professional rigour.

This series is part of the Enterprise 50 Educational Project between the E50 partners and the NUS Business School. Maha Chemicals (Asia) was among the winners in 2023. The annual E50 ranking is co-organised by The Business Times and KPMG, sponsored by OCBC Bank, and supported by Enterprise Singapore, Singapore Exchange and Singapore Business Federation.