EPMB Enters Car Seat Business - To Supply 150,000 Sets To Proton!

EP Manufacturing Berhad (EPMB) announced today the opening of a cutting-edge car seat manufacturing facility in Tanjung Malim. This facility will be critical in supporting the upcoming cars from Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd ("PROTON"), serving a large client base throughout Malaysia and the ASEAN area.

The newly built facility, which cost little more than RM30 million, is conveniently located about 2.5 km from PROTON's Tanjung Malim factory. It's worth noting that PROTON's two key stakeholders, DRB-Hicom and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd, are in the midst of setting up the Automotive Hi-Tech Valley ("AHTV"), which is poised to become a global hub for the manufacture of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in Tanjung Malim.

This manufacturing plant has an initial production capacity of 150,000 sets of car seats per year, all of which will be used to supply new PROTON vehicle models.

The inauguration of the facility was attended by YAB Dato' Seri Saarani bin Mohamad, Menteri Besar of Perak Darul Ridzuan, and Dr. Li Chunrong, CEO of PROTON.

Establishment of EPMB's first car seat production plant is an example of collaboration and technology transfer within the PROTON ecosystem. It was accomplished through a technical collaboration between EPMB and the Chinese vehicle components producer Zhejiang Jujin Automobile & Motor-cycle Accessories Co., Ltd., which currently supplies Geely with car seats.

"We consider the opening of this facility as a significant advancement in EPMB's long standing partnership with PROTON, which spans nearly four decades," said EPMB's Group Chief Executive Officer, Ahmad Razlan Mohamed. This is the group's first excursion into seat assembly manufacturing.

Razlan went on to express their steadfast commitment to PROTON's success as it pursues regional expansion ambitions and its new energy vehicle roadmap. This collaboration is an opportunity for the EPMB Group to diversify their core manufacturing business beyond the production of metal and plastic items, opening up a new business route with significant growth potential.