KUALA LUMPUR: The Factory Transformation Programme under the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) has seen participating companies report an increase in productivity of over 10 per cent.
Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said this was in addition to savings of up to RM3.2 million per year, through improvements in the quality control system.
He said the initiative has generated various innovations through 58 local companies.
He said among the innovations were doors made from oil palm trunks, which have gained high demand in the global market.
"When we replant, we usually discard this wood, which we call Old Palm Trunk.
"They have developed a technology to produce high-quality doors that are now well-received in the global market.
"It (the product) comes from a tree that is integral to the sustainability system established within the palm oil recycling cycle," he said during a visit to the Weng Meng Industries factory today.
Johari said more than 70 per cent of the products produced were exported.
"In the past, many of these companies focused solely on the domestic market, but now they have become exporters to countries overseas," he said.