Kobe Electronics Material takes Asian Export Award for Materials and Construction

Thailand’s champion is set to expand business into Vietnam in 2020.

Singapore Business Review and Hong Kong Business hailed Asia's leading exporters and their award-winning products and services at the recently concluded Asian Export Awards 2019.

On its second year, the Asian Export Awards lauds exceptional products and services that have remarkably enhanced a company's business in the regional export scene.
This pinnacle event for Asia's best exporters is open to two divisions—the large corporate for big companies with group turnover of over $300 million and the local champion for small or medium-sized enterprises.

Kobe Electronics Material (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (KEMT) won the Asian Export Award for materials and construction under the Local Champion division, thanks to its remarkable process of slitting and rewinding copper and copper alloys for the export market.

Established in 2001, KEMT is a subsidiary of Kobe Steel, a major steel manufacturer headquartered in Japan. The company produces original copper alloy material which has been used as terminal and connector for automotive and lead frames.

The company imports premium grade copper alloy from the mother company in Japan. Based on customer specifications and requirements, KEMT is then responsible for slitting, winding and/or importing and re-packaging copper alloy strips for domestic clients and export.

“Our company is certified by ISO9001 and IATF16949 quality system. We are a leading supplier of copper and copper alloy which are widely used in several businesses. Nowadays, we supply our product as raw material to produce component parts which will be part of electronic instruments, electronic circuits and electronic parts in automobiles such as connectors,” said Akira Kawaguchi, Managing Director of KEMT.

The company strives to maintain quality working standards and looks for new innovation to develop products and improve the production process and capacity. In terms of innovation and achievements, the company can provide bigger, customised coils with small narrow width, which can reduce significant time in changing coils and improve customer productivity. The company’s plating method could also reduce the manual workload during the assembling process of terminal and connector material.

As a result, the company’s sales volume climbed 16.6% in 2018. The company sees the advent of electric vehicles as a new opportunity to drive business growth. With key markets in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan, the company plans to expand business and enter Vietnam in 2020.

The Asian Export Awards 2019, co-presented by Singapore Business Review and Hong Kong Business, was held on 28 November at Shangri-La Hotel Singapore.

This year's nominations were judged by a panel consisting of Chong Cheng Yuan, Partner & Industry Lead, Industrial Manufacturing at RSM; Kuntha Chelvanathan, Partner Supply Chain and Operations at Ernst & Young Advisory Pte Ltd; James Elsom, Executive Director, Corporate Finance Advisory at Deloitte Asia Pacific; and Cheng Soon Keong, Director, Corporate Advisory Services at BDO LLP.

If you would like to join the 2020 awards and be awarded as one of the most outstanding exporters in Asia, please email Jannie Beduya at jannie@charltonmediamail.com