When CY Chow retired in 2007, he had already spent a large part of his career in a company that he founded, which mainly supplied instant noodle cups, yoghurt cups, plastic lids and many more to food manufacturers. Together with his wife, Clara Chang, they initially considered going into the trading business for their next business venture. However, after having spent the last 20 years in the plastics manufacturing industry, they felt that their net worth lies in their industry contacts and familiarity with plastics. So, the couple decided to stay in the same industry. As CY and Clara did not want to compete with established players in the market, they concluded that the smartest way to re-enter was by offering a new concept. At that juncture, Nestlé Malaysia had wanted to improve the design of their existing packaging and enlisted the help from CY and Clara. This was the perfect opportunity to establish a brand-new factory that incorporates innovative concepts in plastic food packaging. Naturally, CY and Clara were excited to harness their knowledge, skills and experience to redesign, enhance and improve the existing plastic food packaging products in the market. The goal was to provide more innovative options to their customers.
In 2007, the go-green movement was started taking the world by storm. The question that the Chows asked was ‘how does a plastic food packaging factory fit into this go-green movement?’ CY replies with a smile, “Back then, only plastic or paper cups were available in the market. So, we deduced that if we combined paper and plastic into one single product and made it recyclable, it will fit perfectly into the green ecosystem. This is the product that we introduced to Nestlé!” “We had to set up the factory very quickly as Nestlé wanted production to start immediately. This is how we started. Our company name, Combi-Pack is derived from the words ‘combination packaging’,” CY explains. Inside a modest factory in Balakong with just ten machines, Combi-Pack Sdn Bhd began its journey of manufacturing optimal rigid plastic packaging solutions for food products. The company’s goal was to offer sustainable and premium packaging solutions to enhance the business performance of their customers, which ranged from local companies to MNCs.
Prioritising people and putting families first
As business boomed and the company expanded over the years, Combi-Pack needed a larger area to accommodate the growing size of their factory. In 2014, the decision was made to move from Balakong to Oakland Industrial Park in Seremban. The Chows wanted to bring their existing employees along with them to the new factory, and Clara personally undertook this monumental responsibility. She devised a plan to make the transition easier for everyone, as she was adamant that families were not separated geographically to accommodate the relocation. One move was to rent a bus to ferry the employees and their families to Seremban to give them the opportunity to personally check out their new living environment and to show them where the schools are. She wanted to ensure that those that chose to go would be happy in the new location. Clara also organised car-pooling services to transport their employees to the new factory and revised the operation hours from 8:30am to 5:00pm. The new working hours would allow their employees time to commute. Employees who were considering a relocation were also given housing assistance by the company. As a result of Clara’s steely determination and unwavering support, 95% of the employees from the original factory followed the couple to Seremban. This was an astounding achievement, and it remains a proud moment for Clara till today, “People play a key role to the success of every business and I must do what I can to retain them. Furthermore, hiring the right talent and training them from scratch would be costly for the company,” she says.
Grounded in the present with a vision for the future
Since its inception in 2007, Combi-Pack has grown to become one of Malaysia’s leading and awardwinning manufacturers of innovative and qualitydriven plastic food packaging. Today, the company is powered by a formidable workforce of 315 employees, and their factory is home to 57 stateof-the-art machines which have produced over 650 million pieces of rigid food packaging. “We always seek to understand our customers’ needs and expectations. We also continuously improve our products by providing innovative solutions through technology and design, and by offering cost-effective and sustainable packaging with customized service,” says CY. As for the company’s future plans, he shares, “Combi-Pack intends to target the SMEs. We understand that good packaging is not readily available in the market and wanted to offer companies of all sizes premium packing solutions. This is our strategy, as there are still many local manufacturers who are looking to improve the packaging for their products. Their volume may be smaller, but that’s acceptable as their products can be made with common moulds.” “We are also currently aiming to grow a bigger presence overseas in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Australia,” he adds.
With their latest business model strategy, CombiPack is looking to share their solutions for premium packaging with SMEs through their common range of products which they are able to offer at a lower minimum order quantity (MOQ) with no investment required. Through this strategy, Combi-Pack hopes to help local companies become more competitive in the foreign market, as well as against foreign companies in the local market. Combi-Pack continues to seek emerging technologies for their existing clients and aim to offer more competitive packaging solutions to larger companies. Although the food industry will always be their core focus, there are plans in the pipeline to diversify by providing solutions to the medical industry. In June 2021, Combi-Pack Sdn Bhd became a member of TPAC Packaging when we merged with Thai Plaspac Public Company Limited. TPAC Packaging’s specialty focus is on FMCG and pharmaceutical rigid plastic packaging. TPAC has production facilities across Thailand, India and the United Arab Emirates and now in Malaysia. We see this as an opportunity to grow our business not only in Malaysia but regionally, and globally. With great resources internally we are able to leverage on technological & knowledge transfers so that we are able to offer our customer great packaging solutions.
