A Driving Force

As managing director of Malaysia’s Goodway, Alison Wong (Wong Ping Kiong) was seen as instrumental to many of the company’s successes. 2008 sees her assume the role of Chief Operating Officer

Sales at Goodway Integrated Industries have been healthy these last few years, to say the least. In 2007, the company reported turnover of RM209 million (42.2 million euros), 70 per cent of which was derived from its rubber compound products and the remainder from retreading operations. Goodway attributes a proportion of its good fortune during the last few years to its then managing director, Alison Wong, whom the company has called “a driving force behind Goodway’s many successes.”

Ms Wong has been with the company since its inception in 1989, beginning as an account executive. On 1January 2008 the Malaysia based retreader and retreading materials supplier recognised Ms Wong’s aptitude and potential, and appointed her to the position of chief operating officer. During her first year in this new role, Ms Wong speaks of her new role and what lies around the corner for Goodway.

In her new capacity as COO, Ms Wong sees her main responsibility as facilitating the company’s vision and mission. “The strategic direction of the group, namely growth, expansion and continuous improvement is my priority,” she says. Elaborating, Ms Wong adds: “My tasks encompass managing liquidity and profitability, mitigating financial risks and meeting targets. At the same time, I will be keeping an eye out for potential business ventures and market developments to adjust the Group’s strategies as necessary.”

The company’s flagship retread range, Supercool, has been on the market for several years now and the products on offer in this brand have been constantly updated. Indeed, in May this year the Supercool Cushion Gum CG99, manufactured using pine tar free compounds, was one of the highlights of Goodway’s company display at the Reifen 2008 show. The value of the Supercool brand name to Goodway is significant, and thus it is no surprise it also forms a focus for the new COO. “I want to raise Supercool’s profile in the global arena via our branding efforts,” says Ms Wong. “Our marketing activities will highlight our core values of trustworthiness and integrity, to reflect the respectability and renown of the Supercool name.”

Other factors – both positive and negative – influence the decisions Ms Wong makes for the Malaysian firm. While rapid growth can be considered a dream come true scenario for Goodway, every silver lining has a cloud, one might say. Thus, a challenge for Ms Wong in 2008 is to make sure the company is prepared to be ready for expansion. Part of this, she says, is to ensure that the company has “adequate human capital, and that our people are prepared to progress with the forecasted rapid growth.”

Another challenge for the entire industry is escalating raw material prices, but despite the doom and gloom from many quarters the COO sees this issue in a potentially positive light. “Rising oil prices are escalating costs in the transportation industry,” she explains, “so retreading is one way to ease this pressure. Retreading is cost efficient as a reusable resource, and value for money. We can turn this threat into an opportunity with our established reputation for premium quality retreads that consistently deliver high performance, durability and safety. This way, we cement our position as market leaders.”

That said, Ms Wong admits that even Goodway is not immune from the problems every company is experiencing with raw material prices. On 1 July the Tyre Retreading Manufacturers’ Association of Malaysia announced its second price rise this year for retreaded tyres, with increases between 5 and 18 per cent expected. Goodway must also act in this area to remain competitive, Ms Wong admits: “We continue finding ways to lower production costs to ease our end-users’ burden. However, price increments are inevitable and I plan to spread this cost equally between all dealers and end-users. Customers can be assured the premium is fair and wholly justified because we will not compromise on quality, processes or materials regardless of economic pressures.”