There is a first time for everything. Likewise, for Kalvin Ooi, Co-CEO of PCA Group, the company being named a recipient of the Brand Legend Awards did not only come as a surprise but also as a tipping point recognition for the group under the Brand Legends 40 Years category.

Identifying “quality on-time delivery, delivering value, professionalism, discipline and care” as the cornerstones of the company’s value system and goals, these qualities he believes, are what has taken the group which is the business of designing, manufacturing, supplying, distributing as well as the installation and maintenance of corporate visual identity and shop fit-out to its legendary level of success.

The company, founded in 1989, and having turned 35 years provides services which include conceptual design & planning, detailed design & engineering, retail re-imaging & re-development as well as turnkey construction and facilities management. Run by professionals of which he is a shareholder, he considers this a first-generation but not a family business which was bought over together with the founder.

The strategic decision paid off while the principle of acceleration and multiplication has seen to it that the company has grown to encompass about 1,200 staff with an ever-growing global footprint.

“I think the most challenging fact is that we have spread out to 105 countries. And certainly, dealing with the exports and imports challenges of each respective country presents its share of challenges. However, having done this business for the last 35 years, the company is on familiar ground when it comes to dealing with logistics.

Commenting on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said the company was literally unscathed as they continued to provide services to many countries, as when one country was down, the other still required their goods. So, the challenge was how to make sure they could deliver to other parts of the world leveraging on its four factories worldwide.

“So, when one factory closed down, the other factory able to support us,” he quipped citing an example that when the Malaysia factory was closed, they could use the Mexico factory to supply to Chile which was their unique selling proposition for their services. This unexpected pandemic reinforced to him the need to look into the business continuity aspect.

“All the while, we have been thinking about the internet being down, fire, water, floods but nobody anticipated the pandemic. And I think it’s a great lesson to everybody in the world. We are glad that we could overcome it (the challenges of the pandemic) by having different factories around the world.”

“I think the key word is we have to have business continuity,” he elaborated while stressing on the importance of not putting all your eggs in one basket.

“Most importantly, you have to make sure you deliver value, quality on time to the client. These are the necessities needed to make sure that you continue to survive sustaining the industry while also taking care of your employees,” he summed saying that most of their employees have been with the company for at least 10 years.

Not satisfied to rest on its laurels, he acknowledges that the most important part is that the company continues to innovate to stay ahead of its competitors.

“IOT 4.0 has been in our plan and we have continued to send our people for AI training to make sure that we are relevant and ahead of our competitors,” he shared affirming the company’s mission in

continuously giving value creation to its customers.

Having said that, the ability to continue to innovate is paramount to staying relevant. “You can’t stop innovating and always be the best in what you’re doing. If you’re into design, make sure you are the best and stay relevant. With AI, stay ahead and be the pioneer, then you will survive,” he said.

Stressing at the need to continually grow, he quotes Apple as a very good example in paving the way for continuous growth as a company. Learning from a lesson back in 2008 when its clients reduced their capital expenditure taught him the lesson on the need to diversity and not just be too dependent on one industry.

“So PECA was groomed from concentrating in just one industry which is pet retail to diversifying into five industries including petrol, telecommunications, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), quick service and automative.

“I think backwards. We have been doing organic growth, but moving forward, winding back to the core, I think we will probably now focus more on acquisitions which will make us grow much faster. And because we are doing corporate signages, I would say digital is the way to go currently. We also try to stay relevant and get involved in digital. And very soon, we hope this year we will be the pioneer in digital advertisement. Of course, everything comes down to engineering and sourcing. We have a very good engineering team behind us that continue to cost down to make sure that we are the best, and are able to give the best quality at the most competitive price,” he concluded.