Preamble

The Industrial Gas supply market share in Malaysia has always been held by the Multi-National Corporations, with many local companies competing for a slice of this market. Established in September 2016 and fully operational within the third quarter of 2019, Ace Gases Marketing Sdn Bhd (Ace Gases) came into this market with a strong showing of highly skilled management and support staff with abundance on working experiences.

Helmed by Mr Ryan Chong Ann Tsun, a shareholder taking the lead as General Manager, Ace Gases started operating their first Nitrogen generation plant in Cyberjaya in 2018 and completed their Carbon Dioxide (CO2) manufacturing plant in Kerteh, Terengganu in close proximity to the Petronas Gas Facility, in October, 2019. Ace Gases is the subsidiary of Kelington Group Berhad.

Focused Growth (or Steadfast Growth)

Ace Gases was set-up to supply Industrial Gas to the list of Kelington Group Berhad’s clients. Actively present in 3 business segment; Setting-up Nitrogen, Hydrogen and Oxygen plants for customers, Liquid CO2 manufacturing and manufacture of Dry Ice, and Electronic Gases Trading. While both plants were being erected, Ace Gases were busy by utilizing their many years of experience in the industrial gases market in establishing known contacts with the aim of turning them into customers through trading with imported gases. This measure kept them afloat for almost 3 years and served as bridging financial support before the manufacturing operations were activated.

Standard Operating Procedures

Serving customers made up of resellers and direct ones, Ace Gases needed tanker trucks to haul the CO2 from Kerteh to their destination according to set scheduling and strict timing. Hence, the purchase of 3 units of Scania New Truck Generation for transporting their own manufactured CO2 in specially built tankers and 1 unit of the same to transport Oxygen.

Most of Ace Gases’ customers are based in West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, namely Penang, central Selangor, Ipoh, up to Johor and cross the border into Singapore. Mr Alan Lim Chui Boon, the Operation Manager is directly responsible for keeping a well-oiled operation while keeping OPEX manageable. 

“Transporting the CO2 with the powerful Scania New Truck Generation G410A6X2NA tanker has been smooth and safe for both the drivers and other road-users. I am glad that we decided on the Scania trucks. I believe the Scania trucks justify the increase in the capital expenditure (Capex) because I am confident that in due time, they will bring down the operating expenditure (Opex) even more,” said Ryan Chong.

The Scania New Truck Generation purchase was a no-brainer as it was the brand that almost all the businesses in this particular market are using. So, using Scania trucks with the after-sales services that complement them becomes the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Averaging 15,000 kilometres per month, the Scania trucks have been giving excellent uptime and with the Scania Repair & Maintenance (R&M) to safeguard the trucks, Ace Gases is assured of immediate attention with genuine parts to boot.

The New Truck Generation Advantage

Ace Gases took delivery of Scania New Truck Generation prime movers in October 2019 and started hauling Ace Gases’ largest custom-built liquid CO2 tankers in the Malaysian market with ease. Apart from the powerful Scania New Truck Generation G410 enhanced engine these Ace Gases Scania trucks offer added advantage of safety features such as the improved response from the braking system (EBS), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), and the enhanced award-winning rollover Side Curtain Airbags, which is a first in Malaysia.

For the drivers, very comfortable fully adjustable seat placed close to the door and ergonomic dashboard with touchscreen and a large windscreen with extended view give clear visibility from all angles.

The Scania New Truck Generation is equipped with advanced powertrain and aerodynamic solutions that consume an average of 3 percent less fuel. So, better savings in fuel costs with less Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission.

“With all these technologically-advanced features in place, the drivers will find it much easier to fulfill the KPIs that are set for them and will inspire them to perform well. The next step would be to have a fleet of Scania trucks with dedicated drivers cum caretakers that will be responsible for fuel efficiency and keeping the trucks uptime to its maximum,” said Ryan Chong.

Purchasing the Scania trucks was made simple by signing up with the financing that Scania Credit offered. The packages that Ace Gases took were flexible and worked well with our financial standing. 

The Ecolution Way of Working

Ryan Chong is impressed by the way all the services that follows after receiving delivery of the Scania trucks.

“The Scania R&M is not just about repairing a broken down truck but about foresight and taking care of a would-be situation before it even happen. This is why I believe Scania is very different than any other truck brand in the market because, the after-sales service executives do not tire from contacting us to find out if they can assist us in any way they can. It’s about continuous and consistent monitoring of the condition of their customers’ Scania trucks, making sure that the common problems that all operations go through, do not happen, period,” said Ryan Chong with confidence.

Being a numbers man, Ryan Chong knew that investing in the Scania Fleet management System (FMS) was a great option to subscribe to. The data collected has helped him groom his drivers into adopting a positive attitude and towards the right way to drive the Scania Trucks. The Scania trucks are presently exceeding the targeted 2.5 kilometre/litre by 0.3 kilometre/litre. His next target is 3.0 kilometre/litre and very confident of achieving it with the Scania Ecolution.

“I know for a fact that Scania Ecolution way of working help save fuel for my Scania trucks while reducing the CO2 emission into the environment. That makes me feel good knowing we are reducing the impact to the environment while it looks good on my OPEX figures as well,” stated Ryan Chong.

Achieving Sustainability with Scania

The future is looking very bright for Ace Gases and even better for the future generation. Scania Ecolution has shown Ace Gases the way to care for our planet while being rewarded with better sustainable profitability for it. All it has to do is follow Scania’s noble example and Ace Gases will reduce its carbon footprint significantly for the benefit of all.

“As an undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering, I nurtured the discipline that was taught to me so that I will excel and graduate with Honours. As an employee in multinational companies in the Industrial Gas and Chemical industry, I kept the discipline so as to acquire knowledge and experience for my future. Now, as a businessman, I am instilling discipline onto my fellow colleagues and staff so that they too will excel in their undertakings and for the benefit and ultimate growth of Ace Gases Marketing Sdn Bhd,” concluded Ryan Chong.