Who would have thought that palm oil waste could create attractive economic returns that provide universal benefits, indirectly overcoming the problem of environmental pollution. Its ability to produce value-added products has begun to be seen as a key resource capable of sustaining the economy. Puan Amila Kamarudin and Puan Ariati Muhammad from Gamalux Sdn Bhd (Gamalux) shared with us their story.

Can you share Gamalux’s business background?
Gamalux was founded by Saeed Ahmed (a Pakistani) in 1994, and succeeded by his son Usman Ahmed in 2003. Then, in 2019, the Muthusamy family (Malaysians) started investing in the company and making the family the majority shareholding of the company.

The company is on the trading as well as exporting of various palm oil waste products and oleochemicals for the  manufacturing of soap and toiletry products.

Our main products are High Free Fatty Acid Crude Palm Oil (HIFFA CPO), Palm Kernel Acid Oil (PKAO), Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME), Oleochemicals, Biodiesel and Refinery Residue.

We export our products in bulk, flexi-bag, ISO tanks and full container loads to various countries in Asia and Europe such as Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Korea, China, Singapore, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom.

What are the strengths of Gamalux products and services?
We believe that we have built an intact reputation in the green technology industry. Our products are 100 percent residual palm oil. The European Union (EU) requires and allows only sustainably produced palm oil for export to the EU market after 2020. Not only have we met this requirement, we also have certificates from the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) and the National Italian Scheme, and thus we have the advantage to market our products there.

	Products by Gamalux

How does Gamalux ensure existing customers remain loyal?
Before the Covid-19 pandemic threatened the world, Gamalux's top management regularly visited overseas customers to ensure that good relationships were maintained, as well as to ensure that they were satisfied with our products and services.

In addition, Gamalux actively attends various conferences related to the palm oil industry at the national and international levels. Through this conference, we can strengthen relationships among industry players, gain new customers, as well as discuss current and future market needs.

What are the main challenges in this business?
Gamalux faces the challenge of commodity price volatility risk and we implement price risk management instruments to ensure our business remains competitive.

What are Gamalux's future plans?
In the future, Gamalux plans to export its products to several other European countries, among them are the Netherlands and Finland.

In addition, we also plan to be involved in the manufacturing industry. Currently, we are constructing two manufacturing plants to produce different products and raw materials in West Port Klang, namely Solvent Extraction Plant (SEP) and Specialized Physical Refinery (SPR).