|
By Alex Lim
MANY companies are struggling to ride out the current economic downturn, but for Farlin Timbers, it is business as usual.
The company's key business is supplying timber logs to India - a market which has been relatively unscathed by the financial turmoil.
'Our markets have been steady, and the support from our banks and our buyers is overwhelming,' says the company's general manager Naarayan Raaghavan.
'Farlin has not only been able to meet the challenges posed by some very difficult global situations, but it has also been able to capitalise on the opportunities presented,' he adds.
For example, the company, one of the winners at this year's Enterprise 50 Awards, was able to seal more joint ventures and exclusive distribution rights, and also increase promotion of its own brand of wood products that it manufactures.
'In short, during difficult times, Farlin has not only been innovative, but also has been able to successfully turn the opportunities presented by the adverse climate to its advantage,' says Mr Raaghavan.
Farlin, which boasts an impressive customer list of some 600 in India alone, commands 58 per cent of this country's market share for round logs used by saw mills and manufacturers of plywood and veneer.
The company was founded in 1988 in Australia by Mr Mohammed Farouk. It started off by importing timber round logs from Africa and Malaysia, and then exporting to China and India.
The company recognises the importance of weaving a tighter value chain for itself. While it began as a trader, it has grown beyond that.
Over the years, Farlin began running its own plantations, processing and distributing its own logs, and earning better margins and passing on cost savings to its customers in the form of highly competitive prices.
In 1999, the company moved its operations to Singapore. It has since added New Zealand, Europe and South America to its list of supply sources, while selling its products to markets other than India, like the Middle East.
Singapore, meanwhile, remains the company's headquarters, where it is conferred the Global Traders Programme that lets the company enjoy concessionary tax rates.
The company's turnover of US$650 million ($905 million) for the financial year ended June 30, 2009 was 13 per cent more than the previous year.
Farlin expects this figure to hit US$1 billion in two to three years' time. By then, it will be actively seeking a listing on the Singapore Exchange, says Mr Raaghavan.
Farlin's greatest challenge going forward is not merely growing the business, but 'sustenance of the brand image and its products and to keep innovating in order to bring consistently superior products to its end users at competitive pricing', Mr Raaghavan says.
Despite its already very sizeable business, Farlin is not going to rest on its laurels.
'We are never satisfied with our achievements,' says Mr Raaghavan.
'We continually seek improvements in our work process, adding innovations and improvisations to our products, and refine our marketing techniques, so as to reach our customers in the most efficient manner.
Customer satisfaction is our prime motto,' he adds.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
| 
