Singapore based truck body builder Beng Hock Mechanical Engineering is eyeing opportunities for expansion into Malaysia and other ASEAN countries and is on the lookout for suitable partners to help it achieve its aims, particularly in the waste management sector.
The company was established in 2010 but diversified its product range from 2012 onwards to become a one-stop solution for truck body requirements. The company describes itself as a “Heavy Vehicle Solutions Centre” – help clients adapt their vehicles according to specific requirements and always on the lookout for innovative solutions to specific problems.
Beng Hock produces heavy vehicle bodies as well as tippers and open top containers under its own BHM brand name. In addition, however, the company also acts as an importer for a wide range of equipment suppliers from Europe. Equipment imported includes hook lifts from the Belgian manufacturer Hydrolift, compactors, tippers and aluminium and steel bodies from Turkish company Orakci, truck mounted cranes from PM and cargo lifts from Baer. The company also sells waste compacters from the Swiss company Villinger. According to General Manager Kenji Leow, the company is able to distribute all of this equipment in Malaysia with the exception of PM.
Key industry sectors covered by Beng Hock include waste management, construction and logistics, but it is the area of waste management vehicles where the company has particular knowledge and is convinced its range of waste management equipment would be really useful to the Malaysian market, whilst also enhancing the reputation of city planning in Malaysia.
Beng Hock is particularly focused on looking at opportunities to find innovations to develop in Malaysia and other ASEAN markets, the aim being to constantly improve technology and innovation in the local market. With this in mind the company is able to customise according to the local environment.
Recent key areas of innovation include:
- Being the first company in Singapore to put a PM crane on a recovery truck. This was innovative as these trucks usually only have a towing system.
- The introduced of concealed waste bins (concealed from the top), which help to deal with rats. The bins hook to the compactor and provides minimum exposure to pollution.
- The introduction of self-cleaning toilet facilities. The patented TRIAX self-cleaning toilet facilities are equipped with an automated washing system featuring dedicated nozzles with deflected jets, flat jets, parallel and grazing jets for washing the floor, the walls and the toilet. Toilet emptying, washing and disinfection takes place in a specific room separate from the user’s room. The company is working with the National Environment Agency with regards to this.
According to Kenji Leow, one of the key challenges in the market is price, and Beng Hock is constantly thinking how they can develop products locally in order to bring the costs down. The company is therefore actively looking for partnership agreements with equipment manufacturers so they can produce in Singapore and Malaysia.