Dairei To Use Malaysia As Base For Asian Super Freezer Market

By Zainal Abdul Jalil JITRA (Kedah, Malaysia), Nov 23 (Bernama) -- A Malaysian-Japanese joint venture, Dairei Asia Sdn Bhd (Dairei), wants to make Malaysia a base from which to penetrate the Asian super freezer market. Managing director Jiro Suzuki said the super freezer market is huge and under-developed in Asia and Malaysia, and demand is expected to be high. He said super freezers can keep food fresh for over a year, far longer than normal freezers, and can reduce losses for businesses. "Dairei sees high demand from the food industry, restaurants and the fishery sector," he told reporters after signing an agreement on the production of the -60°C freezers between Dairei and Zun Utara Industri Sdn Bhd at the Bandar Darulaman Industrial Zone here on Wednesday. Dairei was represented by Suzuki and managing director Yoshiaki Kurita, while Zun Utara was represented by its managing director Lim Hock Huat and director Johnny Lim. Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the Dairei chairman, witnessed the signing. Dairei, set up in July, is owned by M&M Consolidated Resources Sdn Bhd and Dairei Ltd, Japan, and will produce various sizes of the freezer for the Asian market. "Although the freezers cost RM6,500 for a 180-litre unit, they are more beneficial to businesses than -20°C or -40°C freezers, which can keep food fresh for a limited time," said Suzuki. He said Dairei expects to control 10 per cent of the Malaysian freezer market in five years with the introduction of the super freezer, which until now was brought in from Japan. "In the early stage, most of the materials for the freezers will be brought in from Japan, while 100 per cent of the technology will be transferred from Dairei Japan to Malaysia," he said. In his speech earlier, Dr Mahathir said the technololgy transfer by Dairei is one of the success stories of the Look East policy he launched in 1982 when he was prime minister. The technology of making -60°C freezers is new to Malaysia but has been used a lot in Japan, especially by traders, he said. "I am confident Malaysia can be a manufacturer of high quality freezers acceptable by the whole world, and Dairei will help us to achieve this goal," he added. -- BERNAMA Malaysia