It’s been a flurry of activity during my first few months here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, home of the new dedicated MPS branch office in Asia!
Working in Asia for over 27 years in the printing and graphic arts industry, and living in South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan, moving back to Malaysia was like coming home for me. Even though I previously didn’t live in the city of Kuala Lumpur, I spent a lot of time here on business and made friends that warmly welcomed me back.
And being Dutch, working for a Dutch company also brings a nice feeling of familiarity!
George (left) and Tim (right) in the MPS Asia office
The charm of KL
As the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur or commonly known as ‘KL’ is an ideal business hub with its multicultural community, English as a common language, a very skilled labour force, and central proximity to other countries in Asia.
KL offers an impressive metropolitan area with luxury shopping malls (think high-end labels!) nestled with colonial houses, temples, mosques, botanical gardens and lakes, with the highlands, tea plantations, and old historic towns not far away. With a tropical rainforest climate, KL provides the best combination of warmth and lush surroundings.
But what I really love about KL is the food! In addition to mouth-watering Malaysian curries, this area has benefited from the influence of Chinese, Indian and other Asian cuisine with fragrant spices and signature dishes. The dining selection here is truly a gastronomical paradise with extremely affordable and convenient options and countless fine-dining restaurants as well. In the Netherlands, people talk about the weather. In KL, we ask what you had for lunch!
Familiar faces
Having worked with the label and packaging industry before, there’s also a refreshing familiarity being back and re-engaging with relationships I made over the years.
A very familiar face for me in Malaysia was George Tan, MPS Area Sales Manager who oversees sales in the new office here, as I previously met him while representing HP. In addition to his direct expertise from previously representing MPS as an agent in Malaysia, George has a tremendous knowledge of digital and conventional label presses and is just a great colleague to work with.
Setting up the office together was a big undertaking visiting possible locations, arranging logistics, and being patient with the bureaucracy involved with opening a business. But we succeeded, and very soon we will welcome an engineer to the team for dedicated service and are currently recruiting for two additional engineers with the ability to speak Chinese.
Nostalgia in Arnhem
I had the pleasure of meeting many of my new colleagues at MPS headquarters in Arnhem back in December, while there for training.
A highlight of my time there was the MPS Christmas party that served a nostalgic Dutch dish called Boerenkool. It’s a very simple meal of kale, potatoes ad smoked sausages but as it is not something I can easily have in Asia, it was a treasured treat for a Dutch man back home in the Netherlands.
But speaking of weather, it was nice to return home to warm breezes in Kuala Lumpur.
Get in touch
There’s so much here to accomplish in Asia – but now that the infrastructure is in place, we are moving full steam ahead!
Mark your calendar for May 2 and 3 to meet me at the Labels & Packaging Innovation Conference on in Bangkok.
Here’s how to reach MPS Systems Asia Sdn BHd:
Level 30, The Gardens North Tower
Mid Valley City
Lingkaran Syed Putra
59200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
E: info-asia@mps4u.com
Tim Klappe, Managing Director Asia Pacific
T: +60 603-2035-9668
M: +60 967-46689
E: t.klappe@mps4u.com
George Tan, Area Sales Manager
T: +60 603-2035-9669
M: +60 12 218 1448
E: g.tan@mps4u.com