This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 10, 2017 - April 16, 2017

LIM Kon Lian did not come from a medical background, but from much humbler origins. He was a general worker, an apprentice in a metal fabrication business and a freelance subcontractor for metal fabrication before he founded the Victor Company in 1981. The sole proprietorship was involved in the manufacture of steel and wooden furniture, including hospital fittings.

Today, you can find Lim’s initials “LKL” imprinted on many hospital bed frames, be it in the busy wards of government hospitals like Hospital Putrajaya or Hospital Sungai Buloh, or in the more exclusive surroundings of private hospitals like Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur and Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur.

After fine-tuning his expertise in the manufacture of healthcare furniture and equipment, Lim co-founded LKL Advance Metaltech Sdn Bhd, which is involved in the provision of healthcare beds, peripherals and accessories, with his wife Mok Mei Lan in 1993.

Twenty-three years later, LKL International Bhd, the holding company of LKL Advance Metaltech, made its debut on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia on May 16, 2016. As at last Thursday, the company had a market capitalisation of RM117.92 million.

Almost one year after the listing, Lim, who helms LKL’s operations as its managing director, has big plans to turn it into a full-fledged healthcare player by expanding its product offerings.

“We have a joint-venture company (JVco) that will distribute Nihon Kohden medical devices in Malaysia. Basically, the JVCo is expected to have the exclusive distributorship rights from Nihon Kohden Singapore Pte Ltd for three years,” Lim tells The Edge.

“Among the devices we will be distributing are defibrillators, patient monitor screens, automated external defibrillators and electroencephalographs.”

LKL’s subsidiaries, Medik Gen Sdn Bhd and LKL Advance, entered into an agreement on March 1 with TMI Solutions (Pvt) Ltd, a medical equipment trading company in Sri Lanka, to form the JVCo, TMI Medik Group Sdn Bhd (TMG).

Under the agreement, LKL will hold a 70% stake in TMG and TMI, the remaining 30%. Contributions from this venture is expected to kick start in the first quarter of its financial year ending April 30, 2018 (FY2018).

LKL is looking to tap its strong network, which stood at 143 local hospitals and medical centres as at Oct 31, 2015.

“We have been in the industry for [more than 30 years], but we believe there is more visibility and confidence in the group since we became publicly listed,” says Lim.

“With our existing product offerings, combined with the exclusive distributorship rights from Nihon Kohden, we believe we can be a full-fledged player in the medical industry, providing A-to-Z comprehensive solutions for our customers.”

The group’s main products are healthcare beds — manual beds that come with manual crank mechanisms to raise their height, Intensive Care Unit and Critical Care Unit beds, standard electrically powered beds to enable height and back rest adjustments, and hydraulic beds that have a foot pedal-operated hydraulic jack to enable height adjustments.

LKL also manufactures medical peripherals and accessories, including patient transport trolleys, examination tables, medical carts, instrument trolleys and overbed tables.

It is looking to expand its product base to Asia, particularly Vietnam and the Maldives, in FY2018.

“We also plan to strengthen our presence in the Middle East. We recently participated in exhibitions in Dubai and Kuwait, and we will be looking to take part in exhibitions in Africa,” says Lim.

LKL currently has a presence in over 30 countries, including Ghana, Bangladesh, Botswana, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Overseas markets contributed 26.9% to its revenue in the nine months ended Jan 31, 2017 (9MFY2017), while the Malaysian market contributed 73.1%.

For 9MFY2017, LKL reported a net profit of RM4.27 million, up 3.3% year on year. Revenue growth was flat at RM27.8 million.

The group declared and paid its first interim dividend of 0.35 sen per share on March 20, which works out to a dividend yield of 1.27%, based on its share price of 27.5 sen.

Lim is not too concerned about the emergence of competitors from China. “They may be able to compete on costs, but we give value to our customers by providing after-sales service ... as a long-term player in the industry.”

LKL is run mainly by members of Lim’s family, with Mok serving as an executive director, overseeing the procurement functions of the group.

Their son, Ben Lim Pak Hong, is the group general manager. A mechatronic engineering graduate, he manages the overall operations of the group, with a special focus on research and development.

Their daughter, Elaine Lim Sin Yee, is the group’s human resource administration manager, while her husband, Lim Ming Chang, is the general manager of operations, overseeing the group’s manufacturing operations.

The Lim family controls 67.14% of the group’s shares. Since its listing, LKL’s share price has hit a one-year high of 33 sen, on June 15 last year.

Lim does not want to reveal too many forward indicators, but says the group remains optimistic about prospects in FY2018, with its overseas expansion plan and the diversification activities via its JVCo.

And if reports that Malaysia is one of the top four healthcare destinations in the world are anything to go by, then LKL may find itself in a sweet spot as hospitals expand to maximise the potential arising from such an accolade.

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