The Linaco Group of Companies has progressively grown into a respected supplier of coconut products, Chinese herbal recipes, pre-mixed spices, flavours, fragrances and caramelised sugar; having established itself as one of the most dynamic producers of coconut related products in the world.
HE WHO BUILDS WILL HIMSELF BE BUILT
Exporting to more than 40 countries, including Europe, the Middle East, Hong Kong, China and Australia, and remaining focused on its core values of dealing in high quality products only; Linaco Group is now known as a reputable supplier with consistency in quality and dependability in its product supply and timely after-sales service.
“Our strength in being able to deliver such quality service lies in the people we employ, which we consider as our single most important core asset in the business,” explains Joe Ling, Chief Executive Officer at the Linaco Group. “We provide our staff with a positive and healthy working environment, where they are continuously trained and nurtured to achieve the Company’s united aspirations, as well as their own.”
DYNAMIC SUPPLIERS
Established in 1992, Linaco Group was able to launch its first packet of coconut milk powder in 1994 under the Rasaku brand; choosing the name Rasaku specifically as it evokes the feelings of “love and warmth in our mothers’ home-cooked recipes”.
“In 1997, we acquired Claypot, a pre-packaged herbal soup mix which significantly extended our footprint within the food and beverage industry,” continues Ling. “Linaco further improved its traditional packing with TetraPak aseptic carton formats in 2004, and we were the first Company to install a TetraPak machine. As a result, all coconut milk produced in our Batu Pahat factory is packed using hygienic, state-of-the-art packaging.
“We launched our ready-to-drink COWA coconut water in 2014, and not only are we the first Company in Malaysia to offer locally-packed natural coconut water in TetraPak Prisma Aseptic packaging, but we are amongst the first in Southeast Asia too.”
The Company has retained its core values throughout its evolution in the industry, with the Group still fully owned by the siblings of the founders; only one of the subsidiaries that is involved in the manufacturing of coconut products consists of a partner from France, holding a minority stake.
Ling clarifies: “We are amongst the most dynamic suppliers of coconut based products in the world. Alongside our canned coconut milk, we also produce coconut milk powder, low fat desiccated coconut, coconut water and virgin coconut oil.
The Company’s strategies over the years have been to continually expand into different regions and product ranges, and to innovate with new recipes. On top of that, the people in the Company are interlinked closely with the core value of the business – He who builds will himself be built – which is to continuously create synergy through partnerships at work and at corporate level.
“Throughout recent years, there has been a particular spotlight on coconut products for health and anti-aging benefits,” affirms Ling. “Having been painted as a super-food, the Company has an opportunity to reach out to the market with good quality products as well as flexibility of different packaging formats to ensure that all levels of our customers from all levels of industry are covered.”
With such vast experience in the production and sale of coconut products, Linaco has had a jump on its competitors within the market, enabling it to meet the increase in demand placed upon the industry. The Company is continuously improving and placing emphasis on the standard of quality of the products; therefore ensuring there are as few bad products saturating the market as possible.
CYCLE OF LIFE
A prevalent difference for Linaco Group within the industry is that it is not a Company looking solely at profits, rather, it analyses the way organisations can come together to enhance and enable each other to grow in a mutually beneficial way. To Linaco it is the people that have enabled the Company to grow over the years and it is this value system itself that is sustaining the growth of the business.
Linaco has created a corporate vision based around what it calls the five elements of the cycle of life, including industry, the workforce, family, values and the community.
“To us, the industry denotes a hive of activity that on the one hand provides a basket of goods and services to the community and on the other, a source of livelihood to the workforce that we employ,” explains Ling. “The workforce then provides the manpower we need to drive the industry in the pursuit of excellence. From the means of livelihood provided by the industry, the workforce is able to provide basic needs to their family.
“Naturally, family provides an important and reliable source of emotional wellbeing to the workforce, indirectly powering them to provide services to the industry; therefore the family encompasses a set of values that will nourish the workforce. The values that we instil in our staff form the foundations of the community we are trying to build and the adherence to a set of values which would nourish and enrich both the family and community.”
A strong reinforcement which supports the Company comes from the community it has set up, and the values which it adheres to; in turn providing the basic foundations for the families. The community forms the market place in which the industry provides and displays its basket of goods and services.
“The five elements in our corporate vision are perpetually interactive and interdependent. In order for us to thrive, each element must continuously build and support each other,” concludes Ling. “It is my hope that over the next three to five years, the values and works of Linaco will be seen not as an example but as the practice undertaken by other industry
