KUCHING: Kuching-based footwear manufacturer Red Profile Sdn Bhd (Red Profile) hopes to secure more contracts from the state government and local authorities in supplying occupational footwear to their staff and workers.
RECOGNITION: Emma holds the product certificate licence awarded by SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd (SIRIM). This demonstrates that Red Profile is committed to follow the requirements as assigned by SIRIM in producing quality footwear for its customers.
Its chairman Mohd Zainuddin Dawi foresaw that there was huge potential that the company can tap for occupational footwear and safety footwear in Sarawak.
“The shoe manufacturing industry in Sarawak is still very new as there are not many skilled workers in the State coupled with the absence of supporting industries around for instance, sewing of shoes, tools needed and good materials to produce quality shoes,” he said.
“For the shoe manufacturing industry in Sarawak to grow, we need to have the right people, materials and tools to develop the business. Presently, most of the materials that we use are ordered from West Malaysia,” he added.
“With the factory that we set up here, we believe that there is a huge potential for the manufacturing of footwear to grow in Sarawak. Therefore, we hope to co-operate with the state government, local authorities namely Kuching City North Commission (DBKU), Padawan Municipal Council (MPP), Kuching City South Council (MBKS) and some uniform bodies to provide the service of manufacturing occupational footwear for their staff and workers.
“In fact, we manufacture quality shoes made of leather that are value for money,” he told a press conference yesterday.
He said currently, most of the contracts that the com-pany secured were for the manufacturing of occu-pational footwear for Federal Government Departments and agencies in Sarawak.
These include amongst others the Fire and Rescue Department and Custom Department.
Besides that, he said the company also manufactured occupational shoes for workers in the private sector.
These include Normah Medical Specialist Centre, Brooke Dockyard and Engineering Works Corporation and Sarawak Plantation Bhd (SPB).
Further, he added that the Federal Government was very supportive of the business and thus, the company would like to extend its services to the State Government.
Zainuddin, who believed in taking one step at a time was confident that the company can move forward and achieve its goals to become the leading footwear manufacturer in Sarawak. He pointed out that the company had just obtained the International standard certification for occupational footwear from SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd recently.
He noted that the company was the first footwear manufacturer in Malaysia to be awarded the recognition under the occupational footwear category.
He added that the company is also looking to tap and penetrate the open market within the next two years to capture more customer base and further enhance its business.
“Right now, we want to strengthen our local market first to make our presence known. Subsequently, we will penetrate new markets after we establish our brand name,” he added.
He pointed out that the next segment which the company can venture into was the manufacturing of safety footwear. Zainuddin, noted that there were a few industries where the company can look into.
They were oil and gas, plantation and the construction sector.
Meanwhile, on the production of the company, he revealed that the company manufactured 12,000 pairs of shoes in 2008 but the numbers declined mar-ginally last year due to the credit crisis.
As for the operations of the company, he said the seven machines that were available at its factory here had the capacity to manufacture 100 pairs of shoes per day.
Additionally, for the design of its products, he said clients could request for custom-made shoes or opt for the design that they wanted according to their preference.
On the other hand, Red Profile managing director cum founder Emma @ Norma Ibrahim said her passion and interest drove her to venture into the shoe manufacturing industry.
“It all started as a hobby to collect shoes and from there onwards, I thought that it would be a good idea to start a business. In pursuit of greater knowledge of shoe making industry, I went to New York for an intensive shoe-making course conducted by renowned shoemaker, Sissy and Mackay International Shoe Design School and completed a course there,” she said.
She and her husband, Zainuddin with the help of several friends started Red Profile in June 2006 and developed the business to what is today.
Interestingly, she revealed that her desire was to manufacture fashionable shoes for ladies and women.
On her project, she said she was in the process of registering the brand name for the manufacturing of ladies shoes as “Red Sole” and her project could be possibly initiated by the middle of this year.
She added that she would introduce her project in the West Malaysia market as there was more demand there before gradually introducing it to the local market
Emma, who is a Sarawakian also hoped that people from Sarawak support local industries by purchasing Sarawakian-made products especially shoes that are manufactured by locals as they are manufactured using quality materials and priced reasonably.