A Visionary Who Powered Destiny
Pensonic's founder, Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew Weng Khak, was the first recipient of the '2015 Putra Brand Personality of the Year Award'. This prestigious award was presented to Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew by Putra Brand Awards in recognition of building a local, innovative and affordably priced brand that has penetrated international market.
This award is timely, as year 2015 is a very momentous one for Pensonic. This is the year Pensonic celebrates triple celebrations of Pensonic Mother Company KEAT RADIO's 50th Anniversary, Pensonic Holdings Berhad's 33rd Anniversary and the 10th Anniversary of Pensonic Friends, who have contributed favourably in Pensonic's branding initiatives. Therefore, this year is a truly significant year that called for mega celebrations, that was shared with Pensonic's consumers. Consumers were thrilled as many contests were organised and they had the opportunity to win lots of Pensonic's Electrical Home Appliances. Cooking classes were also held in selected venues throughout the nation to reward Pensonic's loyal consumers and commemorate Pensonic's triple celebrations.
Pensonic has come a long way since its humble beginning in 1965 as Keat Radio and Electrical Co. in Balik Pulau, to its present R&D, Innovation and Global Operations Centre, spanning six acres of land in Bukit Minyak, Penang.
Keat Radio and Electrical Co. started as a small workshop and gradually grew into a shop that sold imported electrical items. The first branch was established in 1974 and two years later, Pensonic ventured into the import, export and distribution of Electrical Home Appliances. Keat Radio Co. Sdn. Bhd. was incorporated into a private limited company in 1977. In 1982, Pensonic Sales and Service Sdn. Bhd. came into existence with several branches throughout Malaysia to accommodate the fast expanding business under one umbrella group.
Today, Pensonic has a vast domestic distribution network of 10 branches and more than 900 dealers countrywide. Pensonic products are exported to 30 countries in ASEAN, East and West Asia, and Middle-East, supported by a complete host of manufacturing facilities, warehouses, showrooms and customer care centres.
The unique and easily remembered name ‘Pensonic’ was the brainchild of its founder Y.Bhg Dato’ Seri Chew Weng Khak, who coined the word based on special sentiment and personal meaning. ‘Pensonic’ is an amalgam of two words, ‘Penang’ and ‘Sonic’, hence resulting in ‘Pensonic’! The name ‘Pensonic’ is a tribute to the founder Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew's beloved home state Penang while ‘sonic’ is an audible reminder of the company’s roots in selling radios. ‘Pensonic’ is also synonymous with the phrase ‘Sound of Penang’. Now Pensonic is not only the pride of Penang, but is also the pride of its nation.
In 1982, the Pensonic Group begun importing and assembling the first batch of audio and visual products under the Pensonic brand. Pensonic was registered as a trademark in Malaysia in 1984 and is now registered in more than 20 countries, thus laying the foundation for global expansion. In 1988, the Pensonic Group began manufacturing and marketing Electrical Home Appliances (EHA) under the Pensonic brand, making Pensonic the first Malaysian owned-and-grown brand in history to become the nation’s first “Made in Malaysia” Electrical Home Appliances! For the first time, a locally conceived and produced range of electrical products took its place among established brands from Japan, Europe and the United States!
Eventually in 1994, Pensonic Holdings Berhad was incorporated as an investment holding company to consolidate the various companies under the Pensonic Group and as the vehicle for its public listing. On 18 December 1995, Pensonic Holdings Berhad was listed on the Second Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (formerly Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange).
The core businesses of the Pensonic Group are manufacturing, importing, exporting, distribution and marketing Electrical Home Appliances for the domestic and international markets. The Pensonic Group is currently focused on its Own Design Manufacturing (ODM) for several international brands in the Electrical Home Appliances industry.
Through its strong distribution network, the Pensonic Group has adopted a multi-brand platform to cater for different product categories and market segments. With Pensonic as its core brand, the Pensonic Group also owns the Lebensstil Kollektion and Cornell. Pensonic is also sole distributor in Malaysia for international home appliance brands Princess, Gaggia and Indesit.
Decades of brand-building, competitive pricing, high quality and wide-ranging products have built Pensonic's reputation as the most popular Malaysian brand for Electrical Home Appliances. Pensonic was the only Electrical Home Appliances brand selected by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) as one of the 20 leading and most prominent brands in Malaysia for the SHOWCASE MALAYSIA 2003 trade exhibition, held in conjunction with the 13th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit. Among the bevy of local brands in the Malaysian market, Pensonic was specially chosen to be the first brand in Malaysia accorded with the Brand Promotion Grant and permitted to use the logo “MADE IN MALAYSIA FOR THE WORLD” in the export market by MATRADE.
Pensonic has been awarded four times running for the Brand Excellence Award in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 by the Ministry of Internal Trade and Industry. Continuing with the Company’s time honoured brand journey towards excellence, Pensonic was also awarded with the title ‘Best Electronic Goods TV Commercial’ in 2008 by a leading international Marketing magazine. The cream of the crop brand award came in 2010 with Pensonic gaining recognition for the Putra Brand Award for Household and Outdoor Appliances, taking its place at the top pedestal of electrical household brand names.
Pensonic was awarded the National Creativity & Innovation Award 2004 by the Malaysia Design Technology Centre for outstanding brand building that has helped build Malaysia’s international image and reputation for quality. Its strength in product design and development has also earned it the Malaysia Good Design Mark for its Pensonic Blender PB-501 awarded by the Malaysia Design Council while its Pensonic Table Fan PF-42 won the 2002 Energy Efficiency & Best Price Fan jointly awarded by Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Ministry of Energy, Communications and Multimedia.
As the Pensonic Group enters the globalisation era, it has formulated a multi-pronged, master plan for the Pensonic label with clearly defined vision and values to drive the brand to greater heights. Intensive brand building activities are being planned and executed to transform the Pensonic name into an Asian powerhouse at the first stage and a global brand in the near future. Pensonic is continuously developing and strengthening its capability in product innovation, design and development to support its next wave of growth.
The Pensonic Group is totally committed to deliver quality products and services, not just to meet but exceed the customer’s expectations. Through unabated improvement in its quality management system, it has consolidated its position as a leader for quality and reliability. In 1999, Pensonic was accorded the ISO 9002 accreditation that was upgraded to ISO 9001-2000 in 2002.
Therefore, it is only fitting that a forward thinking leader who has built his company from scratch into a leading Electrical and Electronic Manufacturer in Malaysia, with a steadily increasing presence in the export market, be recognised for his innovative thinking and achievements. It was an honour and a significant milestone for Pensonic when the first ever '2015 Putra Brand Personality of the Year Award' went to Pensonic's founder Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew Weng Khak.
Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew built his one man business into one of Malaysia's top and innovative local brands. Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew's wealth of experience and knowledge in manufacturing and production, his vast network of business connections built over time, coupled with a strong brand positioning, have helped Pensonic flourish and achieve its steady growth through the years. No doubt, Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew's innovative management style and Pensonic's solid foundation of core values have successfully navigated Pensonic through economic storms and financial crisis, emerging stronger with every challenge.
What began as a modest workshop and retail shop has now become a prominent local Electrical Home Appliances manufacturer. Pensonic's founder Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew is proof that putting your customers first, delivering your promises and a steadfast belief in your vision even when the going gets tough, will help you achieve more than you think is possible. Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew shares, "Limitations are barriers we impose on ourselves. Sometimes solutions may not be obvious, but if we persevere, keep an open mind and approach problems with a positive attitude, you will definitely find solutions soon enough".
He adds, "People are very important. I have come this far with the help of people who shared my vision and have encouraged me all these years". Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew says he owes his success to the invaluable support of his family, friends, business colleagues, the Government, and most importantly, Pensonic employees and loyal customers who have stood by Pensonic through the years. Y.Bhg Dato' Seri Chew's achievements are possible because he created opportunities, instead of waiting for the right moment, and believed in his vision of creating a local brand made for the world. Indeed, this visionary not only powered his own destiny, but also proved Malaysia Boleh!
