Jaring Metal Industries strikes gold in recyclables
Discovery Reports
As one of Malaysia's leaders in waste management and recycling, Jaring Metal Industries plays a distinct triple role of entrepreneur, environmental protector and educator for the electrical and electronics industry.
Jaring has been recovering metals from discarded electronics, appliances and semiconductors since 1997. The company extracts and processes gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, brass, bronze, tin, aluminium and other precious, ferrous and non-ferrous metals for reselling to local metal and jewellery companies.
The company is also a second tier supplier to the mainland, United States, Japan, India and South Korea. Backed by the strength of its performance at home and overseas, Jaring is planning its initial public offering and is actively looking for investors. The company is also setting its sights on establishing its presence outside Malaysia, particularly on the mainland. "The mainland is still the best market in the region. They have plenty of natural resources," says managing director Thomas Ng.
Having its own metallurgy laboratory has allowed Jaring to keep abreast of technological developments necessary for efficient metal recovery and processing. The company is always on the lookout for the latest recovery and refining technologies.
"Ten years ago, 1 per cent of silver was not viable to recover," Ng says. "Current technology and know-how make even less than 1 per cent of silver viable and profitable."
As obsolete gadgets steadily contribute to the world's waste, Jaring also shares its knowledge and experience with the public and especially manufacturers. It teaches how the proper disposal of scrap materials, coupled with recycling, can actually help reduce a company's costs as well as its impact on the environment. "Resources are limited," Ng says. "We can reuse or recycle, but we cannot create resources."
