Newsletter 2014-1 - 6th draft - UniKL MICET

THE PLASTICS & RUBBER INSTITUTE, MALAYSIA
FOR MEMBERS ONLY Issue #1, 2014
NEWSLETTER
PRIM Management
Committee 2014-16
President: Pong Kai See
VP Plastics: Muzafar Zulkifli
VP Rubber: Chan Von Lian
Hon Secretary: Sin Yoong Cheong
Treasurer: Sin Siew Mun
Asst Secretary: Mervyn Sia Chang Chien
Asst Treasurer: Stanley Lim Hock Eng
L-R: Francesca Netto, Chan Von Lian, Sin Siew Mun, Sin Yoong Cheong,
Pong Kai See, Mervyn Sia Chang Chien, Muzafar Zulkilfi, Mustapha
Ngah, Azanam Shah Hashim, Stanley Lim Hock Eng
Committee:
Chris Ng Kha Chan
Francesca Netto
Prof. Dr. Azanam Shah Hashim
Dr. Mustapha Ngah
Dr. Ong Siew Kooi (Co-op)
Dr. Amir Hashim Md Yatim (Co-Op)
Dr. Md. Aris Ahmad (Immediate Past
President
New Fellows (FPRIM)
Professor Dr Azanam
Shah Hashim, FPRIM
2014 PRIM AGM & Polymer Seminar
Deputy President Academic &
Technology, University Kuala
Lumpur (UniKL)
Lim Sum Teck, FPRIM
RICS Sdn Bhd
Likes to describe himself as
the rubber tapper who
became
a
polymer
technologist, Lim trained in
the UK and worked in
various specialist polymer
areas, including latex gloves.
20, Jalan U5/28, Panasuria, Mah Sing Integrated Industrial Park, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor DarulEhsan
Telephone: 03-7847 1034 Fax: 03-78471610 E-mail: primy@prim.org.my, Website: http://www.prim.org.my
THE PLASTICS & RUBBER INSTITUTE, MALAYSIA
PRESIDENT’s FOREWORD
On behalf of myself and my committee, I wish to thank you in
electing us. Our mission is to serve the members and to make the
Institute the de-facto place for fellowship and exchange and
dissemination of information and knowledge on rubber and plastics
knowhow.
Issue #1, 2014
#1,the2014
corporate members areIssue
rubber. Of
more
than 150 student members passing through the
Diploma courses of the past 5 years, only 3
stayed on as Diploma members. Student
members from the various University
chapters dropped out before they even
finished their courses. Something was
obviously wrong.
By consensus, the Institute has made a fair job of it in education.
More so in rubber, judging from student enrolment, than in plastics. We have a proud
TheManagement
analysis to find out why centred on
track record here. Awardees of the Licentiateship grade of membership (LPRIM), later
PRIM
membership benefits. WIIFM (What’s In It
updated to the Diploma (DPRIM), have progressed, after obtaining their hard-earned
For Me?). The question really got members
qualification, to senior positions of responsibility in their various organisations. We count
managing directors, general managers, plant managers, quality directors, etc. amongst
going. In summary, most of what was said
their numbers.
centred around “Not done”, “not enough of
The Institute now has the opportunity to work with a local university to embed the
Graduateship grade of membership (GradPRIM) in a bachelor degree level course in
polymer. We are glad to record the signing of NDA (non-disclosure agreement) elsewhere
in this newsletter. At the just-concluded EGM on June 3, members gave further
endorsement of this initiative by approving the Graduateship as a new grade of
membership. No doubt, a lot more work is needed before the first GradPRIM comes off
the production line. We look forward to reporting this ground-breaking event.
I am also grateful to have the support of a group of enthusiastic and hard-working
members within our core group. This is demonstrated in the eagerness we tackled the
many topics at our Management Committee Retreat (see report). Among the various
activities proposed are: better webpage and more regular communications (this newsletter
is the first result), a young members group, more industry oriented evening talks, and,
rather belatedly I suggest, more activities for the plastics side of the Institute. The VicePresident (Plastics) will chair a sub-committee to implement this new initiative.
No organisation can be successful without the active participation and support of you, the
members. We look forward to seeing more of you in upcoming activities. See you soon!
New Committee off to a quick start –
Report of retreat in Cameron Highlands May 2-­‐3, 2014
The rain pelted down mercilessly. The long
queue of cars carrying holiday makers
celebrating Labour Day moved ever so
slowly. Some members got lost and couldn’t
find the hotel. The afternoon’s critical analysis
session has to be cancelled because of traffic.
This was not the start we all wanted.
Nevertheless, they all came, some after midnight, some early next morning. After a
2
sumptuous breakfast, we had a full quorum.
The critical analysis session began anew.
Members put education as our core strength,
together with having a small group of
enthusiastic, willing workers. Good support
from industry was also recognised as a
strength as seen in the response to annual
dinner and appeal for funds. The Institute’s
sound finance was an asset, confirmed later
in the Treasure’s Financial Report. The major
weakness was seen as a shrinking
membership. The plastics side was rather
poorly represented. Look at the stats.
Membership numbers dropped. 90% of
qualified members are from rubber. 95% of
this”, “more of that”. Perceived “wants”
include: more get-togethers, fellowship,
sharing of knowledge and experience,
factory visits, talks, seminars and even social
events. A pertinent point on the rubber
industry was made: while the Malaysian
rubber industry was mostly latex-based, as
seen from consumption and product
revenue statistics, the Institute’s activities are
still dry-rubber centred and had virtually
nothing for the plastics industry.
The solution, it was agreed, was to form 5 sub-­‐
committees with measurable performance indicators (KPIs). Meanwhile, the Group had worked right through tea and it was time for lunch. The Rubber and Plastics Sub-­‐Committees would be headed by their respective Vice-­‐Presidents and would meet at a later date. The Membership, Education and Publications & Communications Sub-­‐Committees would use inputs from the morning discussions to devise suitable action plans. The appointed chair-­‐persons then gave their presentations. MAIN KPIs
Education (Dr Aris Ahmad). Main
focus will be on GradPRIM, but
FOR MEMBERS ONLY
THE PLASTICS & RUBBER INSTITUTE, MALAYSIA
will
explore
short
especially on latex topics.
courses
Publications & Communications
(Sin Yoong Cheong). Regular
newsletter and better website.
Membership (Pong Kai See). A
colloquium with LGM, launch a
young members’ group and more
activities.
NEW GRADE OF MEMBER
APPROVED
At EGM held on June 3, 2014
members approved Graduate
(GradPRIM) grade. However, a
resolution to increase fees was
deferred.
FELLOWSHIP LECTURE
June 3. New Fellow, Mr Lim Sum
Teck, gave an entertaining dinner-cumtalk about his early life. “RubberTapper
to Polymer Technologist” was well
received by more than 23 members.
HALL
OF
INDUCTED
FAMER
At annual dinner on March 23, Peter
Mitchell was latest inductee into PRIM
Hall of Fame. A past President of PRI
(Malaysian Chapter), he was best
remembered as the “Malayan” student
having highest worldwide score in a
LIRI (London) examination. He passed
away in 2013 in England.
Sam
Angrove, also a Hall of Famer, read his
citation.
STUDENTS PRESENTED WITH
DIPLOMAS AND BOOK PRIZES
AT ANNUAL DINNER.
More than 15 student members
were
presented
with
their
Diplomas, having successfully
completed a 12 month course and
examination.
Book
prizes,
sponsored by industry, were
awarded to best answers in each
subject category.
6 PAPERS PRESENTED AT
2014 POLYMER SEMINAR
The 2014 Polymer Seminar held in
conjunction with AGM and Annual
Dinner was well attended with 6 papers
presented. Sam Angrove gave a wellillustrated talk on History of Rubber that
dated back some 3600 years. Newly
appointed Fellow, Prof. Dr Azanam,
gave his Fellowship Lecture on
Interaction between Academia and
Industry. Sofyart Abdullah explained
the fundamentals of ceramic glove
formers. There were 3 other papers on
quality systems, vulcanisation of thick
articles and a new latex material.
FACTORY VISIT –
Q Porcelain, Bentong
By Chris Pong
On March 15,
2014,
several
PRIM committee
members
and
spouses visited the
Q
Porcelain
factory situated in
Bentong.
It was truly an
eye opener as we
were initiated into
the intricacies of
producing
the
most exact hand formers used in
the glove industry.
Mr Arthur Capel alias Sofyart
Abdullah and his family ran this
little
but
high-on-technicalexcellence concern.
The day started with Mr Sofyart
welcoming the group personally.
He gave a full presentation on his
process. Against the norm, he was
very frank and honest about his
Issue #1, 2014
#1,issues.
2014
development and Issue
technical
He shared with us his efforts to
improve his production constantly.
After the talk, we were shown the
operation with all the stages
explained in full. We learnt how
the base material, ie, “slip’’ (the
water-based clay suspension) was
compounded,
matured,
magnetised and tested before it
was used to fill moulds.
Essentially, slip is poured into each
mould (set of 2 halves) and left to
dwell for a specific time to achieve
uniform overall thickness. After
setting, the soft interior (called
leather) is removed, seam lines
trimmed,
dried
at
room
temperature and sponged to
moisten the surface for further
surface treatment if desired.
Treatments
include
smooth,
glazing to various degrees and
textured. The formers are also
colour-coded
for
easy
size
recognition. These are then fired at
up to 1200 deg C. Glazed formers
will be fired at slightly lower
temperature to allow glaze
application. Final finished
product is tested for
thermal
shock
and
corrosion resistance. Both
are very important tests as
the former indicates risk of
cracking
on-line
while
corrosion
resistance
indicates product resistance
to
chemicals
during
acid/alkali cleaning.
We left the factory well
informed about how much
work goes into making a hand
former and how well it should
withstand the brutal conditions of
glove production. A good former
can mean huge savings for the
glove manufacturers. They would
be able to see reduced breakages,
lower downtime, less cleaning offline and lastly, less worry about
size variations that affect feel and
comfort.
3
THE PLASTICS & RUBBER INSTITUTE, MALAYSIA
At the end of the visit we began to
appreciate the remark he made,
that the technology to produce
good formers is an art. One needs
Science to know how the Art is
used to control the technology
applied.
The visit ended with a well-earned
thanks to Mr Arthur Capel. We the
visitors extend our appreciation to
him for allowing us to see his
operation with no holds barred.
Thank you Arthur!
work closely with their industrial
members in discussing the skills
and technological inputs they
need. UniKL will provide input
from the academic perspective.
The
GradPRIM
initiative
consists of 3 stages, which are:
1. Mutual
agreement
between
PRIM
and
UniKL
2. Curriculum development
3. Launching of GradPRIM
Stage 1 was realized on March
20, 2014 when PRIM and UniKL
PRIM AND UniKL TO
LAUNCH GradPRIM
initiative
By Dr Ong Siew Kooi
The Grad PRI (or GPRI) was
once an industrial requirement
back in the 50-60’s especially in
the UK. Back then, PRI, UK
collaborated extensively with
industry
in
outlining
a
comprehensive,
hands-on
curriculum taught through the
universities.
Some of the
recipients were Malaysians who
contributed to development of
the rubber industry in Malaysia
and included past presidents of
PRIM and leaders of the rubber
industry.
In a perhaps nostalgic move to
bring back the well-respected
GPRI,
PRIM
sought
the
collaboration with Universiti
Kuala Lumpur (UniKL).
The
plan was to introduce GradPRIM
(Plastics)
and
GradPRIM
(Rubber) in Malaysia. PRIM will
4
signed the NDA. During Stage 2
PRIM and UniKL are expected to
develop the curriculum for
GradPRIM based on the inputs
from industry.
Finally, the
launching of GradPRIM is
expected to be in Jan 2015. The
first batch of GradPRIM is
expected to undergo a 6-month
program which includes the
classroom
and
practical
sessions.
Issue #1, 2014
Issue #1, 2014
COMING EVENTS
July/August – to be finalised
Colloquium (Membership drive)
with LGM. To be held at LGM
Conference Hall.
Programme:
- Welcome by Director, LGM
- Introduction of PRIM by President
- Advances in Rubber in Mining
Technology - PK Chan
-Solving
Common
Factory
Problems - SM Sin
For LGM staff only.
August 28, 2014
Dinner-talk Northern Chapter.
“Automatic Online Packing of
Exam Gloves” - a video
presentation. Reservations: YC
012-4292741
August 26 or 30, 2014 (to be
finalised) same - in KL.
A working machine will be on
exhibition at Sep 2-3, MRGMA
Latex Conferenceand Exhibition.
Some of the GradPRIM benefits:
1. Industries will able to have
readymade
competent
workforce.
2. GradPRIM holder may have
priority
in
terms
of
employability and better pay.
A Facebook page has been created
for PRIM:
https://www.facebook.com/plasti
cicsand rubberinstitutemalaysia for
use by alumni, current students and
members to post news, comments
or notification of events of interest.
YOUR CONTRIBUTION IS
NEEDED. CONTACT US AT
FACEBOOK PAGE ABOVE OR
AT
primy@prim.org.my
FOR MEMBERS ONLY