50 years ago, Steel Recon Industries (SRI) was founded at a time when the Malaysian firefighting industry was in its infancy. Back then, the market relied predominantly on firefighting equipment imported from Europe and America. But since the set-up of its first production and assembly lines, the company has never looked back.
Known locally as the pioneer of equipment manufacturing, the company has spent the last five decades perfecting its craft and expanding its product line. It is now the largest Malaysian exporter of firefighting equipment and suppression systems, and prides itself as being a one-stop shop for both its international and local clients by producing everything from fire extinguishers, hose reels and landing valves to clean agent suppression systems in its own 400,000 sq. ft facility. It is one of the few manufacturers globally that still retains its own iron foundry.
As the firefighting industry evolved and became more regulated, SRI recognised the need to evolve with it. It actively fosters a culture of continuous improvement, change and innovation in all its production processes, all of which contributes to the wide array of approvals and certifications that the company has obtained from international bodies, including UL and FM Global.
This stringent quality control and mandated standards also means that SRI products go through annual safety audits from over 20 approval and regulatory bodies in order to keep abreast with global demands and standards.
‘We produce most of our components in-house because this is how we remain highly involved with quality control,’ says Dato’ Ong Yow Siang, Founder and Managing Director. ‘While we sell at cost-competitive prices, we will not compromise our quality because part of our core mission is to help save lives from fire.’
It now exports its products to over 60 countries worldwide through a strong network of customers and distributors, some of which trust SRI to OEM their brands for them. The company believes in empowering its distributors to broaden their own revenue bases and markets. Today, SRI’s products can be found in landmarks globally like Hong Kong Disneyland, the Sydney Olympic Stadium and the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
The company also recognises that progress and expansion should not come at the expense of the environment. With growing concerns about global warming leading to countries ratifying agreements such as the Kigali Amendment, SRI has moved along with these developments by beginning the phase-out of harmful halon agents – but not at the expense of quality and effectiveness.
It was these concerns that led to the development of SRI’s Streamex, Malaysia’s first UL-listed and FM-approved FK-5-1-12 suppression system. SRI’s production and assembly process provides logistical and cost surety for their customers in today’s post-pandemic economic landscape. While only on the market for a couple of years, Streamex has already been installed worldwide in places such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Fiji, Brazil, Hungary and Qatar in the country’s infrastructure and industries such as logistics, healthcare, hospitality and manufacturing facilities of MNCs.
As the world moves into an increasingly tech-driven and environmentally conscious landscape, SRI believes that its responsibilities as a manufacturer in the firefighting industry encompasses the weight of providing products equipped to face the new challenges of the future, one that not only protects our next generation locally but the world over. Continuous research and development, and certification of new products and systems means that SRI will continue to be at the forefront of the firefighting industry.
For more information, go to www.sri.com.my
