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LHT Holdings Ltd provides engineer compress wood called ‘Technical Wood’ made of original tropical hardwood fibers that undergo a high-pressure and high-temperature steaming process. It is a ‘new wood’ that substitutes natural wood made from wood waste material.

 LHT’s Innovative Process Product Conversion (IPPC) Pallet series is fast gaining a foothold in the arena of green products that are designed and produced to reduce carbon footprints. The pest-free pallets provide innovative packing solutions that help customers to reduce waste, thereby contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions. The company’s Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) Leasing Pallet is a strategy to improve consumer’s choice, satisfaction and service, and at the same, reduces total costs, inventories and physical assets. ECR demands distributors and suppliers to focus jointly on the efficiency of the total grocery chain, rather than the efficiency of individual components. A four-way 1M by 1.2M standard size is confirmed to the international standard ISO 6780 and ISO8611 as ‘General Purpose Flat Pallets for Through Transit of Goods Principle Dimensions & Tolerances.’

LHT avails industrial packing by providing services and solutions to customers with large machinery and unique design shapes that require special care. The packaging of the products starts from a commercial sales point and arrives for the consumers at the sales unit. The company uses RFID Technology as a pioneer since 2006. The RFID pallets were mainly used on RFID ASRS warehouses and LHT’s own ECR pallet leasing. RFID is a technology tool that is not meant to eliminate or replace anyone. It creates convenience and a better job environment. The technology enhances customer’s productivity by eliminating all unnecessary human resources wastage on information retrieval for consumers’ document verification. RFID technology also provides accuracy, control and efficiency for users' business. It enhances the efficiency of delivering the right goods at the right location, in the right condition, to the right customers and at the right time.

LHT Holdings’ green journey recycles wood waste into ‘Technical Wood’ and manages waste. Technical Wood is a raw material and bio-product that is used to make furniture components for Greenflo Doors (fire-rated) and flooring strip. The company has established Wood Plastic Composite (WPC) as its new area in R&D that uses wood wastes and plastic wastes in combination to form or develop greener products.

A Leader Born Out of Pure Experience

May Yap is the Chairwoman, CEO and Managing Director of LHT Holdings Ltd. She became the Sales Director in-charge of all sales and marketing functions on 2nd January 1988. When LHT Holdings restructured for its listing, May took the opportunity to be an Executive Director by purchasing shares of the company and becoming one of the major shares holders.

In February 2016, May was appointed as the Acting Managing Director and was later re-designated as the Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of LHT in February 2017. Today, with over 20 years of experience, she plays a key role in exploring opportunities in new markets. May’s responsibility is to monitor market developments and to ensure that the company’s product development efforts are aligned to market demands. She is actively involved in the pallet rental business in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. May holds a Diploma in Sales and Marketing from the Marketing Institute of Singapore and has successfully completed the Operation Management Innovation (OMNI) programmer conducted by A*Star in 2011. She is also a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors.

 

Beginning from Scratch to Reaching the Cliff

After graduating from GCE ‘O” level in December 1977, May joined Lian Hup Timber Pte Limited, which was later renamed as LHT. As a teenage admin clerk, she held multi-tasking jobs like receptionist, delivery arrangement, stock inventory, accounts, housekeeping, etc. The company had less than 20 employees in its workforce and was functioning on a 100 sqm leased land in the Mandai area.

At that time, wood pallets were demanding as many foreign MNCs invested heavily in Singapore and required the pallets as export goods. Meanwhile, Singapore was on its journey towards development and Lian Hup Timber saw its business grew tremendously, making the base and employees move to a bigger land in Sungei Kadut. The factory was moved twice in 1988 itself, henceforth, they bought a 63,568 sqm land and occupied it. Lian Hup Timber’s staff strength also grew to 168. The company was renamed to LHT Holdings Ltd at the right time when it was listed on the mainboard in 1999.

 

Breaking the Barriers and Making it Big 

May recalls that in 2004, LHT’s accounts were in red and the company was close to bankruptcy as its US$15 million wood waste recycling plant that produced Technical Wood (made from wood waste) was unmoving. She mentions that LHT’s leader took the initiative to better the cash flow, and constantly upgrade the workforce in skill and technology to stabilize the situation. The company’s pro-workforce and workers or management also put huge efforts to contribute to the organization and made it sustainable. May adds that they also maintained LHT’s good image and reputation both internally and externally, and in government agencies.

May states that being the first company to establish a lot of things in Singapore and other bases was quite challenging. She attests that LHT was the first company in Singapore to develop EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Service), and led the way in the use of UHF RFID Gen 2 pallets, which are essential for automation especially in RFID ASRS (automated storage and retrieval system) warehouses. May also highlights that in 1999, LHT established Singapore’s first wood waste recycling plant, which allowed industrial timber waste to be turned into a product called ‘technical wood.’ It is a compressed engineered wood that can be substituted for natural wood. As a result, LHT re-engineered its products that transformed the market using a lower carbon footprint processed wood that is made from waste wood materials. She underlines the fact that by using technology, the company lowered waste disposal costs by a few hundred thousand dollars, saving 4,500 trees.

May notifies that all their hard work paid off when LHT was recognized with ‘Climate Action Champion and EcoFriend Awards’ by NEA in 2018.

 

Delivering Products with the Changing Market Conditions

May opines that her experience has taught her to follow a phase, ‘Kindness tough lady.’ She reveals that LHT was relentless in her efforts to provide products of cutting-edge technology by constantly investing and upgrading to ensure that the company is always able to meet changing market demands and provide the best value-added products and services to its customers.

May also reveals that the people at LHT keep their corporate social responsibilities. She adds that they are always conscious of their role in the conservation of natural resources. Recycling is one of many efforts that reflect the company’s commitment to mitigate climate change and deforestation.

 

Words of Wisdom for Budding Business Minds

May advises budding business leaders to not worry about falling. She counsels them that tough times will come and go. May remarks that when humans are born, they bring nothing; henceforth, when they die, they should have nothing but good deeds. She insists on earning from society and paying back to society. May concludes by asking people to stay kind to everyone. She underlines the fact that being kind to others is the way of being kind to oneself and that is how everybody should use their lifetime to the fullest.