Gardenia receives state recognition for investment

Non-polluting investor and creator of over thousands of jobs nationwide, Gardenia Bakeries, a subsidiary of Singapore listed food group QAF Ltd., was presented the State Investors Appreciation Award by the Selangor State Investment Centre (SSIC) today.

The award, presented by Teresa Kok, chairperson of Investment, Industry and Trade portfolio for the Selangor state government, was to highlight in appreciation the consistent investment Gardenia has sown into Selangor over the past 26 years.

Gardenia has been touted worldwide for being one of the most impressive bakeries. Its newest factory is producing over 200,000 loaves of bread and 240,000 units of waffles on a daily basis. The product slogan “So good…you can even eat it on its own” is Gardenia’s resounding philosophy.

Kok said during her officiating visit to Gardenia’s newest factory in Section 26, Shah Alam, that companies like Gardenia were always welcome to expand operations in Selangor.

“Selangor is fortunate to have Asia’s leading sandwich bread manufacturer setting up operations in the state”.

In her speech Kok mentioned that Selangor will continue to give priority and encouragement to the manufacturing sector, which contributes to the state’s GDP as it is an important impetus in economic growth of both the state and the nation providing employment opportunities for the people.

“Other than being a clean and non-polluting investor, Gardenia has created thousands of jobs, not only for the people of Selangor, but throughout the whole country as well.”

At the media briefing in the new plant in Shah Alam, Gardenia Group General Manager, Koh Chin Huat, said that this was Gardenia’s fifth factory in Selangor costing and investment of RM110 million.

On what inspires Gardenia to live up to it’s aspirations as the top bakery in Asia, Koh, in his own words said, “Our commitment to our customers have always been our top priority.  This has never changed.  I am also very grateful for our own staff which share this commitment.

“We have worked very hard to ensure our customers throughout Peninsular Malaysia get their fresh daily baked breads on the same day itself. We have never wavered from our vision ever since we started in 1986, always with the customer in mind.  And in return, our customers have made us the market leader here in Malaysia.”

“We have, since 1991 opened our doors for free factory visits to the public. Through these visits, people can appreciate a lot more on the intricacies and logistical challenges in just getting fresh bread to the consumers daily throughout the whole country.”

Gardenia factory visits are highly educational and informative. Every year, Gardenia welcomes more than 25,000 visitors to its factories and there is an expectation to grow.

Gardenia Malaysia is a subsidiary of QAF Ltd, a Singaporean public listed company which also operates Gardenia bakeries in Singapore and the Philippines. Today, Gardenia has 5 factories and produces 1.8 million units of products daily and many varieties of bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and waffles.