Hock Lee Industries Partner with BL Auto Care & Tyres Malaysia

Hock Lee Industries Sdn Bhd, part of the Singapore based HLT International Pte Ltd (formally known as Hock Lee), has been in the tyre servicing industry since its establishment in 2005. Recently, the company has formed a strategic partnership with BL Auto Care & Tyres (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd to extend its business operations in Malaysia.

“Staying afloat during the pandemic requires new approaches. In the effort of maintaining a close inspection of our subsidiary in Malaysia, I used to travel quite often to Malaysia as nothing compares to face-to-face communication. An on-site visit enables me to build relationships with clients and staff, share plans or brainstorm in real-time with our Malaysian team, helping to resolve problems at operational level. However, the pandemic has put severe restrictions on cross-border travel. All travellers arriving to Malaysia must undergo quarantine for 14 days at designated government quarantine hotels, and the return to Singapore requires another quarantine period of 14 days. Therefore, we have to rethink how we work to stay connected with customers and maintain our business momentum,” said Chief Executive Officer Joseph Tan.

The opportunity to partner with BL Auto Care & Tyres Malaysia came when Tan Kheng Boon, the owner and one of the strongest supporters of Hock Lee Industries also explored ways of expanding their business horizons.

BL Auto Care & Tyres Malaysia – Hock Lee’s ‘Live’ Showroom

Tan said, the company is using all Hock Lee products, from tools, scanners, trolley jacks, tyre servicing equipment such as tyre changers and wheel aligners, four posts car lifts to tyre repair materials, and so on. “Our servicing centre is like a ‘live’ showroom of their products. We can make use of these tools to demonstrate how we put Hock Lee’s products into use in our daily operations for potential customers. In addition, our service centre also be served as a training base to teach customers how to use and maintain the products that they have purchased. We then shared our idea with Joseph, which resulted in our innovative partnership.”

Tan noted that purchasing tyre servicing equipment is unlike buying tyre patches as it is a much bigger investment, and a bad decision can prove an expensive decision. Therefore, customers tend to be more cautious.

“My wife Emilyn Loke previously worked for Hock Lee Industries. She noted that many customers would like to try the tyre servicing equipment first before purchasing. Customers are no longer satisfied with just watching demonstration videos, especially those from vocational schools, instead, they want to get a feel of the features. However, this is not possible unless there is a demo unit in the showroom,” Tan added.

With Emilyn’s years of knowledge and experience in marketing Hock Lee’s products, as well as the customer base that she has, coupled with Tan’s 25 years of technical skills and expertise in the automotive servicing industry, Joseph has great confidence in the partnership.

Strategic Partnerships for the Benefits of Customers

“We believe that this partnership will not only benefit both parties but also the customers.”

Focusing on both their customer base and their own customer servicing team, we know our products are in good hands with BL Auto Care & Tyres Malaysia, and we will continue to demonstrate their potential with product training and technical support,” Joseph stressed.

The products that Hock Lee carries, Joseph said include Rema Tip Top tyre repair materials, accessories and consumables, Mondolfo Ferro tyre shop equipment and Pasquin air hydraulic jacks. Other products include Masada garage jacks, Kuken air tools, Chicago pneumatics air tools, Jaltest multi-brand diagnostics tools for commercial vehicles, Sonic hand tools, toolboxes and modular storage solutions, just to name a few.

Tan revealed that the company keeps stock for fast-moving items such as repair patches and tools. As for the bigger items such as tyre servicing equipment, he said that they will place orders when there is a demand. He pointed out that Hock Lee Industries have a warehouse in Puchong, and this enables them to fulfil orders accurately and quickly, as well as shortening the lead time of delivery.

Many plans are in the pipeline since they sealed the partnership. “Currently, the biggest challenge we faced is the movement control order (MCO) that our government implemented to curb the spread of Covid-19. We were supposed to install
Sonic modular storage cabinets in our centre to showcase how customers can maximise the efficiency and organisation of their workplace. Tool collections grow as their mechanical skills and business expand, so getting organised is the key. The Sonic modular storage solutions put an end to locating tools in their garage, as well as organising the tools to prevent damage, and create a clutter-free and productive workplace with a modern touch,” said Tan.

Apart from being the ‘brand ambassador’ for Hock Lee, Kepong-based BL Auto Care & Tyres Malaysia provides a wide range of automotive services, from tyre retails and servicing, regular car maintenance and repair, suspension, brake system, air-conditioner services, engine overhaul and many other features.

福利工业与大马BL汽车养护及轮胎合作

福利工业私人有限公司隶属于新加坡HLT国际私人有限公司（前身为福利），自 2005 年成立以来一直从事轮胎维修行业。最近，该公司与 BL汽车养护及轮胎（马来西亚）私人有限公司合作，扩展其在马来西亚的业务。

首席执行长陈恩德表示：“在冠病大流行期间维持生计需要新的方法。为了掌握我们在马来西亚子公司的业务情况，我经常到马来西亚出差，因为没有什么比面对面的交流更重要。亲临现场使我能够与客户和员工建立关系，并且与我们马来西亚的团队实时分享计划或集思广益，协助解决运营方面的问题。然而，冠病的大流行带来了严格的跨境限制。所有抵达马来西亚的旅客必须在政府制定的检疫酒店接受 14 天的隔离，而返回新加坡时也需要另外 14 天的检疫期。因此，我们必须重新思考如何与客户保持联系和维持我们业务发展的势头。”

无巧不成书。就在这时候，马来西亚BL汽车护理及轮胎公司的东主陈庆文， 也是福利工业最强劲的支持者之一，正好在探索着扩大业务范围的方法。陈恩德就抓住了这个机遇.

马来西亚BL汽车养护及轮胎公司-福利“活生生”的陈列室

陈庆文说，该公司使用的都是福利产品，从工具、诊断仪、手推千斤顶、轮胎维修设备如轮胎拆装机和四轮定位仪、四柱汽车举升机到轮胎修补材料等等。“我们的服务中心就好像是他们‘活生生’的产品陈列室。我们可以利用这里的工具和设备向潜在客户展示我们如何在日常运营中使用福利的产品。此外，我们的服务中心还可充作培训基地，教导客户如何使用和维护所购买的产品。我们于是与陈恩德分享我们的想法，因而促使了我们的创新合作伙伴关系。”

陈庆文指出，购买轮胎维修设备毕竟与购买轮胎修补片不同，因为它是一项更大的投资，一个错误的决定会带来高昂的代价。因此，客户往往更加谨慎。

“我的妻子陆姵伶曾在福利工业任职，她注意到许多客户希望在购买前先试用轮胎维修设备。客户不再满足于仅仅观看演示视频，尤其是那些来自技职学校的客户，他们想感受一下设备的功能。但是除非陈列室中有可供试用的设备，否则这根本不可能。”陈庆文补充说。

凭借着陆姵伶在福利产品营销方面的多年知识和经验，以及她拥有的客户群，再加上陈庆文在汽车维修行业25年的技术技能和专业知识，陈恩德对这个合作伙伴关系充满信心。

为客户利益建立战略合作伙伴关系

陈恩德强调说：“我们相信，这个伙伴关系不仅会使双方受益，也会使客户受益。把我们的产品交给马来西亚BL汽车养护及轮胎公司我们很放心，他们拥有自己的客户群和客户服务团队，而我们将继续通过培训和技术支持他们，使他们得以展现他们的潜力。”

陈恩德说，福利代理的产品有蒂普拓普 （Rema Tip Top） 轮胎修补材料、配件及消耗品、MondolfoFerro轮胎店设备和Pasquin气动液压千斤顶。其他产品包括马萨达（Masada）修车厂千斤顶、Kuken气动工具、芝加哥（Chicago）气动工具、Jaltest多品牌商用车诊断工具、Sonic手动工具、工具箱和模块化存储解决方案等。

陈庆文透露说，该公司会保留快速消耗品如轮胎补片和工具的库存。至于轮胎维修设备等较大的产品，他说他们会在有需求时才下订单。他指出，福利工业在蒲种设有仓库，这使他们能够准确快速地完成订单，并缩短交货时间。

自两家公司确定合作关系以来，许多计划正在酝酿之中。陈庆文表示：“我们目前面临的最大挑战是政府为遏制冠病传播实施的行动管制令(MCO)。我们原本计划在我们的服务中心安装Sonic模块化存储柜，向客户展示如何让工作场

所变得井井有条，最大限度地提高工作场所的效率。客户收藏的工具会随着他们提升的技能和业务的扩展而增加，如何将它们收纳得井然有序是关键。有了Sonic模块化存储解决方案，他们就不会为了找某个工具而翻遍整个服务中心，而且还可以将工具收纳好，防止损坏，创建一个具有现代感，整洁和高效的工作场所。”除了成为福利的“品牌大使”外，位于甲洞的马来西亚BL汽车养护及轮胎公司还提供广泛的汽车服务，包括轮胎零售和维修、汽车定期保养和维修、悬架、制动系统、空调服务、引擎大修和许多其他服务。