Uniforce Engineering & Industrial Coating Services

There is a saying, "Nothing is impossible; Impossible is nothing." The founder, MarVynn Gan was originally a sales representative from Nestle Malaysia and a pharmaceutical representative before stepping into the greener pasture and challenging career in the paint industry.

In 1982, he joined International Paints as a Sales Executive based in Penang reporting to Singapore head office responsible for technical support and marketing throughout Malaysia. After 7 years, he applied for sales and marketing position at Jotun Shah Alam. Unfortunately, the vacant had been filled and ended he has been appointed as a Jotun dealer by Peder Bohlin.

It was indeed a blessing in disguise leading him became a self-made businessman establishing Uniforce Engineering & Industrial Coating Services in 1988. The meaning of Uniforce stands for a united workforce that all employees work as a team not only to enhance the values but also to achieve the goals of the company. MarVynn started his small business with only three full-time employees and a handful of customers at a small rented office in Butterworth, keeping a minimum stock level for quick financial turnover.

In early 1980s, Jotun was relatively a new brand in Malaysia while the leading brands were ICI, International Paints, DNT, Berger Paints and Nippon Paints. Unquestionably, countless times and efforts have been taken to market Jotun paints. For instance, a delivery of 10 litres of A/F Super Tropic to a marine customer in Weld Quay. MarVynn instilled a strong philosophy to be successful and quoted, "There was no profit in delivering of these 10 litres of paints from mainland Butterworth to Penang Island; however, the commitment and customer service were guaranteed." In order to win customers and their confidence for a bigger volume in a near future, he believed it was a test of patience and tolerance for survival and laid good foundation as opportunity arises.

Jotun has four segments of paints namely Marine Coatings; Protective Coatings; Decorative Paints; and Powder Coatings. Uniforce specialised in the former two. Selling Marine and Protective Coatings was challenging, but rewarding and job satisfaction. It was essential not only to have a good product knowledge but also the paint’s characteristics, features, limitations, lifespan expectation, the budget of each customer, the structure on which the paint was to be applied as well as the environmental condition of the structure location.

Uniforce's 10th Anniversary as at 1998

Jotun (M) Sdn Bhd has awarded ISO 9001 certification from SIRIM Malaysia in 1992. Certainly, its products have been getting more popular in terms of quality and pricing in this competitive market. Particularly, the Jotun key products such as Barrier, Resist GTI, Jotaguard 85, Jotamastic 87, Penguard HB, Tankguard HB, Hardtop AS, Baltoflake-reinforced polyester glass flake, Marathon-epoxy glass flake, high performance antifoulings of A/F Seamate 66, A/F Seamate 99 and A/F Seaconomy have significantly increased in market shares reflecting the increasing level of customer confidence and acceptance.

To date, Uniforce has been the pioneer authorised distributor and authorised applicator of Jotun Marine and Protective Coatings. It has built a strong reputation in the painting industry in terms of quality and durability of paints. It has always strived to provide the best services and delivered its promises to meet customer satisfaction. A subsidiary company, Marintec Sdn Bhd was established in 1995.

Uniforce strongly emphasises safety at work. To rig up of a total scaffolding around the objects to be painted and in-house trainings have always been carried out in order to meet a predictable performance of the paint system. In 1998, Uniforce celebrated its 10th Anniversary at Sunway Hotel, Butterworth. This celebration was held in conjunction with a paint seminar named "Moving Together to meet Customer Satisfaction" with its business partner Jotun (M) Sdn Bhd, participated by all valued customers and business associates.

MarVynn always believes that "When a tin of paint leaves the factory, it is not a finished product yet, unless it is proven!" Many track records have been proven in these 10 years for Marine & Protective Coatings. The most significant track records were Oil Tanker Miri Glory, and Eden Floating Restaurant. Furthermore, Uniforce managed to secure a fleet of PPC ferries and tugboats , being its major achievements in this decade.

• Oil Tanker Miri Glory
• Eden Floating Restaurant
• PPC Ferries

During these two decades, Uniforce was blessed with smooth sailing despite all odds in the most competitive paint industry. It has been growing rapidly despite the consequences of economic downturns because of a strong management team. Besides, the competitive advantages of Uniforce are as follow:

• Distributorship for Marine & Protective Coatings/ Decorative paints in Northern region, Malaysia
• Provide professional paints specification & application with proven track records since 1988
• Provide Jotun quality paints with certifications of ISO 9001/ ISO 14001/ OHSAS 18001
• Registered with Pusat Khidmat Kontraktor (PKK)
• Registered with Institute of Material Malaysia (IMM)
• Registered with Kementerian Kewangan Malaysia (KKM)
• Registered with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)
• Registered with National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

In 2004, Uniforce was renamed to UNF. Engineering & Coating Sdn. Bhd. In the same year, MarVynn has achieved and received an outstanding performance award during Jotun Paints 20th Anniversary in Malaysia for the Marine and Protective Coatings of the northern region. This significant award was an evidence of the company achievement.

True to its motto, "Painting is not just a coat of paint", UNF. always believes that it has the responsible to instill Health, Safety and Environment awareness (HSE) and to provide the knowledge of paints and experience to all related parties. Furthermore, it has associated with Jotun (M) Sdn Bhd and organized a number of seminars with themes such as "Millennium Paint Technology", "Painting is not just a Coat of Paint" and "Managing Corrosion Protection" in 2000, 2005 and 2008 respectively which attracted up to 280 individuals from naval architects, surveyors, shipbuilders, marine engineers, civil engineers, maintenance managers, quality control managers, safety engineers, procurement departments and other industrialists concerned.

UNF. started improving its market shares by putting more efforts on Jotun Decorative paints in recent years. It has launched Jotun Multicolor Centre by installing Jotun MCI and MCD tinting machines in 2008. The installation of Jotun MCI tinting machine was the first in Penang and third in Malaysia. With the Jotun MCD tinting machine, customers are able to select the best combination and their favourite colours by uploading their own preference and pictures into the Jotun Colour Advisor. Up to date, UNF. instills that "Customer is No.1 Priority". It endeavors to satisfy each customer by providing customised services to meet their needs and budgets.

Peder Bohlin, the Regional Director for South East Asia and Managing Director of Jotun (M) Sdn Bhd commented in The Star Publication during the presentation in 2008, "Our success is because we have committed and a loyal distributor like UNF. of more than 20 years." He appreciated and presented MarVynn a “Jotun Penguin Award” for the outstanding performance and dedication of his contribution to Jotun Paints.

• Mr. Peder Bohlin, the Regional Director for S.E.A and Managing Director of Jotun (M) Sdn Bhd distributed a Jotun Penguin Award to Mr. MarVynn Gan.
• Participants who attended the paint seminar.
• Our shop-in-shop showroom with Jotun MCI and MCD tinting machines.

Moving to the Future

 

We welcome you always with outstretched arms.

Everything is changing faster than ever, the same as in painting industry. Nowadays, staying even with competitors is no guarantee of survival for most companies. UNF. has the unique quality to excel, "Beyond limitations when you rise above the rest!"

UNF. understands that its work is a direct reflection to the image of customers and it believes there is always room for improvement. Certainly, it always strives and endeavors to offer the best competitive price and excellent service to all valued customers.

Launching of more Tinting Machines
The business strategies of UNF. are constantly reviewed and updated to ensure its position as the market leader, improving customer satisfaction and maintaining a profitable and sustainable business platform for profit expectation and market expansion. In order to mark another important milestone in UNF., it is planning to launch more tinting machines in Penang and Kedah states.

Website Reconstruction
To be a market leader, UNF. believes that there is a need to fully utilise the technology advancement to keep its system up-to-date. UNF. recognises the importance of having an online presence. Its existing website has been changed to www.unf.com.my. Further, every customer is able to obtain latest information through the company page on Facebook and Twitter profile which makes an ease to all customers to have a first glance and stay in touch 24/7.

Up-to-date Presentation Slides
Visual tools are the best weapon to impress potential customers. UNF. has the responsibility to provide better understanding of paints system to customers before it is being chosen. Hence, it keeps and maintains a well turned-out presentation slides to explain its products and services to all prospect customers.