The production line is seen at Spritzer Natural Mineral Water Plant in Taiping, Perak, Malaysia, Oct. 21, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)
From its 330 acre site in Taiping of Malaysian's central Perak state, a company specializing in natural mineral water is seeking to make its presence felt at the upcoming China International Import Expo (CIIE) for greater access to the Chinese market.
Spritzer, a household name in Malaysia, draws its water from the foothills of Bukit Larut, where the large land bank owned by the company ensures construction and development do not infringe on the area, preserving the purity of its underground water reserves.
It is Malaysia's largest integrated mineral water producer, with an annual production capacity of 700 million liters and a highly automated production facility with a staff of 100, resembling a forest reserve rather than a factory.
The company's research and development director Dr Chuah Chaw Teo told Xinhua that the commitment of the company to ensuring pristine water quality is among its unique selling points, allowing it to command some 40 percent of the market share in Malaysia.
Chuah explained that sources of underground water had to be approved by the country's Health Ministry before being approved for public consumption, but the company had gone further in testing the quality of water drawn from its well every hour.
Water drawn from the area had additional benefits, containing a high amount of silicic acid which is believed to be able to remove the build-up of aluminum particles from the body with regular consumption, he said.
Chuah added that these elements gave the product an edge over the competition, and would hopefully allow it to enlarge its foothold among Chinese consumers besides leveraging on the strong bilateral trade relations between the two countries.
Spritzer has been selling products via its wholly owned trading company Spritzer (Guangzhou) Trading Ltd based in Guangzhou, China since 2016.
"Our relationship with China is very good. I believe that we can actually have an impact if you like to work with the Chinese people and hopefully the Chinese people will see the advantage of our brand, the quality of our water, the kind of research we've been doing also to take Malaysia to a new level, in our trade relationship with China," he said.
Spritzer assistant brand manager Redmond Wang said the CIIE, being an international trade platform, is ideal for the company to gain wider exposure and increase its business contacts in China and worldwide.
The company is returning to the event after seeing the benefit by participating in the first CIIE in 2018.
"In 2018, we met a number of businessmen at the expo. We have also made a further understanding and evaluation of the businessmen after the expo, which resulted in business agreements with a quarter of the total contacts we made," she said.
Spritzer is among dozens of Malaysian companies that will participate in this year's expo, bringing signature Malaysian products like durian, bird's nest and white coffee.
Malaysian International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Ong Kian Ming said he is optimistic that there will be more business matching opportunities during the upcoming CIIE, which will increase Malaysian exports to China.
"This export will help increase two-way trade between Malaysia and China and expose more Malaysian products to Chinese customers, especially those from provinces which may not be so familiar with Malaysian products and services," he told Xinhua.
"While Malaysia is relatively well-known in China because of food and beverage and because of tourism, we also want Malaysia to be well known as a strategic location for investments and industry," he said.
A total of 64 countries and three international organizations have confirmed their participation in the second CIIE.
The second CIIE will take place from Nov. 5 to 10 in Shanghai, after which the country exhibitions will be extended for eight more days and open to the public for free from Nov. 13 to 20.
