PETALING JAYA: GMA Garnet Group, the industrial garnet business unit of diversified industrial conglomerate Jebsen & Jessen Group and the world’s largest and only fully integrated garnet company, is marking the first anniversary of the launch of its Malaysian distribution hub in Port Klang, Selangor.
Serving GMA’s Asia-Pacific (Apac) market, since opening in June 2024, the Port Klang facility has rapidly scaled to handle 71% of GMA’s Asia garnet trade and is now a strategic gateway that accelerates growth and expands access to high-demand industrial markets.
As demand for high-quality industrial materials surges across key sectors such as marine, oil and gas, infrastructure, and manufacturing, GMA’s Malaysian distribution hub will play a key role in supplying garnet to the Apac region besides highlighting Malaysia’s growing significance in global industrial trade.
This expansion, the company said, is well-timed to serve high-growth markets across Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, with the Apac construction market expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 6.8% from 2025 to 2030, fuelled by significant investments in transport, energy, infrastructure and urban development.
Strategically located at the crossroads of key regional markets and leveraging Port Klang’s growing capabilities, GMA’s Malaysian distribution hub has delivered significantly faster lead times by up to 21 days, broader market coverage and a substantial increase in regional delivery volumes to meet the region’s growing demand for high-performance abrasives.
To ensure the highest standards and high-quality garnet products, rigorous industry-leading quality control and assurance processes, as well as comprehensive training, are implemented at the Malaysian distribution hub.
This enhanced operational capability is supported by recent safety enhancements at the facility, including the installation of guards around all conveyors and upgraded operational processes, ensuring a safer and more efficient production of high-performance abrasive solutions.
“Our Malaysian hub in Port Klang has been a crucial part of GMA’s growth across Apac and serves as more than a transit point. It enhances our supply chain and service capabilities, and enables us to introduce abrasive innovations specifically tailored to Apac’s industrial challenges,” said GMA Garnet Group international sales and marketing general manager Flynn Cowan.
Looking ahead, he said they plan to enhance their Malaysian distribution hub further and continue growing their Apac footprint from Port Klang.
In 2024, to meet the specific needs of the Apac market, GMA launched ToughBlast, with the Malaysian distribution hub as the sole port for its latest product and its complementary range of engineered abrasive blends customised for the Asia-Pacific region.
A premium garnet abrasive engineered for extreme surface preparation environments, ToughBlast can be applied across industries such as oil and gas (onshore and offshore), shipyard maintenance and repair, water and wastewater treatment, and energy generation, among others.
Designed for longer blasting cycles and faster cleaning rates, ToughBlast has already demonstrated up to 30% higher productivity compared to conventional slag abrasives in key trial applications.
To strengthen its position and support its growing Apac market needs, GMA appointed Shashi Kumar as Apac sales and marketing manager and Chris Manger as head of technical, Apac.
“The appointments of Shashi and Chris reflect the strength and depth of our leadership team and underscore our commitment to building a robust foundation to drive long-term growth and innovation in the region,” said Cowan.
With 40 plus years of global experience and a legacy of supplying over 600,000 tonnes of garnet annually to more than 100 countries, GMA’s investment in Malaysia is a clear reflection of its long-term commitment to the industrial future of Apac, delivering solutions for customers who demand speed, reliability and results.