SYNOPSIS

Malaysia is a major producer of palm oil. The palm oil industry is currently facing serious negative propaganda from its global competitors who are producers of other vegetable oils. Palm oil is under fire especially in European Union for being: a) Not healthy enough (too saturated), b) Not safe enough (3MCPDE/GE) and Not sustainable enough (bad for environment and nature). In response to the negative health and safety image, more stringent regulations and measures are being introduced and enforced by the Malaysian government to guide our palm oil producers. Machinery systems that are being used in other countries for other crops and processes are being imported and marketed in the palm oil industry by the technology suppliers without proper standardized testing, evaluation and adaption for local use. Palm oil millers, especially the independent private millers, are facing challenging and difficult times in deciding which technologies are suitable and reliable enough to install at their mills to comply sustainably with the new regulation and measures.          


SPEAKER’S BIODATA

Ir Ooi graduated from University of Malaya in 1972 (B.E.) and in 1974 (M.Eng.Sc). He did research on harvesting of oil palm FFB (fresh fruit bunch) and infield transportation of the harvested FFB at MARDI in 1974-1975. He assisted Howard Alat-Pertanian in the design and commercial production of Serbatrek, an infield FFB transporter, from 1986-1990. Ir Ooi is a director of SGT Konsult Sdn Bhd, an engineering consultancy company in the palm oil industry and a director of O3 Solutions Sdn Bhd, a Bio-Nexus R&D company in palm oil mill waste management.  Since 2006, he was involved in projects related to evaluation, design, construction and operation of palm oil mills, biogas plants, POME polishing plant, EFB compost plants and other. He is an Industrial Advisory Board member to an Engineering Department at the University of Nottingham Malaysia since 2012 and has been active in AFETD since its formation in 2000.