„In Malaysia, people talk about ‘nation building’ and I feel like that's something I'm a part of.“
What were you doing before you came to MEIKO?
You can probably guess from the name Kitzbichler that I am not a native Malaysian! I come from the Tyrol region of Austria, close to the town of Kufstein. I am an engineer and, back in 2007, I was assigned to manage Malaysian production as well as sales for Asia for a Finnish ventilation engineering company. Then, in 2012, one of the employees of MEIKO Middle East told me that MEIKO was looking for someone to take on Southeast Asia. I got the job and stayed in Malaysia – but now working for MEIKO.
What are the main differences between Europe and Southeast Asia?
In Germany and Austria, we always try to integrate everything. We organise meetings, develop solutions together. Everyone needs to agree so that everything will fit together. That is energy-, time- and cost-intensive. Things are different in Asia. Here, everyone looks only after their own area and their own problems. That has the advantage of making orders easier to fulfil but the downside is that you end up with several individual solutions rather than an overall, integrated solution. For example, when a MEIKO machine is delivered and installed, we cannot always assume that all the necessary connections will be there, things like power, water supply and wastewater. This requires continuous thoughts and change in mindset, and customers are often really grateful that MEIKO can offer comprehensive solutions.
Asia and Europe are worlds apart.
Perceptions of hygiene are different, too. On the one side you have hospitals, hotels and similar that are often run by Europeans or Americans. Their aim is clear: they want to introduce the relevant standards across departments. Then, you have to realise that hygiene standards are higher in countries like China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore than they are in Europe. In both cases, the expectations are astronomical and MEIKO's high-end products represent a welcome solution. Southeast Asia is home to over 700 million people, making it a huge future market with incredibly varied needs.
Why are you in Asia?
That is a good question. If my English teachers knew, they would probably be very surprised! When I got the opportunity to come to Asia, I thought I would do 2 or 4 years to learn something new and gain experience, and to build a nice house in Tyrol when back. I've got my nice house! But I'm still living in Malaysia.
Respect brings different cultures together.
In Kuala Lumpur, like in many other places in Asia, several different cultures meet. The magic ingredient that enables us all to live together in harmony is respect. But my experiences in Malaysia go beyond just respect. A nation is being built and I get to be a part of that. It is a motivation that I never expected to have! But after 15 years, nation building is a part of my consciousness. The last 10 years with MEIKO and MEIKO's understanding of hygiene have shown me that I am exactly where I'm supposed to be. My job is to bring expertise into the country, to support my employees and to pass on the skills that I learnt through my experiences in Germany and on international markets.
How does MEIKO's somewhat unusual company philosophy show up in your day-to-day work?
Here's an example: in contrast to American Players, who mostly focus primarily on profit, at MEIKO, we try to focus on people and their unique qualities. Everyone should be able to contribute their skills and benefit from some room to breathe. We take individual initiative and responsibility but work together. That is our ethos and MEIKO provides the opportunity to shape the business in the way that we believe to be best – so long as we to stick to budgets and cost structures, of course. All of our business activity is grounded in a long-term perspective.
The independence that MEIKO allows me is something I pass on to my employees.
What trends are appearing in the Asian market?
COVID has changed the world and our demand for hygiene. But hygiene costs money and it is applied differently all over the world. There are, of course, huge differences between industrialised and emerging markets, but any investment in hygiene is a good investment. Plus, it is becoming the norm to monitor data online and to use them for better sustainability. Data and data transmission account for a significant trend. Connectivity is one of the megatrends that we accompany with MEIKO Connect and M-iQ BlueVision.
What advice would you give MEIKO for the future?
Self confidence is the fine line running between arrogance and perfectionism. We should continue on our own self-confident MEIKO path, looking ahead with the necessary safety and security. This path has proven itself to be absolutely the right one, especially in light of COVID.
How would you summarise your years at MEIKO?
When I moved from my home village in the Tyrolean mountains to the big city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in 2007, everyone thought I would be giving up and going home in a few weeks. 15 years later, I am still in Malaysia and have had the pleasure of expanding MEIKO's operations in the Southeast Asian market for 10 years. In the beginning, everyone said how difficult it was going to be because our competitors have all been active in Asia for more than 15 years. Wel, what can I say - - our customers appreciate our solutions - and the trend is rising.