Edison Ser worked as an engineer in his family’s business during the early years of his career. His experience provided him with a great opportunity to learn the technical aspects of the industry. In an interview with Top 10 of Malaysia, Ser, CEO of PS Mechanical Supply & Services Sdn Bhd talks about his company’s services and the secret to success.
During the early years of Edison Ser’s career, he worked as an engineer in the family business. “After a few years, I was keen to focus my attention on developing the business and growing our client base both in Malaysia and overseas,” says Ser who has achieved great success in the palm oil industry over the past 20 years.
PS Mechanical was founded by Ser’s father in 2004 and it is one of Malaysia’s market leaders in the industry. “During that period, Malaysia was still investing heavily in the palm oil development. Palm oil mills and refineries set their eyes overseas for engineering machinery and solutions that could support the demands of the fast-emerging market to get the best in quality and reliability,” says Ser.
In the year 2014, Ser took over the role as the CEO of PS Mechanical Engineering and also multiple directors and consultancy roles for other businesses owned by the Group. “PS Mechanical is a Malaysia-based engineering company that supplies a wide range of services and products including machinery, replacement parts, servicing, refurbishing and repair of machinery primarily used in the palm oil sector with the main focus on filtration process,” explains Ser. “We also export parts and machinery to companies from key palm oil regions such as Indonesia, South America, and West Africa. We also partner with a wide range of emerging global brands such as HAUS in Turkey. PS Mechanical has supplied and provided its services to some of the largest palm oil mills in Malaysia including Government projects for Felda.”
“I explore other industries as an investor and advisor. I have invested in businesses across the F&B industry as well as the travel & tourism sector,” says Ser with excitement. “I believe once we succeed in our careers, we should find ways to support the next generation of entrepreneurs, especially in fast emerging sectors such as Fintech and E-commerce which are putting Malaysia on the map as a Key tech hub in Asia,” shares Ser.
The success of PS Mechanical is its focus on striving to be the best in its technical expertise on a few key areas within the palm oil production process. “We have employed the best talents who have supported the business for 20 years,” says Ser. “Today our focus is to continue to grow and develop our products as well as maintain good relationships with our customers. We believe that to fully satisfy the demands of customers, we must be able to provide them the technical knowledge and understanding to ensure that our customers’ expectations are fulfilled. Good communication among staff from different departments is also important for success.”
“Over the past few years, we have made big investments in technology to increase our manufacturing capacity and we are now keen to integrate more digital products into our operations, especially in areas such as marketing and communications,” says Ser. “Our long-term goal over the next 5 to 10 years is to continue introducing new technologies across both manufacturing and logistics to reduce manual labor and costs.”
“My greatest achievement will always be my children as all of the hard work and success in my career has always been to provide them with the security and stability in order for them to have a good education, opportunities to travel, and to choose their future career paths,” says Ser.
Ser believes that youngsters who are interested to start a business should be passionate. “If you do something without passion, you can easily lose the drive to overcome any challenges ahead. Many young people today have great minds and business ideas but it is often the fear of failure and lack of confidence that stops them from taking the first step in business,” says Ser. “To become a successful leader, you must be confident in your abilities, maintain good communication, gain the trust of your team and provide a clear vision for the company.”
