PENANG, Malaysia, March 13, 2013 - Construction of Boon Siew Honda's new one-stop motorcycle production facility, which started in the third quarter of 2011, is now completed and fully operational.

The 222 million Ringgit one-stop production plant in Batu Kawan, Penang was officiated by the Yang Berhormat Dato' Sri Mustapa bin Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry Malaysia on 12 March. Satoshi Okada, the Managing Director of Boon Siew Honda accompanied the Minister on a guided tour to introduce various advanced technologies the company brought in from overseas to raise production capacity and ensure stringent quality control. Also present were President & CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Takanobu Ito as well as Oriental Holdings Group Executive Chairman and Boon Siew Honda Chairman, Dato' Seri Loh Cheng Yean.

The new facility occupies a 23.7ha site and is five times larger than the previous Mak Mandin plant in Butterworth with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units. It marks a significant milestone in the company's plan to consolidate Manufacturing, Sales, Customer Service, Spare Parts and Safety Riding into one integrated location for management efficiency and greater customer satisfaction.

The facility deploys highly efficient production system with the use of advanced technologies such as a solar photovoltaic system, high coating efficiency technologies and an efficient electro deposition coating line for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The new streamlined processes not only increase productivity but contribute to greater energy savings and reduction of manpower and material wastage.

Solar Photovoltaic System - 32m2 of solar photovoltaic modules are installed on the car park shelter roof to produce 5000kWh/year of renewable energy. Besides benefiting from reduced grid energy usage, the advanced solar photovoltaic technology from Honda Soltec Japan also contributes to reducing an estimated 3.5 tonnes/year of carbon dioxide - the main cause of green house effect. The solar photovoltaic system uses CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenium) solar cell that is 2 to 3

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