Gunung Seraya’s working philosophy of conducting its business with honesty and integrity has been the underlining factor in securing the trust and confidence of its many customers through the decades.

Gunung Seraya was established in 1972 with core activity of exporting quality Malaysian timber products to countries like Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom. As one of the pioneers and regular exporters of sawntimber to the Australian market, it is viewed as amongst the top exporters in terms of quality and reliability.

Two decades later, in 1993, Gunung Seraya ventured into manufacturing solid timber mouldings. This proved to be a wise decision as it transformed Gunung Seraya into a manufacturer and exporter of consistently high-quality timber mouldings together with many years of experience in shipping and handling whilst continuing its strengths in sawntimber exports.

Says its GM Mr. Chin Lee Yen: “We manufacture and supply quality engineered components for windows, doors, jambs, sills, staircase, general dressed boards as well as bench and table tops. Special mouldings and profiles can also be arranged to specification.

We have no less than 2,000 moulding profiles for the production of solid wood architravers and skirtings, tongue and groove flooring and paneling, decking, window and entry sills, handrails and other staircase components, quads, scotias, beads, cornices, and moulds as well as pelmets, jambs, and stops, and finger-jointed/laminated engineered components.”

The timber species that Gunung Seraya utilizes for its production include Agathis, Balau, Bekak, Belian, Bintangor, Kempas, Keruing, Melunak, Membatu, Mengkulang, Meranti, Merbau, Pelawan, Nyatoh, Selangan Batu, Sepetir and Surian.

As a commited member of the timber industry, Gunung Seraya has strong interest to ensure timber continues to be a renewable resource. As a family-oriented business, it recognizes its future inextricably tied to the sustainability of the forest resources.

Explain Chin: “Gunung Seraya adheres to a strict policy of purchasing supplies from legal sources only. We refrain from purchasing from controversial sources and regions. From way back in 2004, we have imposed a requirement on all local suppliers to produce copies of removal passes corresponding to the timber supplied as well as evidence on payments of royalty and taxes.

By 2006/2007, over75% of our local purchases are accompanied by respective copies of removal passes. As a work in progress, this should increase year to year. Further, inspections of local mills are conducted periodically, for logs with tags from the forestry authorities, and other documentation as proof of legal sources.

It is important that Gunung Seraya is seen as supporting sustainable forest management in the country and being certified under the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (Chain of Custody COC-029) in 2002/2003 augurs well for our image as a responsible supplier especially to our customers in the UK and Australia.”

Chin hopes that all parties involved in the timber industry including suppliers, processors, purchasers and consumers will consciously demonstrate their interest in sustainable forest management by having preference for certified timber products.

Gunung Seraya’s operation is currently located on a block of land in excess of 12 acres not far from the main port of Peninsular Malaysia, i.e., Port Klang. The production facilities, the kiln-drying plant together with the timber preservative plant are sited on two mills, covering in excess of 300,000 square feet.

The first mill houses all the production facilities including the operating equiptment and machinery, complete with a toll room. The machinery here includes 6- and 7-seided planer moulders from Weinig and Wadkin with operating speeds of up to 80 meters per minute. In Addition, it has a Celaschi Double End Tenoner, SCI Multi-RIP Saws, Robinson Bandsaws, Weinig Optimiser, Priming, Rotary Composer and Finger-jointing Lines.

Next to the first mill is the office block, which provides a clear view of the two mills and the storage warehouse it faces on the opposite block of land. Renovated and extended in 2003 to double its capacity, the new office together with a showroom to display the capabilities of Gunung Seraya is able to host a larger number of visitors. Internal joinery manufactured from the mill has been incorporated in the office and showroom and its reflection of the hardwork and quality that Gunung Seraya continues to strive for.