iProperty.com talks to Georg Harrasser, Chief Executive Officer of Monier Asia Pacific at their office in Petaling Jaya and finds out more about the company which has been in the limelight since last year for their innovative roofing solutions and roadshows.
- Q: Tell us a bit about Monier Group and Monier Malaysia in particular.
A: The Monier Group is the world’s leading provider of building materials for pitched roofs as well as innovative roof, chimney and ventilation systems with operations in 42 countries employing almost 9,700 employees. In Asia, we have a workforce strength of 1500 people with over 20 factories in China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippine and Malaysia. That’s a potential market of 2.5 billion people from these countries.
Malaysia is the most important market in Asia, but we are working to develop markets in China, India and Indonesia as well. There are 9 factories in Malaysia and 1 Roof Academy Centre and we are partners with the country’s largest developers.
We have been in Malaysia for over 50 years. Malaysia is our Asia Pacific hub of expertise where our Research & Development Centre and training centre – Asia Pacific Green Roof Physic Center in Bukit Kemuning, Selangor, is located. All the roofing solutions sold in Malaysia are designed and manufactured in Malaysia.
- Q: What are the most popular solutions offered by Monier in Malaysia?
A: MONIER CoolRoof® and Solar Roof. MONIER CoolRoof® reduces the temperature of the inside of the building by up to 10oC, which helps to reduce air-condition usage by 60%. This in turns saves up to 30% of the electricity bill.
MONIER Solar Roof saves up to 15% of your electricity bill and ensures free natural light and free hot water.
This is consistent with PAM’s data on residential electricity consumption in a typical urban household in Malaysia in 2004. Its study revealed that air-conditioning consists of half of the total electricity bill in almost all households while the water heater is 15% of the electricity bill.
Also popular are our tiles which come in 3 designs - cosmopolitan, heritage and timeless collection to cater for different demands for roofing styles.
- Q: How are the local developers responding to the “green” solutions?
A: Local developers are riding the wave. If they see that the “green roof” will sell their properties, they will incorporate it into their projects as a way to promote their properties. It used to be the case that because most of the developers we worked with are very successful, it was difficult to change their mindset to accept new innovation. The objection was mainly cost-driven. However, that is changing rapidly now. There is now a strong trend to employ “green” or energy-saving features.
This is a major trend in Europe now, and Malaysia is catching up rapidly. For example, sustainable products are becoming more popular here with customers becoming more matured.
- Q: What is the cost for installing a typical double-storey terrace house in Malaysia?
A: For a typical 22’ x 70’ terrace house, it requires 150 sq metre of roof size, which will cost about RM9,000 (incorporates Cool Roof, which constitutes 20 – 25%), but excludes installation. Cool Roof is a system which allows the creation of natural airflow that limits heat transfer through the roof to provide a cool and comfortable home.
- Q: Talking about roofs, there is a trend now towards flattish roof as compared to the traditional pitched roof. What is your take on this?
A: Trends come and go. A flat roof is good if it does not rain a lot. If there are lots of rain or snow, it will not be good as the water can collect on the roof and cause problems. In Europe, all houses built about 200 years ago have pitched roofs for practical reasons i.e. to allow snow to slip down.
Further, if this is high pitch roof, even if a few centimetres are off during installation, the roof will still be leak-proof. In Europe, if there is a problem, it’s always 95% due to installation problem.
Finally, there is less maintenance for high-pitch roofs. In future, we will propose solutions for low-pitch roofs.
- Q: How is Monier’s experience so far with installing the roofing solution in schools in Malaysia?
A: One of Monier’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme is to provide school students with a better learning environment. We will short-list a few schools in Malaysia and replace the old and deteriorated roof with MONIER CoolRoof®. We have kick-started with SMK Sultan Abdul Samad, PJ by re-roofing the hall which used to be hot and had a leakage problem. The results were overall improvement of the comfort level and this was immediately recognized by all students and teachers.
