First American Scientific Corp. (fka FASC)

[twojugglers]

TSH sees good returns from biomass
9 October, 2004


TSH Resources Bhd sees good earnings from its biomass business and wants to replicate its facility in Sabah at other locations.

Group Managing Director Datuk Kelvin Tan Aik Pen said the company expects biomass business to contribute about 15% to the group’s pre-tax profit from next year.

“We will replicate it at more locations based on our successful model as long as there is palm oil fibre and waste,” he told reporters at the launch of its new headquarters by Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Tan said TSH viewed the economic resource of oil palm differently from other companies as crude palm oil constituted only 20% of the entire mass produced.

“We believe that there is also value from the balance of 80% like the empty fruit bunches and fronds,” he said.

The company currently has a bio-integrated complex in Kunak, Sabah, that will turn oil palm waste into valued-added products from the second half of 2006. The complex will use empty fruit bunches to produce 30,000 tonnes of paper per year and generate 14 megawatts (MW) of electricity

TSH will supply 10MW of the electricity generated at the plant to Sabah Electricity Supply Sdn Bhd priced at 21.25 sen/MWh for 21 years, while 1MW will be consumed by TSH’s own mills with the remainder 3MW as stand-by capacity.

The firm is the first in the world with an integrated complex that uses oil palm waste such as empty fruit bunches and palm oil mill effluents or POME (a residue left after the extraction of oil palm) to generate energy.

Tan said TSH’s subsidiary Ekowood International Bhd was working on establishing an 8MW biomass power plant in Ipoh by 2006 from woodwastes discarded. The biomass plant will be completed in 2006 and generate about 8MW of electricity, half of which would be sold to Tenaga Nasional Bhd.

Ekowood, contributing 35% to TSH’s pre-tax profit, manufactures engineered solid hardwood flooring.

Tan also said the company plans to set up a 60-tonne per hour palm oil mill at Padang in West Sumatra with PT Astra, an Indonesian company, in early 2005.

He added that Indonesia’s improving political situation and competitive cost would encourage TSH to obtain more land banks for plantation purposes in that country.



Adapted from "The Star", 9 October, 2004




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