Quintiq to grow its ops in Malaysia

Holland-based Quintiq Inc, a provider of planning and scheduling software solutions, will be growing its operation rapidly in Malaysia by developing its human capital further, to cater to an increasing demand in the buoyant IT industry in the region.

Chief Executive Officer Victor Allis said Asia Pacific had become the focus for future market as demand for IT development was consistently growing, hence creating significant opportunities for growth.

"Human capital, the key factor for the group's progress have to be developed in Malaysia to sustain the industry growth momentum in the region as well as across the board, given the new Global Development Centre (GDC) established here" he told Bernama in an interview recently.

To date, Quintiq, a global leader of advanced planning and scheduling solutions has invested about RM50 million in its Malaysian operation and plans to invest close to RM100 million over the next three years.

Last year November, Quintiq opened its GDC and regional headquarters for South East Asia in Kuala Lumpur.

GDC caters to services for the North America, Australia, New Zealand and European projects, he said.

"We have more than 130 staff in Malaysia and it's the fastest growing office. We will be consistently seeking to enhance our human capital, thus Malaysia for us is the technological backbone. "We have one third of members working here and that reflects easily how much our Malaysian operation contributes to the group," he said.

Going forward, the Malaysian team would soon outstrip the global headquarters in Netherlands, he said, highlighting that the number of its employees in Malaysia was expected to grow to 300 by 2013. He said the group was optimistic about the industry demand for its products, and expected the Malaysian operation to maintain its 15 per cent revenue contribution this year, subject to the uncertain global market environment.

He also said Quintiq planned to manage and strengthen online marketing activities from Kuala Lumpur actively as it would augur well for the group.

He said the group's target to increase business focus in South America, Japan and India, illustrated the need to strengthen its Malaysian operation.

"We expect our newer business deals and units to see favourable adoption this year especially in the Asia-Pacific region. So far, we are on track," he added.

The group recorded a revenue of EURO 34 million for 2010, a 40 per cent growth over the previous year and remained confident for a continued growth this year, he said.

Allis said the local company Quintiq Sdn Bhd expects to sign few deals on the pipeline which would contribute to earnings next year.

With its global focus and initiatives, the group expects new licenses in 2011 to come closer to 50 per cent from Europe and 50 per cent from the rest of the world.

The Quintiq's dual headquarters are located in the Netherlands and the USA with subsidiaries in Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. Quintiq systems are implemented in 74 countries worldwide. -- Bernama