Our First Day in Kuala Lumpur

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Our First Day in Kuala Lumpur

By Qiong Wu

Since a flight delay derailed our plans to attend a conference on sustainability at Xiamen University yesterday afternoon, today was our first full day of activities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was one of our busier and more tiring days in the program, but although I fell asleep each time I got on the bus, I learned quite a lot.

Our tour guide, a loud, energetic man in a colorful printed shirt, met us at the hotel at 7:45 am. His name is Victor Yen. On the way to our first visit (to Metallurgical Consultancy and Services, or Metacos), Victor kept us engaged with a brief but informative overview of Malaysia and various fun facts. He introduced us to the phrase “Malaysia Boleh,” which expresses Malaysian pride and the sentiment that the country can do anything. We started chanting on the bus. “Malaysia Boleh!”

The people at Metacos were more than welcoming. Upon our arrival, we were shown into several rooms to rest before our visit formally began. We then split up into three groups of eight, each following a different guide for a tour of a different section of their workshops.

Metacos is a company that tests various materials (such as different types of metals) used to build anything from cutlery to machinery to construction projects. My group's first tour guide was Siva, who gave us a brief presentation and demonstrations on two tests Metacos performed on materials: the bend test and the tensile test. The bend test uses a machine to bend materials into a U-shape then visually determines whether this action created any fractures. The tensile test breaks the material into halves, then the shape of the materials at the breakage points are examined.

After the first tour, we were given yet another break, where Metacos provided us with coffee, Milo, Swiss rolls, biscuits, and various other refreshments. Their hospitality knows no bounds.

My group then followed Kistina and Marina to a different room for a presentation on macro and micro inspections, which are the processes used to visually inspect the materials for flaws. A macro inspection involves examining the material after a 20x magnification, whereas the magnification in a micro inspection could be anywhere from 50x to 500x. After Metacos receives the materials from their clients, they cut cross sections, then sand and polish them before they are ready to be examined under a microscope. We had the opportunity of seeing some microscope images of a type of stainless steel in real time.

We then took a quick bus ride to another Metacos location, where we were given a brief presentation on failure analysis, another one of their materials tests. We were able to watch part of a fatigue test, which involves about a ton of force being repeatedly exerted on a material for a specified length of time.

After our visit to Metacos, we stopped at Zhia Kitchen, a local Chinese restaurant, for lunch. The waiters brought out dish after dish, and Victor sang Tom Jones’s “Delilah” for us on the karaoke machine.

Our last stop of the day was at Benns Ethicoa, an ethical chocolate company. What sets Benns Ethicoa apart from other Malaysian chocolate companies, said our tour guide, Aw Kar Yong, is that they participate in direct trade, do not mass produce their chocolate, and incorporate more sustainable business practices than other similar companies. Compared to companies who mass produce their chocolate, Benns Ethicoa chocolate contains far fewer ingredients: cacao nibs, raw cane sugar, and cacao butter are the only features in their products.

We took a tour of their factory, where we were able to observe their production process in action (and try so many free samples of chocolate!). The process of making chocolate at Benns Ethicoa begins with collecting the fruit from cocoa trees, then fermenting and sun-drying them before the indoor factory processes begin. These processes include sorting, roasting, cracking, refining, tempering, and panning, and produce various types of chocolate products, including a drink mix to which you can add milk to create an ice cream-like texture. We were offered samples of every product Mr. Yong mentioned on our factory tour. They were all delicious.

Our day today was a little long but absolutely lovely, and I’m excited to learn more about business and culture in Kuala Lumpur over the next few days. Malaysia Boleh!

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