From left to right: Mr Hideaki Kobayashi, President, Modern Asia Environmental Holdings; Ambassador Jun Yamazaki, Embassy of Japan to Singapore; Guest-of-Honour, Mr Tan Meng Dui, Chief Executive Officer, National Environment Agency; and Mr Kimio Matsumoto, Director, DOWA Eco-System Co. Ltd
DOWA, the leading Japanese waste management and recycling solutions provider, has announced the formation of the new Modern Asia Environmental Holdings (MAEH) in Singapore to strengthen its innovative offerings locally and regionally. The merged entity spearheads DOWA’s strategic expansion across Southeast Asia by test-bedding cutting-edge solutions in Singapore and building a network of effective waste management and recycling capabilities across Southeast Asia.
The new MAEH brings together combined capabilities of Technochem Environmental Complex Pte Ltd (Technochem) and Dowa Eco-System Singapore Pte Ltd (ESG) under one umbrella to offer incineration, recycling and precious metal recovery capabilities as well as an end-to-end approach to help countries in the region address their growing environmental waste management and recycling needs. MAEH also has a 95-percent stake in PT Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri (PPLi), which provides waste collection, recycling, treatment and disposal services in Indonesia.
Technochem specialises in the collection of chemical and water treatment, industrial cleaning services, incineration of waste and the sale of solvents and chemicals. It runs DOWA’s first vertical combustion incinerator outside Japan and the first of its kind in Singapore and Southeast Asia at Tuas Industrial Estate. This incinerator, which occupies a smaller physical footprint compared to other facilities, uses a breakthrough super-low air ratio combustion method that consumes fewer fossil fuels. It was designed by DOWA in Japan following the Great East Japanese earthquake in 2011 to clear massive amounts of debris at disaster sites. MAEH plans to build a similar facility in Indonesia through PPLi.
ESG located at Jurong Industrial Estate, on the other hand, carries out in precious metal recovery using hydrometallurgy process. The facility in Singapore can recover gold, silver and palladium from electronic waste, e.g. gold plating scraps, lead frames with plastic, printed circuit boards, ceramic substrates and press-cut waste. Together with DOWA’s facilities in Japan, the company can recover up to 22 elements from the electronic waste it receives.
From left to right: Mr Kimio Matsumoto, Director, DOWA Eco-System Co. Ltd; Guest-of-Honour, Mr Tan Meng Dui, Chief Executive Officer, National Environment Agency; Ambassador Jun Yamazaki, Embassy of Japan to Singapore; and Mr Hideaki Kobayashi, President, Modern Asia Environmental Holdings
President of MAEH, Mr. Hideaki Kobayashi, said, “Leveraging the pioneering technology and expertise of DOWA together with the streamlining of our operations in Singapore, we are in a strong position to better serve our customers here and in the region. We think we can make great contributions towards the creation of a zero-waste circular economy that will sustain the long-term development of Southeast Asia.”
For example, in Japan, DOWA has invented a creative way of managing ash, a by-product of incineration. Its proprietary ash smelting technology allows a simultaneous separation of heavy metals from ash in the recycling process, creating a molten slag that can be used for road construction when combined with cement. MAEH has plans to introduce this technology to Singapore and the region.
“Singapore provides us with an excellent environment to test-bed some of our state-of-the-art waste management and recycling solutions. It is our hub for Southeast Asia and also our spring-board to the region. We are grateful for the support that we have received from the Singapore government and for its technological foresight and appetite for innovation,” added Mr. Kobayashi.
DOWA currently has overseas operations in Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand, with a staff strength of almost 1,500 across this region.
