If you haven't done so, we recommend you hook up with Jimmy Nichi to have a chat over a drink. He and his ex-staff, suppliers and customers meet every Friday in their clubhouse located in Nichi's premises just outside Klang. Besides producing some of the most durable cement mixers, "Jimmy" as everyone just calls him, whips up chicken curry that can compete with Masterchef's creations and the home made curry puffs are something out of this world. Being the relaxed host today, Nichi has built a solid business using common sense and his secret ingredient: hard work. We stirred a bit to find out more about the success story behind Malaysia's Buffalo cement mixers.
Having worked for others, Nichi felt the desire to start "something for himself". Not specialised in anything in particular, he simply took the challenge and got on with it. In 1981, he simply loaded his hand tools and a welding apparatus into his trusted Datsun and started looking for work. Going from construction site to the next and visiting truck operators, he offered his services to help maintain and repair the vehicles on site. Initially, this paid very little and he had to chase for work every day. However, the concept worked and the best times were during the festive season as he explains "Companies would slow down their operation and give their vehicles a proper work-over. It were these times when I would show up at a transportation yard and secure work for several days." This soon led to him hiring a general hand. Soon the team was known in the industry and Nichi gained a reputation for solid work and being available at any time of the day or week. "I had to be smart. If others prefer to relax at home, that was the time when I would be out there, helping truckers with their breakdowns and services" he says, smiling.
Events took an interesting turn when he was buying parts in a shop one day and an Australian walked in, looking for specific parts to set up the first cement batching plant in Malaysia. The two enterprising gentlemen talked and at the end of the day, Nichi was hired to help building this plant. That time still on daily pay, he made RM 50 for a hard day's worth of work but soaked up everything that there was to know about batching plants. "It didn't matter that I earned little and that it was hard work as I was able to learn all about this type of machinery" he reasons. When the market crashed in 1987, it threw the Australian off the rails and it marked the end of operation for this batching plant. It was the moment when Nichi decided to create his own batching plant using his newly gained knowledge. With the support of new-found customers the business started to take off.
"And then I realised that there is a need for mixer trucks as well. I started to look into these next" Nichi says. At that time, only used, imported trucks from Japan were available. Learning again, the mixers saw a number of trials and errors before they turned into what is known today as "Buffalo Mixers", representing sturdy, durable and innovative mixers. According to Nichi, the difficult part is to design the barrel and blades in a manner that ensure a homogenous mix of the concrete inside. Said Nichi "What makes you successful is hard work, patience and making sacrifices. Unfortunately, the younger generation doesn't want to put in such efforts anymore." His daughter and son also work for the business, but won't get any royal treatment. They have to report to more senior staff and not Daddy.
Read the full article in our Malaysia version of Asian Trucker (Issue 18).
