Syarikat Qingli Sdn Bhd was founded in 1974 by Mr. Seow Kheng Tam, with the sole purpose of supplying salt to traders as well as to end-users in the Northern states of Malaysia. Mr. Seow brought with him a wealth of knowledge and experience to the business, having worked in the salt business for more than 30 years. The Company first operated from a small office-cum-warehouse at Permatang Pauh, Butterworth and had only 5 employees. It initially started by importing salt from Thailand in small truckloads to supply to the smaller traders and end-users. In their first year of operation, the Company managed to achieve sales of about 5,000 metric tons. After a few difficult first years, the Company was able to gain a sound foothold in the Northern states, thanks to the support of its customers as well as its employees. It was then that in 1978 the Company made the decision to expand its business to the Central and Southern Malaysian states. The Company initially started in a small way in those States and having established an encouraging presence there, in 1982 the Company started importing salt from China to augment its supplies from Thailand. This turned out to be the catalyst for the Company's growth to what it is today, as the salt from China enabled the Company to greatly expand its business not only in the Northern States but also in the Central and Southern States of Malaysia as well. Just as the Company's business has expanded rapidly in all its markets, supplies from China started to become irregular and the Company was finding it extremely difficult to fully service its customers' needs. Therefore, in 1989 the Company made the landmark decision to bring in its first ever shipment of salt in bulk, consisting of 11,000 metric tons, from Australia. This decision was made in order to bring down not only the purchasing cost of the salt to the Company, and hence to its customers, but also to ensure that its customers get their salt when they want it. A historical milestone was reached. The Company continued to grow very rapidly and the frequency of shipments from Australia started to increase gradually from a single shipment a year to several a year. At the same time however, supplies from Australia were also starting to become a concern as the Company's supplier in Australia was undergoing constant management changes and there were real fears that the Company's supplies will suffer as a result. Therefore, in 1993 the Company, in order to ensure uninterrupted supplies to its customers, made another landmark decision - it started to purchase its salt from Dampier Salt Ltd, Western Australia, the second largest producer of salt in the world. The association with Dampier Salt Ltd turned out to be probably the most important decision the Company has ever made. The Company developed an excellent rapport with Dampier Salt Ltd and with the latter's continuous supply of salt of the highest quality and unflinching support, the Company continue to climb to even greater heights. It is an association which the Company still enjoys today with Dampier Salt Ltd. All the above culminated in the Company's plan in 1998 to build its own premises at Prai Industrial Estate, with a modern office building and a modern warehouse-cum-plant capable of storing up to 30,000 metric tons of salt and bagging up to 800 metric tons of salt per day. This was finally completed a year later and another important milestone was reached. From its humble beginnings in 1974, the Company today supplies salt to the tune of 85,000 metric tons a year to a multitude of industries in Malaysian, ranging from the most basic, such as food packaging, to the highly technical, such as oil refining, and employs more than 35 people. In addition, the Company today also supplies a considerable amount of salt to neighboring countries, especially to the tuna catching and pulp and paper industries. However, one important thing has not changed, which is that it is the Company's belief that it should not only strive to provide the best quality and service at the best price to its customers but also to grow along with them.