Walking on Sunshine: Tee Wu Shun

Can you put a price on the future of the planet?

An often cited sticking point for those attempting to transition to renewable energy is cost; another is the perceived hassle involved. This hesitation has created an opportunity for renewable energy solution providers with the know-how and skill to sidestep the norm, offering organizations a simple, low-cost and effective transition to green energy.

In the Malaysian state of Selangor, Samaiden Group is doing just that. Founded in 2013 with just five employees, the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning solutions provider has grown to a team of 100 over the last decade.

"It’s actually a remarkable achievement," says Tee Wu Shun, Samaiden’s Chief Strategy Officer. "It’s very difficult to convert from a small organization to a medium-scale one, and it’s thanks to our founder’s drive and vision that we’ve been able to do so as quickly as we have."

Even the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have derailed Samaiden’s momentum, didn’t have any significant impact on the company’s growth. "It made some of our work much more difficult," says Tee.

"But the fact that we’ve been in the renewable energy sector for many years certainly helped get us through, as well as giving us the direction to commit to net zero by 2050."

A Uniting Force

As Chief Strategy Officer, it’s Tee’s job to bring the company together in pursuit of this goal.

"The scope of the strategy is comprehensive in our organization, we have planned both for short-term and long-term goals. Our overarching aim is to become a comprehensive one-stop provider of renewable energy services and solutions," he explains.

"In addition to building a complete renewable energy portfolio, we are actively exploring opportunities for business diversification. This includes considering both vertical and horizontal growth strategies."

Those strategies must be supported by Samaiden’s marketing team, which is headed up by Tee.

"That’s the second pillar of my job. The third is leveraging business analytics to optimize the way we use our resources in the work we do."

"Thanks to our founder’s drive and vision, we’ve been able to grow quickly."

The fruit of this labor is, currently, a plan to position Samaiden in the heart of the solar industry supply chain. "We don’t want to focus purely on constructing solar farms or other renewable energy plants," says Tee.

"But if you’re constructing the solar farm, you might need certain machinery, a particular part or eventually a battery storage system. That’s the kind of ecosystem we want to build into our portfolio. Then it’s possible for us to accelerate the speed of completing a project and allow us a competitive cost advantage in the long run."

Collaboration is Key

This ideal outcome, along with the constant aim of providing Samaiden’s customers with high-quality, no-fuss renewable energy solutions, is achieved with the help of market-leading partners and suppliers such as Chinese photovoltaics manufacturer JinkoSolar.

"Solar panels make up more than 50 percent of the entire cost of a solar project," says Tee. "So we have preferred suppliers who provide advanced technology that’s much more reliable than the competition."

Tee is the first to admit that Samaiden is happy to defer to the expertise of its partners. "We are the assembler, first and foremost," he says. "We buy our material from our suppliers, and in the process we tap into their knowledge so that we can share this with customers. It’s a value add."

But even more so than partners, Tee believes that the future of the solar industry depends on the actions of the Malaysian government. "They play a critical role," he says. "The party that dominates the cabinet has to prepare a favorable policy to support the growth of our industry. If we don’t have that, we as an industry may end up in trouble."

"In this industry, particularly in Malaysia, there are few women leaders of organizations. For us to have Chow Pui Hee as our Group Managing Director makes us unique in that sense."

In the meantime, Samaiden is working hard to enrich that industry with a clear-headed slate of strategies and progressive policies.

"In this industry, particularly in Malaysia, there are few women leaders of organizations," he says. "For us to have Chow Pui Hee as our Group Managing Director makes us unique in that sense."

Another point of difference is the variety of solutions Samaiden offers its customers. "The majority of Malaysia’s renewable landscape is focused squarely on solar, but we have biomass and biogas projects underway," he says.

"Combined with our consultancy and engineering design services, we offer a full spectrum of solutions for our customers. It’s what distinguishes us from the pack."