In 1988, Tan Sri Datuk Sir Tiong Hiew King founded Subur Tiasa Plywood in Sibu, Sarawak with an initial paid up capital of RM125.7 million. Two decades later, after weathering through the storms sparked by its humble beginnings, Subur Tiasa has successfully established itself as Malaysia’s leading manufacturer and exporter of integrated forest products that have received global awards therein realising the vision.

During its founding years from 1988 to 1994, Subur Tiasa first located its niche in plywood and veneer manufacturing and export before venturing into sawn timber and laminating board manufacturing. This period also saw sawmills and a power generating plant set up in Tanjung Manis Timber processing zone. Plywood and sawn timber production still serve to anchor the company’s principal activities until today.

The period from 1995 to 2000 was an era of accelerated growth for Subur Tiasa after its subsidiary Subur Tiasa Particleboard Sdn. Bhd. (198523-K) was officiated in 1994. With its particleboard business and upstream logging activities taking off, the crowning success then arrived when Subur Tiasa was listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad in 1997.

In 2001, Subur Tiasa continued to raise its game and underwent enormous expansion, participating and investing in tree planting and reforestation projects. Subur Tiasa is a firm believer of eco-balance such that they ensure their reforestation project compensates for their logging practices by 30 times. Maximising the usage of natural resources has since become Subur Tiasa’s core mission.

From then on, Subur Tiasa has gone from strength to strength. On top of manufacturing and exporting its core forest products (plywood, particleboard and sawn timber), the company has further diversified its operations to include investment holdings, extraction and sales of logs, finger joint moulding, power generation, reforestation, cultivation of oil palm, marine transportation and property development.

In Standard & Poor’s comprehensive report on Malaysia and the 25 top stocks it is anticipating to outperform the market in 2010, Subur Tiasa was conferred an honourable 23rd position. S & P reported:

“Subur Tiasa has diversified geographical markets for its timber products and is significantly less dependent on the weak Japanese housing market than other large Malaysian timber companies. Its logging division is expected to perform well with continued robust demand from India while its maturing palm oil plantation will provide another source of recurring earnings. In addition, the group’s active share buy-back scheme is expected to provide support to its share price.”

(S & P, 2010)

In 2012, the Group diversified into manufacturing charcoal. The Group’s presence in the oil palm plantation sector was strengthened from 2014 onwards through joint ventures and acquisitions of new estates. Today, the Group’s primary business operations are focused on oil palm cultivation and timber operations.

In 2022, the Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary, DMG Commercial Sdn. Bhd., began operations in Kuching, Sarawak, offering 2S and 3S services for Mercedes-Benz trucks and FUSO commercial vehicles. In addition, with the near-completion of the Krah Pipe Manufacturing plant under the Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Krah Grande Borneo Sdn. Bhd., the Group is targeting to produce its first batch of HDPE pipes for internal usage by first half of 2023.