KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 (Bernama) -- Music Tribe, a multi-national leader for professional audio products and musical instruments with operations in the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Germany, Japan, China and the Philippines, has chosen Malaysia as its headquarters to spearhead the company’s Global Digital Transformation strategy. The company’s brand portfolio includes famous brands such as Behringer, Midas, Klark Teknik, Lab Gruppen, Lake, Tannoy, Turbosound, TC Electronic, TC Helicon, Bugera, Coolaudio and Auratone.

Music Tribe established its headquarters under the Principal Hub scheme in 2019 to consolidate global leadership and oversight functions. This operation will house a new digital leadership team tasked to implement cutting-edge digital platforms aimed at enhancing the experience of Music Tribe’s customers by means of data analytics, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).

YB Dato' Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), in expressing support for Music Tribe’s bold venture into Industry 4.0 remarked, “This announcement represents a key win for Malaysia and a testament to the nation’s efforts in attracting strategic high-quality investments from international companies. Our skilled talent-base, vibrant industry ecosystem and supportive business policies provide all the right criteria to be the preferred investment location for multinational powerhouses to leverage upon.”

Music Tribe’s announcement is in line with the recent launch of the Lighthouse Project initiative by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysia’s latest landmark initiative to encourage more industry players to act as beacons to guide others in applying technologies like artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing and other Industry 4.0 technologies. With the successful implementation of this project, we look forward to more industry stakeholders emulating such successes and adopt digitalisation and automation elements within their own operations. Ultimately, we seek to position Malaysia among the top global manufacturing nations with the latest technology adoption and innovation, the Senior Minister said.

Music Tribe will also further expand its operations by establishing an Industry 4.0-driven, fully robotised manufacturing facility at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park in Kedah. The company is currently collaborating with Microsoft as well as Siemens to design a full "Digital Twin" or virtual representation of the entire design and manufacturing process flows which will be adopted by its manufacturing facility. This new plant is expected to commence operations by the end of the year 2021.

Despite multiple headwinds on the economic front, Malaysia has progressed in its digital transformation agenda. The manufacturing and services sectors are evolving rapidly and gradually transitioning towards automation, robotics, digitalisation and artificial intelligence.

Music Tribe’s latest undertaking is set to digitise Music Tribe’s entire supply chain beginning from design, manufacturing to e-commerce marketing and after-sales service. It is expected to create significant job opportunities in the areas such as R&D, supply chain, automation, e-commerce, marketing and finance. The company’s project also provides its Malaysian employees a huge opportunity to be at the forefront of the company’s global digital strategy and develop their knowledge and skills in line with the rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Music Tribe, Uli Behringer commends Malaysia’s competitive advantages as the primary pull factor for the company to locate its Principal Hub and new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the country. He remarked, “Over the past few years we went through a thorough evaluation process to find the best possible Headquarters location. Our focus was predominantly on customer proximity, talent pool, supply chain and especially government support. Since we set foot in Malaysia, we have been enjoying tremendous support from the Malaysian Government and hence couldn’t have chosen a better location. The acquisition process for our 50 acres of land was accomplished in merely less than four weeks. In today’s world, where time and agility has become critical, in our 30-year experience, such business support is simply unheard of.”

About MITI
MITI is the key driver in making Malaysia the preferred destination for quality investments and enhancing the nation's rising status as a globally competitive trading nation. Its objectives and roles are oriented towards ensuring Malaysia’s rapid economic development and help achieve the country's stated goal of becoming a developed nation.

About MIDA
MIDA is the government's principal investment promotion and development agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to oversee and drive investments into the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur Sentral, MIDA has 12 regional and 20 overseas offices. MIDA continues to be the strategic partner to businesses in seizing the opportunities arising from the technology revolution of this era. For more information, please visit www.mida.gov.my and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube channel.

About Music Tribe
Music Tribe was founded by Uli Behringer in 1989 as an audio equipment company in Willich, Germany. The enterprise provides a comprehensive product range covering a wide range of product categories to serve professionals, corporations as well as end customers.

With more than 20,000 retailers and distributors in 134 countries, 12 world-class Brands with more than 90 years of history and 2,000 Tribers (Employees) in 13 locations across the globe, Music Tribe is the leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of professional stage audio equipment, musical instruments and related products with distributors.

Photos of Music Tribe's products are also provided in the following link to be featured together with the media release: https://tinyurl.com/yd8gbeq8

SOURCE: Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Name: Ms. Wahida Abdul Rahman
Director, Business Services and Regional Operations Division, MIDA
Tel: +603 2267 6622
Email: wahida@mida.gov.my

Name: Mr. Paul O’Farell-Stevens
Customer Branding Leader, Music Tribe
Tel: +44 2033188462 ext. 44055
Email: paul.ofarrelstevens@musictribe.com

--BERNAMA