Ewe Eng Kah: How a Penang Shampoo Maker Built a Bursa-Listed OEM

A researched founder profile of Eng Kah Corporation Berhad (Bursa Malaysia: 7149): the origin story, the multinational years, the 2019 succession, and what a family-run contract manufacturer teaches brand owners in 2026.

Article type: Researched profile. No interview was conducted; nothing here is a quote from Mr Ewe unless it is attributed to a named published document. Sources: Eng Kah annual reports FY2018–FY2025, Bursa Malaysia filings, The Edge (2005, 2012), The Star (2004). Research period: 13–14 Sep 2026. Labels: company-stated = what Eng Kah or its reports say; verified = confirmed in an official filing or registry.

Quick answer

Ewe Eng Kah is the Taiwan-trained chemist who founded Eng Kah, a Penang contract manufacturer (OEM, Original Equipment Manufacturer) of perfume, cosmetics, toiletries and household products, listed on Bursa Malaysia since 2002. The company dates itself to 1967, while press accounts place his first shampoo-making in Penang in the 1970s. He built it into a RM95.6 million-revenue business by FY2011, handed the managing-director role to his daughter Ewe Wei Ru in 2019, and at 80 still chairs a smaller company that reported RM31.5 million revenue and a loss in FY2025. For brand owners weighing a family-run OEM, the lesson is to check continuity and customer concentration before scale.

Key takeaways

• The origin date is company-stated: Eng Kah says “since 1967”; The Edge (2005, 2012) places the first shampoo formulations in Penang in the 1970s.
• The product range grew in layers: shampoo and hair dye first, toiletries in 1986, skin care in 1992, household products in 1997 (The Edge, 2005).
• Peak scale came around FY2011: RM95.58 million revenue and RM13.26 million net profit, with more than 50 client companies (The Edge, 12 Mar 2012).
• Succession is formal: the founder became Executive Chairman on 29 May 2019 “as part of the Company’s succession plan”; his daughter became MD, then CEO in October 2023 (Bursa filing; AR2025).
• The family has been adding shares, not selling: the founder’s direct stake rose from 42.32% (FY2019 report) to 48.97% (FY2025 report).
• Today the business is smaller but debt-light: FY2025 revenue RM31.52 million, loss after tax RM6.89 million, borrowings of RM23,000 and RM14.0 million cash (AR2025, audited).

Who this is for

Brand owners, sourcing managers and founders deciding whether to trust a long-running, family-controlled factory with their formulas and volumes. It is also for readers who want the founder’s story behind our Eng Kah Corporation Berhad company profile, which covers the financials, NPRA registry data and Nilai property in depth. This piece does not repeat that analysis; it follows the people.

Timeline at a glance

Where did Ewe Eng Kah start?

Ewe Eng Kah started as a chemist making shampoo, and the company he built still carries his name. According to Eng Kah’s annual reports, he “graduated with a Diploma in Chemistry from Kaoshiung Industrial Institute, Taiwan in 1967” (Annual Report 2025, Directors’ Profile, company-stated). The company’s website describes itself as established “since 1967” (engkah.com, checked 14 Sep 2026, company-stated).

The press puts the manufacturing start a little later. The Edge wrote in 2005 that “back in the late 1960s, shampoo [in liquid form] had just come into the market,” and that the business was founded by “a chemist who started in the 1970s making his own shampoo” (The Edge excerpt, republished 7 Dec 2005). In 2012 the same paper described him as “a chemist trained in Taiwan who started developing his own formulations for variants of shampoo in Penang in the 1970s” (The Edge, 12 Mar 2012).

Our reading: 1967 is the year the founder dates his career from, and the factory story begins in the 1970s. Both can be true. What matters more for buyers is the detail The Edge recorded in 2005: at one early stage the company was “still a cottage industry, operating from a few rented bungalows.” Eng Kah grew from a formulator’s bench, not from a trading house, and that shows in how it later described its strength.

How did the product range grow?

Eng Kah added one category at a time, and each step came with a plant. The Edge’s 2005 account gives the sequence: “Eng Kah took off with [the production of] shampoo and hair dye, then we ventured into toiletries in 1986.” The company was “incorporated as Eng Kah Enterprise Sdn Bhd in 1985.” After “shifting into the existing plant in Bayan Lepas, the company started to manufacture skin care products in 1992,” and “in 1997, the group acquired a factory building in Shah Alam for the manufacturing of household products” (The Edge, 2005).

The same article recorded the claim that “95 per cent of formulations are created in-house” (company-stated, via The Edge 2005). For a contract manufacturer that is the core asset: the factory, not the client, keeps the know-how. By 2004 the group was spending about RM8 million to expand a plant in Nilai to double toiletries and household output (The Star, 29 Dec 2004).

What did the 2002 listing change?

The listing turned a private family factory into one whose accounts anyone can read. Eng Kah Corporation Berhad listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2002 at an issue price of RM1.80 per share (i3investor IPO record, checked 13 Sep 2026, verified), with Ewe appointed Chairman and Managing Director on 2 May 2002 (AR2025). In 2005 The Edge called it “the only perfumery, cosmetic and skincare manufacturer listed on main board of Bursa Malaysia” (press report, 2005).

For buyers, that public record is the single most useful thing about Eng Kah. Audited revenue, customer concentration, plant list and auditor opinion have been published every year since. Most family-run OEMs share none of that.

What did the multinational era look like?

From the mid-2000s to around 2015, Eng Kah was a supplier to multinational brands, and that is when it was largest. The Edge’s 2005 piece named Avon, Johnson & Johnson and Cosway among its customers. By FY2011 the company reported revenue of RM95.58 million and net profit of RM13.26 million, made products for “more than 50 companies including multinational corporations” such as Sara Lee, SC Johnson and Nutrimetics, and exported about 25.8% of sales, with Australia alone at 13.65% (The Edge, 12 Mar 2012). The share traded at RM3.46 at the time (same source; before the 2021 bonus issue).

In June 2015 The Edge reported a research-house estimate that about 80% of customers were multinationals (The Edge, 1 Jun 2015, press report). The same year the founder set up EK Universal Marketing Sdn Bhd to sell perfumery and souvenir fragrance collections (company no. 201501023940, AR2025), built on a glass-printing method he patented as inventor. We cover that in our companion piece on Eng Kah’s laser-printed glass patents.

The weakness of that model became visible later. Customer names disappeared from reports, and the numbers show heavy dependence: in FY2019 three customers each above 10% of revenue accounted for 57% of sales; in FY2024 two accounted for 58% (AR2019; AR2025, segment notes, verified).

How did Eng Kah hand over to the next generation?

The handover has been gradual and on paper since 2011. Both children joined Eng Kah Enterprise in 2010: Ewe Wei Ru as Head of Costing, and Ewe Wee Ting as Personal Assistant to the Group Managing Director. Both were appointed Executive Directors on 25 August 2011 (AR2025, Directors’ Profile). Wei Ru holds a University of Melbourne commerce degree in finance and psychology; Wee Ting holds an RMIT degree in animation and interactive media (same source, company-stated).

On 29 May 2019 the founder was re-designated from Managing Director to Executive Chairman. The Bursa filing states: “The re-designation for him to hold the position as ‘Executive Chairman’ is part of the Company’s succession plan” (Bursa announcement via KLSE Screener, 29 May 2019, verified). Ewe Wei Ru became MD the same day and Chief Executive Officer on 5 October 2023 (AR2025).

The founder has not stepped back from ownership. His direct stake rose from 42.32% in the FY2019 report to 48.97% as at 1 April 2026, and the family together holds about 61.6% (AR2019; AR2025, substantial shareholders, verified). He attended all six board meetings in FY2025 (AR2025). This is a succession where the next generation runs the company and the founder still holds the controlling vote.

Where does the business stand in 2026?

Eng Kah in 2026 is smaller, still profitable in its latest quarter, and carries almost no debt. Revenue fell from RM49.08 million in FY2019 to RM31.52 million in FY2025, with losses in each year from FY2021 to FY2025; the FY2025 loss after tax was RM6.89 million, driven by “impairment of property, plant and equipment and inventory written down” (AR2025, Chairman’s Statement, audited). In 2024 the company “amalgamated its Nilai operations with the head office in Penang” and now runs “two major manufacturing plants… in Penang” (AR2024; AR2025).

The balance sheet is the counterweight: RM14.0 million cash and RM23,000 of borrowings at end-2025, and an unmodified audit opinion every year from FY2018 to FY2025 (AR2025; auditor Grant Thornton, later Grant Thornton Malaysia PLT). The second quarter of 2026 returned a net profit of about RM0.43 million on RM9.86 million revenue (Q2 FY2026 results, 21 Aug 2026).

The client mix is also changing. In our extract of NPRA (National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency) cosmetic notifications dated 6 Sep 2026, Eng Kah’s two entities hold 389 active notifications for 31 brand owners, and 160 of them are perfume or fragrance products. New notifications from small independent brands overtook those from its long-standing large clients in 2025 (oemreview NPRA extract, verified against the registry). The full breakdown is in our Eng Kah company profile.

What should brand owners learn from a family-run OEM like Eng Kah?

A family-run OEM gives you continuity and deep formulation know-how, but you should test four things before signing. Eng Kah’s history shows each of them clearly.

Our view is plain. Eng Kah is a fragrance-led factory with a verified public record, a real succession plan and a founder who is still buying in. Those are strong signs of continuity. The risk sits elsewhere: its history shows how quickly a factory built around a few anchor clients shrinks when they cut orders. If you are a smaller brand, choose a family OEM whose growth now depends on clients like you. If you want the wider selection logic, start with our guide to how contract manufacturing works and our shortlist of fragrance contract manufacturers in Malaysia.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Eng Kah Corporation Berhad?

Ewe Eng Kah founded the Eng Kah Group and is its Executive Chairman. The annual reports describe him as “the founder of the Eng Kah Group” with a 1967 chemistry diploma from Taiwan (AR2025). He was Chairman and MD from 2 May 2002 until 29 May 2019. Check the latest annual report for current roles.

When was Eng Kah founded, 1967 or later?

The company says 1967; the press says manufacturing began in the 1970s. Eng Kah’s website uses “since 1967,” while The Edge (2005, 2012) dates the founder’s first shampoo-making in Penang to the 1970s. The operating company was incorporated in 1985 and the listed holding company in 1997. Use 1985 when you need a registry date.

Who runs Eng Kah now?

The founder’s daughter, Ewe Wei Ru, is CEO, and the founder is Executive Chairman. She became MD on 29 May 2019 and CEO on 5 October 2023; her brother Ewe Wee Ting is an Executive Director (AR2025). The family holds about 61.6% of the shares, so strategic decisions stay with the family.

Is Eng Kah still a family business after listing?

Yes. Listing added public reporting but did not dilute family control. The founder’s direct stake rose from 42.32% (FY2019 report) to 48.97% (as at 1 Apr 2026), and three family members sit on the board. Minority shareholders see audited results, but the family sets direction.

What is Eng Kah best known for making?

Fragrance. Of 389 active NPRA cosmetic notifications in our 6 Sep 2026 extract, 160 are perfume or fragrance products; lotions, deodorants and body washes follow. It also makes household products, which are not notified to NPRA. Ask for fragrance references first if you are evaluating them.

Should a small brand work with a family-run OEM?

It can, if the factory’s future depends on clients your size. A family OEM offers continuity and in-house formulation, but check formula ownership, succession, capacity allocation and audited finances before committing. Eng Kah’s record shows why concentration matters: when anchor clients cut orders, revenue fell sharply.

Sources

• Eng Kah Corporation Berhad, Annual Report 2025 (Directors’ Profile, Chairman’s Statement, substantial shareholders); earlier reports on engkah.com Investor Relations.
• Annual Report 2019 (Bursa copy).
• Bursa Malaysia announcements via KLSE Screener: change in boardroom, 29 May 2019; Q2 FY2026 results.
• The Edge, “Eng Kah: The only cosmetic manufacturer listed on Main Board of Bursa Malaysia” (2005), excerpt republished 7 Dec 2005.
• The Edge Financial Daily, “Eng Kah’s ticket to expansion”, 12 Mar 2012.
• The Star, “Eng Kah to expand new plant”, 29 Dec 2004.
• oemreview NPRA cosmetic-notification extract, 6 Sep 2026 (active notifications only).

Limitations

This is a documents-based profile. We did not interview Mr Ewe or his family and did not visit the factories. The 2005 Edge text is read through a republished excerpt. Customer names are historical press references; recent annual reports do not name customers. Financial figures are from audited annual reports and Bursa filings as at 14 Sep 2026 and will change with the next quarterly report.

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