Exclusive Interview: Martin Overgaard on Leading JJ-Lurgi’s Global Expansion

Could you introduce JJ-Lurgi to our audience?

Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, JJ-Lurgi Engineering (Sdn. Bhd.) is a leading engineering and procurement service provider with over three decades of experience. As the 50:50 joint venture between the Singaporean-based diversified industrial conglomerate Jebsen and Jessen Group and Frankfurt-based Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions, we merge Asian presence with German engineering. Southeast Asia is our stronghold market, where we hold a leading position in the oil seeds extraction, edible oil refining, fats modification, and oleochemical markets. We boast a robust engineering base, with our HQ in KL and a second platform in China dedicated to extraction and refining. These provide solid foundations for further growth. Since 2022, we started expanding outside of the region, and I was appointed CEO last year to spearhead our global expansion strategy. 

Could you share more details about JJ-Lurgi’s expertise and portfolio in the oleochemical value chain?

Our expertise lies in technologies for vegetable-derived productions, spanning from upstream (oil seeds extraction) to edible oil refining, fats modifications, as well as oleochemical and biodiesel (methyl ester) production. Unsurprisingly, Indonesia and Malaysia, as the two biggest producers of palm oil globally, are our main markets. JJ-Lurgi has built an impressive portfolio, having delivered the world’s three largest oil refineries, each with a capacity of 3,500 tons/day, all located in Indonesia, along with the world’s largest biodiesel plant. This year, we are working on five different fatty alcohol plants, collectively representing 15-20% of the total global capacity for fatty alcohols. These are scheduled to come on stream in 2025.

Could you elaborate on your geographical expansion strategy?

JJ-Lurgi has grown into the market leader in Southeast Asia, and it is now time to bring that know-how and maturity to the rest of the world. In 2022, the initial agreement with Air Liquide changed, with the shareholders agreeing that JJ-Lurgi can deploy its service outside of our home region, on a global basis. This was the trigger point to devise an internationalization strategy with key focus markets: Latin America, India, and Europe. We have already hired sales directors in these three target regions, with plans to establish local offices with customer-facing functions (sales, customer services, some technical support), while continuing to leverage our engineering capabilities here in Asia. I am confident that with the local resources and our track record, we are walking towards a new era of opportunity, with growth coming not only in the form of sales but also new learnings, such as expanding from majority palm-oil into soybean and rapeseed. This allows us to broaden our expertise.

Could you comment on the main trends in the oleochemical space? Do you observe more investments in capacity additions?

Absolutely. The focus on hygiene was brought to a whole new level by the pandemic and, even as we overcame that period, the learnings stay, and demand for all hygiene-related continues to soar. Soaps, detergents, and sanitizers, are all products using surfactants, made via an oleochemical process, driving our customers to invest in more capacities. The other growth driver is GDP growth. The projects undertaken by JJ-Lurgi alone represent up to 15-20% of global capacity; if we count that on top of what our competitors may be working on, we are probably looking at about 20%-25% capacity additions this year. Southeast Asia is already a leading force in this market, but developments in Latin America and India point to growth too. In Brazil, the mandatory biodiesel blend has just been upped from 12 to 14% by the authorities, to be implemented from 2025. Regulations are also getting tighter for the aerospace industry, so demand for SAF is also poised to grow. 

Do you have any takeaways or a concluding message as you reflect on your first year as CEO?

Joining JJ-Lurgi has been a great learning experience for me. The work ethic, positivism, and the go-get and go-do mentality are truly refreshing and run deep in our company’s DNA. I am both delighted and intrigued by the opportunities we have as a company moving forward. My main priority is to make JJ-Lurgi a globally known and respected brand by executing our global growth strategy, while maintaining the great JJ-Lurgi spirit amongst colleagues and partners. 

~ Article originally published by Global Business Reports