Thumbprints Utd. Sdn. Bhd. - Offset Printing Company Malaysia A Printing Company's Legacy: From Humble Beginnings to Global Standards

1990

Founding The Company

Mr. Tam founded Thumbprints in 1990.

With his wife's entire life savings, an overdraft taken out on his parents' land and little money in the pocket, the brave twenty-six-year-old entrepreneur rented a shoplot in Selayang and started Printechnic. Together with him on this venture were his wife (Jackie), brother (Eric), and his brother-in-law (Teoh). Our first job was producing Point of Purchase Materials for Nestle.

1995

Moving into 1st Factory

The early days were tough, and learning curves steep. The company was always cash-strapped, and there was never enough money to buy materials and machines. However, the strained circumstances and limited resources only inspired creativity! With lot of hard work and a bit of luck, the business kept growing. Finally, in 1995, in need of a bigger operational space, Thumbprints moved into our first factory building.

1997

Pushing Corruption Free Practices

In 1997, after accepting Christ, Mr. Tam felt a strong conviction to change the ways of the industry -- in those days corrupt practices were the norm. Our initial transition into transparent business practices was not easy; we faced many rejections and challenges, both internally and externally. We were losing customers, but we were determined to realize our vision of cultivating a new culture of Honesty & Integrity.

2002

Starting Export and Certifying for ISO 9001

In 2002, Poh Eng secured the first export job for Thumbprints. In the same year, Eric proposed to have Thumbprints certified for ISO 9001.

In 2002, Poh Eng who is a keen advocate of reading and learning, decided to follow her passion and pursue the book industry. After 9 months of hard work, she secured the first export job for the company, printing sticker books for a small Belgian publisher.

In the same year, Eric, who believed a more systematic approach was required to formalise the processes, made the initiative to have Thumbprints certified for ISO 9001.

2005

Move Into Larger Factory

Business was growing and the factory could no longer accommodate the company's needs, so it was time to move. The new factory is 5 times larger and an enormous, change for everyone. With this development, Thumbprints embarked on an ambitious investment program and procured three new printing machines.

2007

ISO 14001 certified & FSC® certified in 2010

The Thumbprints Go Green Committee was formed by a group of environmental enthusiasts seeking to promote the 5Rs: Recycle, Reuse, Reduce, Repair and Refuse. As part of our green effort, a waste water treatment was built, manufacturing wastes were segregated, and solar panels were installed. In 2007, Thumbprints became ISO14001 certified. Then in 2010, our efforts in promoting responsible paper source to our customers led us to become FSC® certified.

2008

Making Community
Enterprise the vision

When Mr. Tam saw the struggles that his employees went through during the economic recession in 2008, he decided that Thumbprints should take better care of their employees. Thumbprints' vision of becoming a community enterprise was formed. Raising the basic salary and introducing a profit sharing scheme meant making losses for the first 2 years, but it imbued a new found sense of ownership among the staff.

2011

Zero Corruption Committee, formalizing practices with International Transparency, packaging

Over the years, Thumbprints has built allied partnerships with like-minded customers who understand and appreciate our corruption-free practices. Thus, the birth of Thumbprints' Zero Corruption Committee. In conjunction with Transparency International Malaysia, we formalized our 'No lie, No Cheat, No Bribe' practices in 2011.

In the same year our current MD Chee Yoong, diversified our business into box packaging, and sucessfully brought Thumbprints a new product category.

2018

Lean Manufacturing

In 2018, Thumbprints took on a lean manufacturing program. Under the guidance of an on-site consultant, we completed the 6-months course on waste reduction and increasing efficiency. The program brought new insights into ways to minimize waste within our manufacturing operation. Since then, take time, cycle time, 5S, OEE, and Kaizen have become the norm.

2020

ISO 37001 certified

Receiving ISO 37001 certification and bringing our practices in line with international standards had been Thumbprints' ultimate goal since the inception of our Zero Corruption Commitee. After many years of rigorous study and refinement, Thumbprints became the first printer in Malaysia to be certified for ISO 37001 Anti Bribery Management System in 2020.

2022

Joining United Nations Global Compact

Joining the United Nations Global Compact, is a part of Thumbprints drive to build a sustainable future. We are committed to supporting the Ten Principles.