Plastic Can Be Fantastic

His urban landscaping company takes the oft-vilified material and turns it into a credible ecofriendly solution.

- Karen Tee

WHO

Alan Lee

Founder and executive chairman, Elmich

– YEAR ESTABLISHED

1985

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WHAT IT DOES

Provides eco-friendly urban landscaping, waterproofing, drainage, green roofs and storm water management solutions

For Alan Lee, making the transition from salaried employee to entrepreneur 33 years ago was a matter of life and death. As the general manager of a marine and fishery company in the ’80s, he put his life on the line during work trips to places like Somalia, South Yemen, Russia and postwar Vietnam.

“Once, we were stopped by Somali guards with AK-47s as we drove past a roadblock in the desert. Later, we were told that we were lucky I was mistaken for a mainland Chinese or they would have shot us on the spot,” says Lee, now 67. At the time, the Chinese were viewed favourably as they provided aid to the country, he explains.