Ray Of Hope

HAVING NURTURED GADING KENCANA DEVELOPMENT SDN BHD FROM A HUMBLE RETAILER OF SOLAR-POWERED GARDEN LIGHTS ALL THE WAY TO PLAYING A PIONEERING ROLE IN MALAYSIA’S RENEWABLE ENERGY INDUSTRY, DATO’ IR GUNTOR TOBENG HAS HIS EYES – AND HIS COMPANY’S GOALS – FIXED FIRMLY ON THE SUN.

- RENYI LIM

IT feels odd to note that Gading Kencana Development Sdn Bhd first took root on shaky ground, given its formidable reputation within the country’s renewable energy and energy efficiency industry, but that’s exactly how Dato’ Ir Guntor Tobeng puts it to The Peak. “I started my company because of the 1997 Financial Crisis,” says the Alor Setar, Kedah-born entrepreneur, who has been running the company full-time as its Co-Founder and Managing Director since 1998. “With the stock market flattened, everything was gone – business partners proved unreliable and it was a dog-eat-dog world – so I decided to prove I could build a company on my own.”

There’s proof enough now. Gading Kencana has made a name for itself as a premier energy service company that specialises in developing solar farms and providing businesses with consulting, design and installation services for energy-efficient solutions. Not only does the company pride itself on running what it describes as the world’s most resource-efficient, large-scale solar facility in Melaka, but its A-shaped rooftop solar PV system can be said to have helped propel Malaysia’s solar energy industry forward. An ever-ready participant in off-grid, hybrid and large-scale solar energy projects, Dato’ Guntor’s mission to build a sustainable and profitable business in energy conservation and renewable energy is leading him into the spotlight.

RAY OF LIGHT