ebm-papst Opens New Air Technology Hub in Malaysia

New regional hub combines local assembly, application expertise and digital services to support customers across Southeast Asia

SHAH ALAM, Malaysia, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ebm-papst officially opened its new Air Technology Hub in Shah Alam on October 22. The new hub brings together local assembly, warehousing, application support, digital services and customer training, strengthening the company's ability to serve customers in Malaysia and across Southeast Asia with faster response times, enhanced technical support and improved local availability.

The grand opening brought together customers, business partners and representatives from the HVAC industry. Guests toured the new facility and learned more about its assembly, laboratory, warehouse and customer experience capabilities.

Air technology has formed the foundation of ebm-papst's business for more than six decades. Going beyond a conventional production facility, the Air Technology Hub extends local capabilities across the product lifecycle. These include local RMA (Return Material Authorization) analysis, repair and refurbishment of selected products, fan health monitoring and retrofit proof-of-concept initiatives. Together with technical training for customers, partners and employees, these services support knowledge transfer and local talent development while bringing expertise and services closer to local markets.

"Customers today expect more than an efficient fan or motor. They need partners who understand the complete application and can help reduce energy consumption, enhance reliability and optimize lifecycle performance," said Thomas Nuernberger, Chief Sales Officer of the ebm-papst Group and President & CEO Air Technology Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa. "The Malaysia Air Technology Hub brings our technology and expertise closer to customers in Southeast Asia. It is an important part of our Local for Local strategy and reflects our long-term commitment to the region."

The hub covers approximately 3,000 square metres, including a 2,000-square-metre warehouse, a 500-square-metre assembly and laboratory area, and a 500-square-metre office area. It supports the local assembly of high-demand products for various application types, as well as quality analysis, digital services and solutions, and customer training. The warehouse will stock selected products locally, helping improve availability and shorten delivery times.

The facility also includes a Customer Experience Center where customers and partners can explore ebm-papst technologies for different applications and discuss opportunities to improve system performance through intelligent controls, digital connectivity and retrofit solutions.

"The Air Technology Hub connects the physical product with the expertise and digital capabilities needed to improve its performance in real applications," said Thomas Schwab, Vice President of Digital Services and Solutions, APAC & MEA, and Managing Director of ebm-papst Southeast Asia. "By combining application expertise with digital services and solutions in one location, we can work more closely with customers, use operating data more effectively and develop solutions tailored to their specific systems and operating conditions. In this way, we can achieve even greater energy savings and help improve the reliability of our customers' equipment through measures such as predictive maintenance and fan health monitoring."

Malaysia was selected for the new hub because of its established industrial base, skilled workforce and strategic location within Southeast Asia. Growing investment in HVAC systems, data centers and energy-efficient buildings is driving demand for reliable air technology and stronger local technical support.

"For our customers, the main difference is proximity and flexibility", said Ramesh Swaminathan, Sales Director of Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and Country Manager of ebm-papst Malaysia. "By building greater local capability, we can adapt the product mix more flexibly to meet changing customer requirements while reducing lead times and optimizing local conversion to finished goods. Customers will also benefit from faster root cause analysis and expanded lifecycle services enabled by the Hub's technical capabilities. The Hub therefore goes beyond faster delivery, enabling us to support customers and create value throughout the product lifecycle."

The Malaysia Air Technology Hub forms part of ebm-papst's regional Air Technology Hub network in Asia-Pacific, alongside the South China Air Technology Hub in Guangdong, China. By connecting Southeast Asian customers more closely with the company's wider technology network, the new hub will strengthen long-term partnerships and help customers improve the efficiency, reliability and overall performance of their air technology systems.

About ebm-papst

The ebm-papst Group is a leading global provider of innovative ventilation solutions for air, refrigeration and climate technology, headquartered in Mulfingen, Germany. The company develops and manufactures innovative components for HVAC and cooling applications, combining advanced fan and blower technology with electronics, controls and software & service.

For more than 60 years, ebm-papst has set international standards through innovation in aerodynamics, motor technology, electronics and digitalization.  

The company employs nearly 13,000 people at 30 production sites including in Germany, China, and the US, as well as around 50 sales offices worldwide.

With its energy-efficient and intelligently connected technologies, ebm-papst supports the reduction of CO₂ emissions, digitalization and the development of future-ready infrastructure worldwide. Its technologies are used in a wide range of applications, including data centers, building and heating technology, industrial applications, cleanrooms, cold chains and renewable energy. 

In August 2026, ebm-papst announced an agreement to become part of Madison Air, creating new opportunities for innovation and global growth. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

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ebm-papst Opens New Air Technology Hub in Malaysia

ebm-papst Opens New Air Technology Hub in Malaysia

HLB's strategic partnership unlocks new possibilities in cross-border banking, connecting customers to established global payment networks and building a foundation to serve them across more markets

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Leong Bank ("HLB" or the "Bank") today marked its strategic partnership with UnionPay International ("UPI"), strengthening global cross-border payment connectivity for customers travelling, conducting business and pursuing opportunities beyond Malaysia. In line with the proposition of "Connecting Borders, Commerce, Ties, and Horizons", the partnership highlights how HLB and payment networks can enable seamless and secure overseas payments and support closer connections between people and businesses across markets.

By leveraging UPI's integrated network with Weixin Pay, the collaboration enables HLB customers to transact effortlessly at over 120 million merchants across Mainland China, as well as participating merchants in Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Thailand. Whether shopping at department stores or dining at everyday local stalls, customers can pay directly via HLB QR Pay on HLB Connect. The feature natively complements HLB's existing multi-currency features on the HLB Pay&Save Account, allowing customers to lock-in favorable exchange rates and avoid the hassle of using third-party apps and wallet top-ups.

According to Kevin Lam, HLB's Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, "Our customers take us beyond Malaysia through the businesses they build, the family ties they maintain, and the opportunities they pursue. We want them to have the same confidence paying overseas as they do at home."

"At its core, a cross-border payment only works when trust exists on both sides of the transaction where customers know with certainty that their payment will go through, and merchants trust that they will receive it. Backed by over a century of heritage and innovation in cross-border payments in the community, our priority is ensuring that trust holds wherever our customers go. Partnering with UPI and tapping into their vast international network, including Weixin Pay, allows us to deliver that scale and certainty globally."

Carlson Li, Vice President of UPI, commented, "Our partnership with HLB demonstrates how interoperability can connect different payment ecosystems to deliver practical benefits for customers, where HLB customers can now access a wider merchant network directly from their banking app, making cross-border payments more convenient and supporting commerce between markets. We look forward to building on this partnership to extend payment accessibility, connect more customers and merchants, and create further opportunities for collaboration across the region."

Driven by rapid digital innovation, cross-border payments have expanded well beyond conventional cards and currency exchange, giving consumers more versatile, frictionless ways to transact internationally.

Underscoring the Bank's focus on customer-centric digital solutions, Andrew Jong, HLB's Managing Director of Personal Financial Services, said, "Digital innovation has fundamentally changed how people move and spend money abroad, unlocking greater convenience and flexibility than ever before. We recognise that customers have different payment preferences and needs when travelling across markets. Our focus is on ensuring our solutions remain relevant to those dynamic needs, giving customers true choice, security, and continuity wherever they go. This partnership with UPI is a key milestone in how we leverage innovations and ecosystem partners to expand our suite of cross-border payment capabilities."

HLB's broader cross-border payment offering gives customers multiple ways to pay overseas, including scanning participating merchant QR codes, displaying an in-app QR code for merchants to scan, linking eligible HLB cards to superapps in China like Weixin Pay, making direct credit and debit card payments, and using supported mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay.

The Bank will continue to build on its international collaborations to expand payment connectivity and support customers as their needs and ambitions grow across markets.

For more information, please visit: www.hlb.com.my/UnionPayQR   

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Hong Leong Bank Strengthens Cross-Border Payment Connectivity through Partnership with UnionPay International