KUALA LUMPUR, 8th November 2022 – IRGA.AG, an agribusiness solutions provider and agritech enabler, recently announced the appointment of Krishna Shanmugam, CEO of Astro Sign Gallery, as Chief Engineer of the company. The announcement comes as IRGA aims to enhance its manufacturing and product development strengths with respect to the delivery of key 4IR geared product innovations.

Krishna Shanmugam is an Electronics Engineer by training and spent his formative years working for United Motor Works (UMW) engineering where he was head of the automotive electronics equipment and services division. While at UMW, he was given the opportunity to visit the manufacturing facilities of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi in Japan, where he was able to gather valuable insights into the innovative manufacturing facilities of these leading car companies. He has also visited the factories of leading European car manufacturers such as Mercedes Benz and Porsche to further expand his knowledge on the engineering capabilities of top tier manufacturers.

Krishna has been trained in facilities around the world including Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, Germany, England and the United States, in a diverse array of technical engineering fields such as mould-making, vacuum forming, automotive engineering, and CNC engineering. He has also been trained in the manufacturing of specialty acoustic chairs for concert halls while working on a project for the Petronas Philharmonic Concert Hall, where he served as Project Manager.

Highly familiar with the fundamental principles of engineering, Krishna is capable of learning and operating virtually any piece of industrial machinery. A problem solver at his core, his skills and knowledge in analysing and diagnosing manufacturing issues, as well as his capabilities with regards to machining, casting, tooling, developing and ultimately manufacturing allow him to bring a level of proficiency and operational awareness to product development and manufacturing that is uniquely impressive.

Prior to his appointment at IRGA, Krishna was involved in the setting up of manufacturing facilities in other fields. His earliest involvement in such operations was for an entry level Malaysian company which he helped to steer towards becoming an industry leader in just under a decade. He has also been involved in setting up a manufacturing facility in Beijing, China. Here he supported the development of the facility from the ground up, covering the manufacturing layout, planning and construction, as well as equipment sourcing and personnel training.

While operating as CEO and CTO of Astro Sign Gallery, a leading signage company in Malaysia, Krishna established another fully operational manufacturing facility. Adapting the most suitable and effective machinery and tools to these operations while introducing cutting edge technologies and digital platforms into the mix, Krishna developed a highly effective manufacturing hub, servicing clients in the Oil and Gas, Retail, and Tourism industry which included companies such as Exxon Mobil, HYATT, Air Asia, SP Setia and the Genting Group.

Krishna’s expansive experience, skills and talents will be leveraged by IRGA to improve its manufacturing capabilities and product development initiatives. He will be working closely with the Hardware Engineering Development (HED) division of the company to support the production of its agricultural technology hardware solutions, which includes the development and upgrading of the ECUT and the HARVi, the company’s proprietary intelligent and electrical harvesting cutters, as well as the ongoing development of the ROVi, a mobile harvesting transportation vehicle equipped with intelligent sensors, wireless connectivity, and data transmission capabilities. Krishna will be lending his expertise in electronics engineering and manufacturing towards these and other product development initiatives to ensure they are produced to the highest possible manufacturing standard.

Krishna will also be working closely with Yama Yeo, the Manufacturing Director of Kingoya Enterprise, an internationally recognised agricultural tools manufacturer for the plantations industry and manufacturing partner of IRGA. Here, Krishna will be supporting the Agritools Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) division of Kingoya Enterprise with the aim of driving better product innovation capabilities and improving manufacturing processes.

Krishna’s appointment should serve as the necessary stimulus for the company to further enhance its product development and manufacturing strengths while driving innovation and operational efficiency. His addition to the team will ensure that the company is equipped with the technical expertise required to develop competitive and groundbreaking tools, technologies and solutions which elevate the agricultural industry towards far greater heights.

About IRGA.AG
IRGA is an Agriculture Technology enabler that provides estate owners, farmers and landowners with integrated digital software, innovative hardware, biological solutions and data analytics for better decision-making and enhanced efficiencies. The idea behind the business’ name is conceptualised based on the brand’s ethos of holistically examining and restructuring agriculture, and looking at growth from a technology perspective. It is this thinking that forms the “IRGA” name, which is “AGRI” spelt in reverse and the tagline “agri. recoded.” IRGA has several breakthrough technologies being rolled out in in-field plantations and for farms. Visit: www.irga.ag for more details.

For media enquiries: –
Name: Shyam Raaj
Contact: +6011 3586 2624
Email: shyam@irga