SOON HUAT Tiong

A researcher with management experience of at least 10 year in the area of oils & fats technology involving in process, analytical and product development for edible oil, oleochemical and biofuel industry.

Centre of Excellence (COE), Apical Indonesia Refineries Operations, Apical Group Ltd

August 2021-Present: COE Manager (Process Optimization, Research & Development and Learning)

• Support the group's process optimization, product development and technical support on environmental, cost reduction, quality enhancement and etc.
• Support group-wide's operations, introduce/evaluate new technologies and has possible to add value to the company.
• Liaise with internal and external customers with objective to find synergies along the value chain. 
• Align R&D activities with company vision, mission and strategy
• Responsible for the functioning of COE activities and performance which include learning and research & development of Apical Operations
• Work with key stakeholders to identify improvement opportunities, to define requirements for new or current processes, and to drive effective change
• Assessing the benefits and monitoring the costs and effectiveness of research and development activities
• Develop and manage the execution of technical curriculum for Apical Operations

Sime Darby Plantation Technology Centre, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

2019-July 2021: Chief Scientist

• Supported the expansion of Sime Darby Oils’ business in application for frying and bakery through product innovation and development of analytical capability.
• Developed and modified LCMS, microscope and rheometer methods according to requirements for production and quality control of Sime Darby Oils’ operations.   
• Conducted commercial and technical feasibility studies for the development of new business/products such as biomass, hair oil, flavor-infused cooking oil, medium-chain triglyceride oil, and cocoa butter alternative. 
• Provided technical consultation for conducting LCMS analysis to support research on the enhancement of palm oil quality, prebiotics and oligosaccharide.
• Supported and provided technical service for Sime Darby Oils Langat, through nine months secondment (Jan to Sept 2020)
• Defined hardness and C-value specification for shortening fat products from Sime Darby Oils Langat.
• Established analysis to determine phosphorus content, E233 and E269 of crude palm oil through the NIR technique.
• Evaluated the application of co-adjuvants to improve oil extraction in oil palm milling.
• Planned for budget and assisted in management of the research laboratory.

2016-2018: Senior Scientist

• Lead a study on chlorinated precursor of 3-MCPD esters formation in a palm oil supply chain through the integration and collaboration within the Sime Darby Plantation.
• Lead the development to produce squalene from by-products of palm oil refinery/biodiesel.
• Assisted and supported the study to adopt process analytical technologies into the palm oil supply chain (NIR, XRD, NMR, Raman, etc).
• Involved in a collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and TechnosSpex Pte Ltd to develop sensors for application in palm oil production.
• Organized events such as roadshows, exhibitions and seminars to improve communication on innovation within the Sime Darby Plantation for stakeholders.

2012-2015: Scientist

• Assisted and supported the research & development of Genome Select materials, the new planting materials from Sime Darby Plantation, through metabolomics technologies and techniques.
• Assisted and supported research on diurnal changes of oil palm.
• Developed and established new analytical methods on LCMS and HPLC (phospholipids, carotene, chlorophyll, lipidomic and sugar)
• Served as a committee member for safety, social, sports and recreational for the employer company

University of Putra, Serdang, Malaysia

• Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science (2021)

University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• Master of Science in Natural Product Chemistry (2014)
• Bachelor of Science in Applied Chemistry (2009)