Ignatius Chew Takes Over

Ignatius Chew Eng Lin the son of Chew Choon Kok, took over the running of Ban Hoe Seng in 1988.

Ignatius and Pauline, 2017

The General Manager and Sales Manager were retired. Due to the recession the sales of vehicles dropped drastically and the entire sales staff were all let go.

When Ignatius returned to Ipoh in 1982, a fresh graduate from the UK where he attained the distinction of top student in psychology he was tasked to understudy the business from the management.

His wife Pauline Hsu, a graduate of accounting was computerizing the company’s accounts system at the time.

Ignatius and Pauline overshadowed the management in the early years to learn the operation from them . 

When news that the senior management had retired was announced Ignatius was put in charge of sales while Pauline took charge of the workshop and operations at Kampar Road.

During this period of recession both Ignatius and Pauline were sent to Thailand to learn from Mitsuro Sato, the President of Asian Honda Motor Co Ltd.

Sato’s style had a profound impact on Ignatius so much so when he returned he changed Ban Hoe Seng.

He refurbished the showroom and adopted the management style that he learnt from Mitsuro Sato.

The results from the training proved itself when Ban Hoe Seng won the first Honda Dealer of the Year in 1990.

Standing left Pauline Hsu, Ignatius (4th form left) and Agnes (Ignatius sister, last). Seated :Chew Choon Kok (4th from left). Pix dated 1991 

Chew Choon Kok now gave Ignatius and Pauline a free hand to run the business in 1992.

In 1994 Chew Choon Siew died and that same year Ignatius father Choon Kok retired.

According to Ignatius Honda was a product that sold itself. He theorized that if you have a good product all you had to do was to manage and service the product and it would do well.

When the Asian Financial Crisis occurred in 1996 / 97 Ban Hoe Seng was well poised to weather the storm once again.

As had been done in the 1985 crisis Ignatius’s conservative style and prudent management once again helped the company get through the crisis.  

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