IGL Coatings founder Keong Chun Chieh reflects on how he transformed a stubborn lab oxidation problem into a global nanotechnology company developing ceramic coatings for automotive and industrial applications
The story of IGL Coatings begins not with a business plan, but with a problem. A recurring layer of oxidation kept forming on the lens of the scientific instrument under my care. Cleaning it was not risky but it was a waste of time. Remove the build-up, spend hours recalibrating, repeat. It was a high-effort, low-value task.
As an engineer, that kind of repetition felt like an insult. My philosophy was simple: if a task steals time with little gain, design it out. So, I developed a surface solution that dramatically slowed the oxidation. It worked, but was rejected in my previous role because it threatened the company’s parts and service revenue. That stung. I took the idea home and tested it on my car. Water sheeted off the windscreen and visibility improved. Unlike anything I had tried, the effect lasted for months.
I listed a few bottles online to recover manufacturing costs. When profits quietly matched my salary, I did what felt both obvious and reckless: I resigned, convinced growth would be quick.
It was not quick.
Selling to Malaysian businesses became a lesson in humility. “Made in Malaysia” was not a compliment. I became the salesperson I never planned to be, knocking on doors, collecting rejection after rejection, sacrificing sleep and family time. Eventually, I accepted that I could not force a market that did not want me—yet. Looking outward, I focused on the export market and promised to return home with proof.
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Keong previously participated in the startup incubator Cradle Fund and venture builder Proficeo’s ‘Coach and Grow Programme’, and credits the mentors he met there for being a part of his startup growth journey (Photo: IGL Coatings)
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Lessons in discipline and structure
When IGL Coatings launched a flagship product, it formalised quality, explored new materials and entered tougher industries. But the heart of this story is what each step demanded of me and what changed in me.
I learnt that discipline is decided long before pressure arrives. In the early days, I rushed a formulation and paid dearly with a product recall. That mistake taught me to embrace structure, even when it slowed us down. Now, we document the work, test before we promise and know how to say “no” to protect the reputation we will need later.
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Mentors from the Cradle Fund and Proficeo’s Coach and Grow Programme shifted my learning curve. They taught me to resist growth for its own sake, to spend within our means and to build systems that work when I am not in the room.
IGL Coatings experimented with nano titanium dioxide, diamond powder and graphene. The latter delivered the philosophical approach that now guides our choices: higher performance with a lighter footprint. Extend the life of a surface and you save the owner money and time, while quietly reducing CO₂ emissions. A glossy panel is nice; a longer-lived asset is more meaningful.
