Source: The Star
Date: 7.6.2009
Expo visitors checking out a coffin made of paper. | 
For those who consider their cat or dog a member of the family, there are tombstones for pets. |
Death sets in motion a series of activities that concern both the deceased and the bereaved.
An uninitiated visitor to the Asia Funeral Expo (AFE) 2009 would have been taken aback as he stepped into the hall of the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre last month.
Right at the entrance was a gold-plated coffin, with carved dragon gleaming on the lid. As he looked around, he would have seen more coffins, made of metal, wood, cardboard and paper, as well as biodegradable caskets woven from willow, bamboo, seagrass and wicker.
In between these displays were booths filled with granite and marble tombstones and monuments; hardware (coffin handles and ornaments, screws, crucifixes and candle holders); rock salt urns (which sink and dissolve rapidly in water) and shell-shaped deep water bio urns (which float briefly before sinking, and then dissolving); cremation urns; pet caskets; textiles for coffin interiors; folk costumes for the deceased; memorial tablets and bronze plaques; embalming chemicals and equipment; mortuary cosmetics; and keepsakes (scented paper soap, photographs, handicraft and candles).
Products were just one aspect of the expo. With service being a key component of the funeral industry, visitors were able to watch a video that showed how a body is massaged and washed before being dressed, and the array of sprays, liquids, gels and waxes used in embalming, and talk to specialists eager to explain what they do, once considered a taboo topic.
A couple of exhibitors had information on repatriation services - increasingly important as more and more people travel and work abroad - which involve handling protocol, paperwork, as well cold storage equipment, flight plans and vehicles. A few more had updates on the technology and machinery used in cremators and cemeteries, and the design and manufacture of other funeral products.
Funeral parlours handed out brochures on burial vaults and niches, private mausoleums and even plots and urns for pets. For those who believe in the afterlife, there was paper paraphernalia which could be "sent" to the departed.
Besides being a showcase for products, services and technology, the expo also brought together industry members and professionals who discussed issues pertinent to their fields. The environment is a growing concern of funeral directors, who have begun to educate people on green burials, biodegradable urns and returning to the earth after death.
For many years now, embalmers have felt the pressing need for totally green formaldehyde. On average, three gallons of embalming fluid has about 2.03% of formaldehyde, known to be a hazardous compound with toxic vapours.
Craig Caldwell, vice-chairman of The Dodge Company, the world's leading supplier and manufacturer of embalming products, had welcome news for the delegates: a formaldehyde-free lotion will be launched at the 2009 National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) International Convention & Expo in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in October.
All about the dead
AFE 2009 opened with a briefing by four staff members from the United States consulate in Hong Kong, who talked about shipping the remains of deceased Americans home, the need to understand the diverse burial and remembrance customs as the world becomes a smaller place thanks to international travel, why the inaugural expo was held in Macau last year, and things to consider as the US looks to the East to find business leads and partners.
Following that, Christine Pepper, chief executive officer of the NFDA gave an update of this US-based set-up. Next, its treasurer Patrick Lynch gave an overview of funeral services in the United States.
During an international summit held on the first day, representatives of funeral associations from around the world talked about how the economic crisis has impacted the industry and how funeral homes can meet increasing requests for personalised services and products.
Over the three days of the expo, there were conferences at which experts talked about mortuary cosmetology today; contemporary embalming techniques; modern cemetery management and operation in China; contemporary cemetery designs in the United States; cemetery management, designs and current practices in Australia; forensic human identification protocol and challenges faced by funeral directors from the forensic perspective (see Speaking for the dead, SM5), and a sparkling way to remember the dead - by transforming their ashes into diamonds.
There were also public forums on how to prepare a will and new alternatives to traditional burials. Roundtable discussions focused on funeral culture and custom in France, culture sharing in modern funerals in Taiwan, efforts to incorporate the green concept into paper funerary products, and the current trend of the bereavement industry in Malaysia.
Green concerns
EcoUrn Asia, with its shelf of handpainted urns made from corn skin, drew curious looks and loads of questions. The biodegrable urns, first created in Denmark by Joergen Mayland five years ago, are now manufactured in China.
Compared with conventional urns, these are lightweight and can be X-rayed, a plus for those who need to carry the ashes of a family member home and have to go through customs. To ensure safety, the urns have a click lock that does not allow them to be opened once the lid is closed.
Eco urns, named the Best New Product 2008 under the IFA (International Funeral Awards), come in two sizes: 5.5 litres (for the European market) and 3.9 litres. Once buried in the ground, they start to biograde, a process that takes about three years to complete, thus affirming the company's philosophy - back to nature.
Pensioner Mayland, 71, who is director of EcoUrn International, used to design women's clothing. He has come up with a wooden coffin that will go into production in the Ukraine next month. It uses wooden screws and has no metal at all. The interior lining is linen and the stitches are all made with cotton thread, he says.
His European partner has invented a "very progressive cremator" that takes only 36 minutes to burn a body instead of the usual 60; this means less energy is used.
Europe is far ahead in its endeavours to protect the earth, and its authorities are looking at introducing a law requiring that "we put up a big filter system for what's coming out of our cremators. Cremators have begun to channel (using pipelines) the heat released at cremators to heat up homes.
"There was major opposition at the start because people thought the heat came from the dead bodies. But we assured them that it was from the machines."
Mayland was impressed by the way Asia "has its eyes on the environment".
"I believe that whatever our religion, we can give something back to nature and help a tree grow. I believe nature is valuable, so we must keep that which God has given us with respect," says Mayland, who believes in God but not life after death.
The rich dead
The Han family from Taiwan certainly do, and have skilfully handcrafted intricate paper paraphernalia to be offered to those in the nether world.
On show at the expo was a model of a Japanese-style thermal house measuring 95cm x 70cm x 65cm,
Two models of SKEA's made-for-heaven abodes are available to Malaysians through its online site, from over 300 designs ranging from palaces to villas, bungalows, shoplots, loft homes, cottages, convenience store, and apartments.
Each takes a week to build and prices depend on the customised items, which can range from yachts, rooftop basketball courts, grand piano, bedroom sets, calligraphy, thermal pools, massage chairs, fast food on the dining tables, golf clubs, home entertainment systems, toys, mahjong sets, books and toiletries.
Frank Han helms SKEA - the acronym for spectacular kind of Elysium accessories - while his daughters Yean and Cherry take charge of the designs.
Yean, a mother of two with a third on the way, was inspired to create the paraphernalia after her grandfather died in 2007.
"He always dreamed of visiting Japan but never made it because he was ill. So I made my first house, styled like a Japanese hotel, and burned it for him. Last year, we made a sumo wrestler for grandpa. This year, it was a sushi bar."
Yean, a fashion writer who used to provide content for msn.com, says every one of the creations has a serial number.
"Let us know your loved one's story, what he always wanted in life but never got. We will fulfil his dreams," she adds.
Service is the key
People might think twice about buying paper gifts for the departed though, in light of the world economy today.
Death may be one of the two things that are certain in life (to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin; the other is, of course, taxes), but the business of death is not immune to the uncertainties of the times.
That was the view of representatives from funeral associations who swapped thoughts on the threats and opportunities posed by the economic downturn. They concurred that business has been affected, but there are ways to stave off the financial gloom.
For example, funeral homes should have their strategies in place - provide top-level service, educate customers on why they need what you sell, and make the most of those who come to you.
Retaining trained staff, keeping overheads down, having flexible operations, and reviewing available packages and services to meet current needs are viable moves.
There were also words of caution, as big funeral homes in Asia can serve thousands of families a year, compared to their American counterparts, which average 125 families yearly: Beware of price wars, and don't destroy your brand name by offering discounts to increase sales.
At the end of the day, the challenge is how best to care for bereaved families in their time of need and manage the bottom line, said Thomas Tse, executive director of the Board of Management of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries, which operates four cemeteries in Hong Kong, one of which is at Junk Bay.
Delegates at the AFE, who converged from over 30 countries worldwide, also had the opportunity to check out cemetery facilities around the island.
A Malaysia delegation comprising staff of the Xiao En Group visited the Junk Bay cemetery, which was set up in 1989 and now has 28,460 burial lots and 92,926 niches housed within 285,000 sq m of land tucked between hill and sea.
Xiao En's core focus is memorial parks, bereavement services, culture and consultancy; one of its subsidiaries is the Nilai Memorial Park, Selangor. Its team was in Hong Kong to learn more about the funeral business. Among its 19 members were Frank Choo, managing director of Xiao En, and his siblings Keng (the group's planning and design director) and Nancy (sales and marketing director).
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