Growth in precision engineering sector as companies diversify
By Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 04 December 2007 1951 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Precision engineering companies in Singapore are making some headway in trying to diversify their portfolio to move up the value chain. And medical technology is one of the new areas they have been branching into.

Fong's Engineering and Manufacturing is successfully tapping into the medical technology sector. It has become the first company to complete its projects under SPRING Singapore's Medtech Capability Development Programme.

Jeremy Fong, Managing Director of Fong's Engineering and Manufacturing, said: "We found that the biomedical sector has the largest margin in comparison to other industries – the margin is higher at about 35 percent gross margin and it supplies a niche market. They require a lot of stringent requirements, especially in the machining."

The medtech industry now accounts for more than 60 percent of Fong's revenue and the company is planning to target new customers and markets in optics and photonics. Fong's is one of five companies on the Medtech Capability Development Programme.

Philip Yeo, Chairman of SPRING Singapore, said: "I think there are great opportunities for our companies in the precision engineering to diversify from what they have done to medical technology... we have to find a way to give them development capital, not venture capital."

The S$5 million Medtech scheme was launched earlier this year to help precision engineering firms diversify into medtech.

To help precision engineering firms take the leap, the Economic Development Board, SPRING Singapore and Workforce Development Agency have joined hands in a S$76 million manpower initiative.

"This is an industry that is stable and steady, and there is a lot of potential for engineers to go into it. We need a lot more mechanical engineers. The demand is so high that we have to import from overseas," said Mr Yeo.

The manpower initiative aims to train some 2,000 people for the industry over the next five years.


- CNA/so