Construction services firm sees revenue grow 4 times to S$12m after R&D investment

SINGAPORE — Through research and development (R&D), a building and construction materials-testing company has been able to develop a new business segment that now contributes to one-fifth of its total revenue.

Its total turnover has also jumped four times over the past five years from S$3 million to S$12 million.

Since collaborating with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) almost a decade ago, Admaterials Technologies has expanded the size of its office space from 1,000sqf to 25,000sqf, and its manpower strength has grown from just five to about 100.

Every year, the company has also been investing about S$300,000 in R&D.

As part of the partnership, from 2011 to 2016, A*Star seconded three researchers to the firm under its Technology for Enterprise Capability Upgrading (T-Up) scheme.

The agency also established two new laboratories for the firm to do environmental and microbiological testing.

The labs serve clients who need to test whether their construction materials contain harmful compounds, for example. They also run tests of water in swimming pools at condominiums, and portable water for clients in the food industry.

Before the labs were set up, the company had to outsource such tests to vendors.

Another initiative supported by A*Star was the creation of an automated cube testing system, which conducts structural testing of concrete slabs used in the public MRT rail network, sewage tunnels and condominums.

Thanks to the automation, just four workers are needed to handle 2,000 concrete cubes a day, compared with 10 workers handling 200 cubes previously.

Mr Lu Jin Ping, managing director of Admaterials Technologies, said that employees do not have to go through intensive training, and only need one day of coaching to understand how the automated system works.

As for the water-testing business, it now contributes to 20 to 30 per cent of its total revenue, he said.

SCHEME HAS HELPED 700 COMPANIES

Since 2003, more than 700 research scientists and engineers have been seconded to Singapore-registered small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under the T-Up scheme, to work on close to 700 projects.

The scheme helps the SMEs to innovate, improve R&D processes and to identify new capabilities. To date, close to 700 SMEs have benefited from it, A*Star said.

To qualify, the SMEs have to have Singaporean ownership of at least 30 per cent, and a group annual turnover of less than S$100 million for a period of up to two years, or fewer than 200 workers.

Mr S Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry), who visited Admaterials Technologies on Thursday, told reporters that in terms of scale, SMEs are generally smaller in size, but the numbers are significantly large because they account for the majority of the enterprises here.

“Therefore (the SMEs) have a big impact and if they are able to adopt technology and improve their productivity and competitiveness, that would have a significant impact on our economy.”

He noted that Admaterials Technologies has been investing in R&D and has seen “significant” gains on its revenue. The cube testing, for example, has helped the company create “a very big change in productivity and capacity”.

However, he also said that the adoption of new technologies must fill the need of the enterprise and is not “a numbers game”.
Some enterprises may be ready for the T-Up scheme where a researcher is attached to the firm, but other companies which want to take a slower pace may want to start with other “plug-and-play type of solutions” that are available, he added.

“The key point is, we want to make it accessible for the SMEs… But the most important thing is, whichever stage you’re at, you recognise the importance of R&D as part of your business strategy and start making concrete efforts through investments to make it happen.”

Separately, when asked about the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle and talks of Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang stepping down, Mr Iswaran would only say that Mr Lim has “contributed significantly in the trade and industry portfolio”.

“I think he remains a very important resource for the Government and I am very sure that he will continue to contribute to Singapore’s economic development and growth in one way or another,” he added.