SINGAPORE (Sept 16): For all the competition from low-labour-cost locations, manufacturing remains a key pillar of Singapore’s economy. Astute manufacturers in the city state have long managed costs by setting up operations outside Singapore, while maintaining headquarter functions here and finding new ways to add value to their customers.
Venture Corp, this year’s overall winner in the manufacturing sector — and also the overall winner of the Billion Dollar Club 2019 — is a prime example. Instead of just assembling electronic products on behalf of its clients, the company, under chairman and CEO Wong Ngit Liong, has increased the range of services it can offer, from design and R&D to supply chain management and even technical support.
The company is also very careful not to be too exposed to a single industry sector or customer. It believes that having a diversified customer base will help it weather industry volatility. Venture makes products used in the following industries: life science, genomics, molecular diagnostics, medical devices and equipment, healthcare and wellness technology, lifestyle consumer technology, health improvement products, instrumentation, test and measurement technology, networking and communications, fintech, as well as computing, printing and imaging technology.