SINGAPORE wants to attract companies at the frontier of manufacturing, to secure the Republic's spot in global value chains, said Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing on Monday.
He added that to do so, the government would continue to invest in the manufacturing ecosystem, build research capabilities, and promote Industry 4.0 adoption.
Last week, Mr Chan announced the government's 10-year "Manufacturing 2030" plan, to grow Singapore's manufacturing sector by 50 per cent of its current value - currently S$106 billion - while maintaining its current share of about 20 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The plan involves attracting frontier companies with specialised capabilities that can secure Singapore a niche in global value chains.
On Monday, Mr Chan cited Illumina - an industry giant in genomic sequencing - as an example of the plan in action. He was visiting Illumina's manufacturing facility in Woodlands: a nearly 36,000-square-metre facility that is now the company's largest manufacturing site globally, and employs over 1,300 workers.
Headquartered in the United States, Illumina was a key player in global breakthroughs that radically reduced the costs of sequencing the human genome in the 2010s, with profound implications for research and diagnosis. Today, it commands about 75 per cent of the next-generationsequencing market share.
The company said Singapore - where it set up operations in 2008 - is now Illumina's largest manufacturing site, and distributes its full suite of products worldwide.
The facility produces some 95 per cent of global demand for microarrays, on which up to millions of genes are attached for testing and study. It also produces 85 per cent of global core sequencing consumables, such as reagents and kits that aid in the diagnosis of diseases.
Mr Chan noted that beyond production, Illumina has also grown its research and development (R&D) activities in Singapore over the years.
The company's R&D team in Singapore started out with fewer than 10 members in 2013, and now comprises nearly 120 researchers, scientists and engineers, with the company expecting to hire more.
"When we walk through the production floor in Illumina," said Mr Chan, "You can see the kind of technology and working environment a new-generation manufacturing plant is about. It is no longer about working in a dirty, dangerous, repetitive environment. In fact, that concept is totally passé."
He added: "In manufacturing today, it is not just about repetitive work. It is about constantly trying to look for new solutions and products that require people to have an agile mindset, to combine R&D and production."
To attract more such companies, Mr Chan said the government would continue to invest in the manufacturing ecosystem, with the Jurong Innovation District being key. Hyundai is slated to build a S$400 million innovation centre in the district.
Meanwhile, a cluster of other companies - like Makino, DMG MORI, Konica and Minolta - will also be joining existing players like Bosch and Siemens in Jurong.
The government will also invest in research to encourage innovation, said Mr Chan. The Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plan has set aside S$25 billion for basic and applied research, with manufacturing as an identified priority, in addition to healthcare, sustainability and the digital economy.
Centres of Innovation have also been set up to develop new Industry 4.0 technologies. An Advanced Manufacturing Training Academy has been established to identify emerging skills for workforce training.
Meanwhile, Mr Chan said the government would continue supporting firms in Industry 4.0 adoption efforts. He noted that the Economic Development Board is working with the World Economic Forum to establish the Smart Industry Readiness Index as an international benchmark for the manufacturing industry.
© 2021 Singapore Press Holdings
This article was written by Gayle Goh from The Singapore Business Times and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
