Mr Lim Hng Kiang at the Opening Ceremony of the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Packaging

Speech by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry at the Opening Ceremony of the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Packaging Wednesday, 7 March 2012, 3.35 pm, Institute of Microelectronics Science Park Road, 11 Science Park Drive

Mr Mike Splinter
Chairman and CEO, Applied Materials

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Less than a year ago, I had the privilege of witnessing the signing of the Master Research Collaboration Agreement between Applied Materials and A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics to establish the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Packaging.  Today, I am pleased to join all of you for the official opening of this Centre.

Built at an investment of over US$100 million, the Centre will develop new and innovative advanced packaging solutions to meet global demands for next-generation electronic devices. It is a significant milestone in the strong partnership between Applied Materials and Singapore, capitalising on the company’s technological edge and enabling it to leverage on Singapore’s manufacturing ecosystem and R&D capabilities. 

Manufacturing becomes knowledge- and innovation-intensive

Manufacturing activities in Singapore have evolved in complexity and are becoming more knowledge and innovation-intensive.  With this transformation, global companies can now leverage on our deep capabilities and an increasingly sophisticated manufacturing ecosystem.  Let me cite some recent examples.

In the aerospace industry, Rolls Royce has selected Singapore to build its first turbine blade manufacturing facility and jet engine assembly plant in Asia. REC, a leading Norwegian company in the solar industry, has opened one of the world’s largest integrated wafer, cell and module manufacturing facilities here. In the medical technology sector, Medtronic has chosen Singapore to manufacture pacemakers for heart patients. 

To enable and sustain this shift towards high-value complex manufacturing, the precision engineering sector, which traditionally consisted of build-to-print suppliers, needs to transform while concurrently strengthening its foundation.  Suppliers will have to make the switch from low-mix high-volume to high-mix low-volume manufacturing to support high-value growth sectors like complex equipment, oil and gas, aerospace and medical technology. Today, the precision engineering sector accounts for almost 10 per cent of Singapore’s total manufacturing output and employs more than a fifth of our manufacturing workforce. 

This transformation will ensure that Singapore’s manufacturing industry is well positioned to continue contributing to a quarter of Singapore’s GDP over the long term.

Sustained R&D investments foster win-win public-private partnerships

Our manufacturing sector also needs to be strengthened with cutting-edge R&D capabilities. The Singapore Government is investing S$16.1 billion from 2011 to 2015 to continue to boost R&D and innovation. This is a 20 per cent increase from our investment over the previous 5-year tranche and reaffirms R&D as an integral part of our economic strategy.

As Singapore’s leading agency for fostering world-class scientific research and talent, A*STAR has developed a wide spectrum of industry-relevant research capabilities and nurtured Singapore’s research talent pool over the years. These efforts have greatly enhanced Singapore’s attractiveness to industry and have paved the way for many successful public-private partnerships in R&D, such as A*STAR’s joint research centres with Baidu and Mitsui Chemicals.[1]

Singapore - Applied Materials’ Home in Asia

So, ladies and gentlemen, the opening of this Centre today is yet another example of a win-win partnership with a world-leading industry player. It brings together Applied Materials’ global leadership in semiconductor tool development as well as IME’s leading-edge capabilities in microelectronics research, such as 3D integrated circuits, bioelectronics, MEMS[2] and silicon photonics. Employing 100 people, the Centre creates highly skilled job opportunities in Singapore.

The Centre will also complement Applied Materials’ existing Singapore Operations Centre, or SOC, which was opened in 2010.  The SOC is Applied Materials’ largest facility for manufacturing cutting-edge semiconductor equipment in Asia, and it also has worldwide supply chain responsibilities. It is the pilot site for the development and implementation of the Applied Materials’ Production System. This is a first-of-its kind manufacturing production system specially developed by the company to significantly increase the productivity of complex high-value manufacturing. These methodologies developed by Applied Materials in Singapore will also benefit local suppliers, when they are transferred by Applied Materials to Singapore-based companies.

With the full value chain of R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, and headquarter functions here, Applied Materials has indeed made Singapore its Home for Business and Innovation in Asia.  It is blazing the trail for other companies to emulate.  At steady state, the company will employ over 800 people in Singapore. Beyond its direct hires, Applied Materials is also helping us to build up our supplier ecosystem, and now, with this Centre, our R&D ecosystem.

Conclusion

On this note, I would like to thank the Applied Materials leadership team for your continued trust and confidence in Singapore.  I wish you every success in your new venture.  Thank you.

[1] Baidu is the leading Chinese language Internet Search provider. It signed an agreement with A*STAR’s Institute of Infocomm Research in February 2012 to establish a joint research centre. Mitsui Chemicals, a long-time partner of Singapore and A*STAR, opened a R&D Centre in Singapore in September 2011.

[2] Microelectromechanical systems