Speech by Minister Lim Hng Kiang at the Opening Ceremony of Rohde & Schwarz Global Business Hub Building

Her Excellency Angelika Viets, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Singapore

Mr. Manfred Fleischmann, President & CEO, Rohde & Schwarz

Dr. Erich Freund, Executive Vice President, Rohde & Schwarz

Dr. Lim Boon Huat, Managing Director, Rohde & Schwarz Asia

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Afternoon.

Introduction

1.              It gives me great pleasure to join you today for the opening of Rohde & Schwarz’s Global Business Hub in Singapore. I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the management and staff of Rohde & Schwarz on this significant milestone.

Increasing investment by German Mittelstand Champions in Singapore

2.              Rohde & Schwarz is one of Germany’s “Mittelstand champions”, being a global leader in your market segment although perhaps less well-known amongst the average consumer. Typical of a Mittelstand champion, your products are made to the highest quality and with the most-innovative processes.  Furthermore, you place emphasis on investing in your people and business for the long-term. 

3.              Today, there are over 1,000 like-minded Mittelstand champions in Singapore and they have been quietly contributing to Singapore’s economic growth. They have chosen to invest in Singapore because of our access to emerging and high growth regions in Asia, our trusted business environment, our livability as a green city in the heart of Asia, as well as our diverse and deep talent pool.

Mittelstand champions are valued long-term business partners for Singapore

4.              We value Mittelstand champions, such as Rohde & Schwarz, as long-term business partners who provide good jobs and career opportunities for Singaporeans.

5.              Rohde & Schwarz started operations in Singapore in 1997 with a sales and technical support team. Over the years, the company expanded its Singapore operations to include high value-added activities, including research & development, global manufacturing and regional headquarters activities. Today, Singapore is Rohde & Schwarz’s second home, or “Munich 2”, employing more than 300 people in skilled jobs, of which close to 250 are Singaporeans.

6.              In particular, Rohde and Schwarz has a 130-person R&D team in Singapore developing their next generation of products. These engineers and product managers, equipped with strong analogue and digital radio frequency skills as well as acute market sense, are the brains behind the encryption systems used for secured communications, in satellites, media and broadcasting.

7.              Just like Rohde & Schwarz, many other Mittelstand champions have established substantial activities in Singapore, providing meaningful careers in engineering and management for Singaporeans. For example, Pepperl+Fuchs, a leader in sensor technology, has an 800-person headquarters and manufacturing hub here.  Festo, a leader in pneumatics and industrial automation, has a 100-person team here undertaking headquarters, engineering solutions and regional distribution activities. The team provides products and solutions to increase the output of factories and make them more productive.

8.              These companies also value Singapore as an ideal location to drive R&D activities in Asia. SICK, a world market leader in sensors, started in Singapore in 2009 with a just 4-man team. Today, it employs over 50 staff, with half the team deployed in R&D and engineering functions.

Building partnership with industries in capability development

9.              I am glad to learn that four Mittelstand champions - Rohde & Schwarz, Festo, Pepperl+Fuchs and SICK - have decided to take the initiative to invest in our Polytechnic students and offer them exciting opportunities via the “Poly-goes-UAS” programme. They will be signing an MOU with Singapore Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic and the Economic Development Board later today.  Under this programme, these companies will offer scholarships to motivated, capable polytechnic graduates for further studies in Germany’s University of Applied Sciences.

10.           Similar to these Mittlestand champions, the Singapore Government also places emphasis on investing in our people. In the precision engineering industry, for example, we have set aside $52 million to develop master craftsmen to spearhead our industries development into advanced and complex manufacturing. The most talented practicing craftsmen in the industry will be given the opportunity to further hone their skills via our Precision Engineering Master Craftsmen programme. This focus on training master craftsmen is similar to Germany’s efforts on grooming Industrie Meisterfor its manufacturing industry.  Singapore will reap the firstfruits of this effort soon, with the graduation of the first batch of Precision Engineering Master Craftsmen next month.

11.           Besides investing in people, the Singapore Government will continue to invest in technology development and adoption in partnership with industry to develop new capabilities and create new opportunities for our industry.  One example is the $500 million that the Government has set aside for the Future of Manufacturing initiative. This initiative aims to encourage industry-wide adoption of disruptive technologies such as additive manufacturing and advanced robotics.  As part of this initiative, EDB and the Nanyang Technological University have established the $30 million NTU Additive Manufacturing Centre which will open next year. This centre will carry out industry-focused additive manufacturing research and build a pipeline of post-graduate students in additive manufacturing.

12.           As Singapore embarks on these manpower and industry capability development initiatives, we value and welcome further collaborations with our Mittelstand champions.

Conclusion

13.               On this note, I would like to thank the management and staff of Rohde & Schwarz for past 16 years of strong partnership with Singapore

. I wish you every success for your new Global Business Hub in Singapore, and I look forward to many more years of joint success together.  Thank you.