Speech by MOS Teo Ser Luck at the Opening Ceremony of Yamazaki Mazak's SEA Technology Centre and New Factory at 21 Joo Koon Circle

Dr Mario Montejo, Secretary of Science and Technology, Republic of Philippines

Ambassador Haruhisa Takeuchi, Japanese Ambassador to Singapore

Ambassador Tran Hai Hau, Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore

President Tomohisa Yamazaki

Vice President Norihiko Shimizu

Managing Director Toshimitsu Kito

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Afternoon.

Introduction

1.            It gives me great pleasure to join you today for the opening of Mazak’s Southeast Asia Technology Centre and new factory. I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the management and staff of Mazak on your company’s expansion. In addition, I am delighted that Mazak has chosen to locate its new facility in Singapore.

Asia is a growing market

2.        Asia accounted for more than 60% of the global demand for machine tools in 2012. Industrial production in Asia is projected to grow at 5% or more this year and the machine tool market in Asia is also growing in tandem to support this growth. Moreover, many developing countries in Asia are investing heavily in machine tools to improve their domestic infrastructure and to develop sectors such as aerospace, oil & gas and automotive.

3.        Singapore is strategically located in the heart of Asia, and well-positioned to capture growth opportunities in the region. Many global companies have therefore chosen Singapore as a location to site their key functions outside their home countries. In particular, Japan is Singapore’s top Asian investor with about 800 Japanese companies located here today. Many of them, such as Mazak, have a long and extensive presence here.

Mazak has leveraged Singapore to support its global growth

4.            Mazak started small in Singapore back in 1988 with a sales office. Over the years, Mazak made further investments in Singapore, and eventually moved towards the complex assembly of full machine tool products. Today, Singapore is one of Mazak’s five global production centers and it specializes in compact, high precision Computer Controlled Cutting or CNC machines for the global market. The team in Singapore is responsible for the entire value chain of activities for this product range, which includes R&D, product development, manufacturing and sales.

5.        With this new facility, Mazak will enter a new phase of growth. First, its production capacity in Singapore will increase by sixty percent. Second, Mazak’s new Technology Centre will enhance its training capabilities, and help to develop advanced manufacturing solutions for the aerospace and oil & gas sectors.

Singapore will continue to transform our precision engineering sector

6.        Mazak’s growth story in Singapore mirrors the growth of our precision engineering sector. Over the last two decades, the sector’s output increased by nearly four times, reaching $32 billion in 2013.

7.        In recent years, we have placed special emphasis on deepening manpower and R&D capabilities within this sector. These efforts have helped the sector’s value-added to grow at an annual rate of 7.3% over the last five years. Today, Singapore is home to an extensive network of global suppliers with deep engineering talent, advanced manufacturing capabilities, and a strong track record for high quality and reliability.

The Government will continue to upgrade the sector’s workforce

8.            To enable further growth of knowledge-intensive activities, such as those undertaken by Mazak, Singapore will continue to invest in the sector’s workforce. To this end, the S$52 million Precision Engineering Vocational Continuing Education and Training or PEVC was launched in 2012 to provide an attractive and structured career pathway for master craftsmen.

9.            A major component of the PEVC is the Precision Engineering Master Craftsman course at Nanyang Polytechnic which aims to train 2,800 craftsmen over the next ten years. This course is already beginning to bear fruit, with the first batch of master craftsmen graduating next month. I am pleased to hear that Mazak is likewise keen to invest in developing your staff, having sponsored two staff members to be part of this pioneer batch.

10.       Beyond the PEVC, we will continue to support PhD students through the Industrial Postgraduate Program to ensure a pipeline of PhD talent for the sector. This program supports industry-focused PhD projects that are jointly supervised by companies and education institutions.

The Government will also continue to support innovation and R&D activities

11.       Beside talent, another key factor to enable the growth of knowledge-intensive activities is continuous innovation and technology development. The Government will continue to encourage industry-wide adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies like additive manufacturing, lasers & optics and robotics.

12.       For example, the NTU Additive Manufacturing Centre will be opened later this year. It will carry out industry-oriented additive manufacturing research and development as well as nurture postgraduate talent in this field. These activities will inject new know-how into our manufacturing sectors and keep Singapore companies at the forefront of new technology adoption to maintain our competitiveness.

13.       Similarly, the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology or SIMTech assists companies in developing new ideas and translating R&D results to production-readiness. To date, SIMTech has completed over 5,300 projects with more than 1,300 companies in diverse sectors such as electronics, precision engineering, medical, aerospace and automotive. The potential impact of technology on competitiveness can be illustrated by the robotized Laser-aided Additive Manufacturing System that was recently patented by SIMTech. This system is able to reduce the repair time for marine turbo-chargers from four days to twenty minutes.

14.       To help more precision engineering companies in Singapore level up, the Government has extended the broad-based Productivity and Innovation Credit scheme to 2018 and enhanced it to offer higher tax deductions to companies engaging in R&D and innovation. The Government is also extending the R&D tax deduction scheme till 2025 to continue supporting companies’ innovation efforts.

Conclusion

15.       While the Government can seek to ensure the supporting measures are in place, the continued growth of the precision engineering sector ultimately lies in the hands of the companies that comprise the sector. We are therefore glad to have strong partners like Mazak, who are committed to growing their presence in Singapore and who believe in investing in their staff.

16.       I would like to thank President Yamazaki and your team for your partnership with Singapore over the past twenty-five years. Again, I wish to offer you my heartiest congratulations on the opening of your new facility. As we celebrate this significant milestone together, I wish you continued success, and I look forward to many more years of partnership. Thank you.