[SINGAPORE] This year’s Enterprise 50 winners (E50) may span a range of industries – from heritage jewellery and crane rental to travel and logistics – yet they each share a defining characteristic: an unwillingness to settle for just domestic success.
The top five winners are actively seeking new markets, new customer segments or new capital to fuel the next phase of growth, demonstrating how Singapore’s small to mid-sized enterprises are staying competitive, through bold international expansion and capturing emerging opportunities.
Leading the pack is heritage jeweller Poh Heng. A household name among older Singaporeans, the retailer has given its stores and brand a fresh look to win over younger customers who have long viewed the brand as its “parents’ jeweller”.
Then there is Pollisum Group, an end-to-end crane rental company eyeing its next phase of growth. The firm is seeking private equity firms or strategic investors – such as large construction companies or international crane operators – to inject capital and accelerate expansion.
Ranking in the middle is EU Holidays, a 15-year-old travel and tourism firm that is staying nimble with two key projects: 1835, a new travel arm targeting 18 to 35-year-old with adventure experiences; and an expanded focus on China tours, including plans to open a China office next year. The company’s pivot to younger travellers and deeper regional penetration shows how firms can be agile in fast-changing sectors.
Millennium 3 Building Products, a specialised provider of raised access flooring solutions, carpets, structured ceiling and hot aisle containment, is pursuing growth in regional markets including Malaysia as part of its internationalisation strategy, while Generation Next Communications (GNext) demonstrates continued service excellence as it comes in as both a top five winner and five-time E50 honouree.
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Alongside GNext, both MaxSteel and KinderWorld have also demonstrated staying power by ranking within the top 50 for five consecutive years.
MaxSteel, which manufactures processed steel and metal products, is eyeing a 500 million Thai baht (S$20.1 million) joint venture in Thailand to ride the electric vehicle wave. Meanwhile, KinderWorld, a kindergarten operator with schools in Vietnam, is now eyeing the Singapore-Johor Special Economic Zone for its next phase of growth, including a five-campus network for older children in Singapore and expansion into Johor Bahru.
The special award winners further underscore two critical themes: internationalisation and sustainability.
Jub Pacific, which won the internationalisation award, is a liftboat operator that moved early into the United Arab Emirates through a merger and acquisition to tap Middle East demand, benefiting from the post-pandemic rebound in global oil and gas.
Commonwealth Kokubu Logistics earned the sustainability award for being a first mover in green cold chain logistics by adopting ammonia refrigerant, demonstrating that environmental responsibility can coexist with competitive advantage.
Collectively, this year’s Enterprise 50 winners illustrate that success requires strategic foresight and the willingness to take calculated risks – whether through geographic expansion, market repositioning or sustainable innovation.
As Singapore charts its course through uncertain economic waters, these companies show how local firms can harness the nation’s global competitiveness to remain vital engines of growth.
Looking ahead
Eugene Goh, group chief executive, Poh Heng: “We don’t want to be just a heritage brand, but a heritage brand with modern relevance.”
Chris Ang, chief executive, Pollisum: “Legacy needs to be earned and cannot be taken for granted. Whoever has the best capabilities should continue (the business)”
Alan Ang, managing director, EU Holidays: “Ten years down the line, our ambition is not (to be) a travel agency, but a lifestyle company.”
Kailash Gupta, managing director, Generation Next Communications: “If you keep doing the same things that everyone is doing, then you can’t really build a great business.”
Flora Lee, managing director, Millennium 3 Building Products: “In the past, whenever (we) achieved a better year, I’d tell myself this is the best, and we won’t be able to repeat it. But year after year, I proved myself wrong – there are still opportunities out there.”
Kelvin Tang, managing director, Jub Pacific: “During the last oil crisis in 2014, many Singapore marine and offshore companies folded. Since then, the sector has been down for nine years. But when the recovery happened, Jub Pacific was well-positioned (to ride this) as we had internationalised.
Henry Ng, chief executive officer, MaxSteel Enterprise: “To stay competitive, we’ve needed to be very innovative and constantly improving, as well as resourceful in finding good, reliable partners, so that we can continue to serve our customers better.”
Ricky Tan, chairman and chief executive officer, KinderWorld International Group: We believe that from day one, we are internationally oriented. There are no other Singapore companies like us in the education space.
Daniel Tan, managing director, Commonwealth Kokubu Logistics: “Returns can come in benefits to the planet (and) in benefits to people (which) will ultimately drive up performance and lead to business sustainability as well.”
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