Taking growth overseas: Millennium 3 builds on E50 lessons to expand abroad

[SINGAPORE] Millennium 3 Building Products marks its 25th anniversary this year with another reason to celebrate: a fifth-place finish in this year’s Enterprise 50 (E50) awards, its strongest ranking to date. 

The recognition caps a period of transition for founder and managing director Flora Lee, who took full ownership of the lean raised-flooring specialist in 2022, after three shareholders retired. The company now employs just under 100 people.

Raised-access flooring creates a secondary platform above the main floor, leaving space beneath to run cables, wiring and other infrastructure. Such systems are ideal for offices and data centres, where flexibility and ease of reconfiguration of the available space are key.

Millennium 3 built its reputation by supplying and installing these systems for commercial offices, data centres and cleanrooms, working closely with architects, consultants and developers to meet precise technical specifications.

Lee noted that the field remains dominated by men, which has spurred her to prove to herself and her staff that the company could reach new heights under her leadership.

Her belief in this led her to enter Millennium 3 in the 2024 E50 awards, jointly organised by The Business Times and KPMG in Singapore. It is also sponsored by OCBC, and supported by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), the Singapore Business Federation and SGX Group.

The annual ranking recognises 50 of Singapore’s most enterprising and competitive privately owned companies that have contributed to the economy both at home and abroad.

Millennium 3 placed 18th in 2024 – a notable jump from its 45th-place debut in 2017, when it entered the field to gauge its standing in the industry and benchmark itself against its peers.

Aside from giving Lee the personal validation she needed, the 2024 result also boosted her staff’s confidence, reinforcing their belief that their hard work had earned the company a place among Singapore’s leading enterprises.

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Stepping out

Lee entered the company again in the 2025 edition of the awards. This time, she came armed with lessons from the previous round.

One of the comments made was that the company should consider scaling beyond Singapore, she recalled.

EnterpriseSG, one of Millennium 3’s judges this year, champions internationalisation.

Acting on the feedback about scaling the company by going abroad, Millennium 3 registered a Malaysian subsidiary in May and secured its first project two months later – installing raised flooring for an Equinix data centre in Johor Bahru.

Lee said that once the data centre is handed over to the end user, she hopes Millennium 3 would be selected to continue supporting Equinix with fit-out and maintenance work, which she expects will provide a steady stream of recurring revenue.

She described the move into Malaysia as a natural next step for growth, but said there are no immediate plans to expand further afield until the company has consolidated its foothold across the Causeway.

“We have customers who’ve mentioned a number of times…to let them know when we’re ready to move into any (other) country. But I think I’m a more careful person… I want to take things one step at a time. I don’t want to just go everywhere and lose focus.”

Strong foundations

While regional growth remains on the horizon, she believes Millennium 3’s strength still lies in its core operations at home, and that years of building a fully integrated business model honed the company’s competitive edge.

“For us, it’s because we give a holistic value chain to the whole operation,” she said. 

“We market our own products, we have our own branding, our own warehouse, our own logistics team, our own project management, our own installation, even our own dormitory. Everything is managed under one roof.”

This enables the company to maintain tight control over quality and scheduling, and to respond quickly to clients’ needs.

The approach has paid off.  Lee said Millennium 3’s financial performance has improved year on year, with more than half its revenue now coming from the fast-growing data-centre sector. 

Still, a strong business model can only go so far without the right people to carry it through.

Much of Millennium 3’s staying power, she said, comes from a hands-on approach and a team that has grown with her over the years.

Lee describes herself as deeply involved in the day-to-day running of the business – a habit built from years of learning every aspect of the trade.

“I was in sales, I was a project manager, I did specifications. I learned the trade from the bottom up,” she said, adding that she is still very much in touch with her customers. 

“When there’s a crisis, I jump in. In terms of technical or product issues, I can relate to the customer, and they can count on me to get the job done.”

Her hands-on style has fostered strong loyalty among staff. Many have stayed for over a decade; one has been with the company since its founding 25 years ago, and several others for 10 to 15 years.

Lee also credits her company’s success to her team.

“I have very dedicated and capable staff,” she said. “They’re well-versed in their own work.  I have people in every department who are focused and able to carry out their responsibilities.”

While the company is still largely driven by her, Lee recognises that its long-term future will depend on a clear succession plan – an aspect that the E50 judges also pay close attention to.

She has yet to identify someone who can “take over 100 per cent” of her role, but is now grooming senior staff to take on greater responsibility. She is also keeping open three possible paths for eventual handover: gradual staff ownership, her son joining the business, or a potential merger or investor buy-in to scale regionally.

The journey’s lessons

Reflecting on Millennium 3’s journey, Lee said the E50 awards have helped to anchor the company’s position as a key player in the industry. 

“It helped to solidify our image. Customers actually look upon us as a recognised, reputable company.”

Lee is open to taking part in future editions of the E50, and sees each round as an opportunity to push the company further.

“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,” she said. “But year after year, I proved myself wrong – there are still opportunities out there.”

The journey has shown her that growth often comes from simply daring to take the first step.

Her advice to other small and medium-sized enterprises thinking of taking part in the E50 is straightforward:

“Never doubt yourself,” she said. “If you do not try, you’ll never know where you stand.”