[SINGAPORE] From making and selling computers in the 1980s to now designing and manufacturing electronics for major brands, Aztech Global has come a long way since its inception in 1986.
On the cusp of its 40th anniversary, Aztech has kept to a simple philosophy in deciding which products and sectors it enters.
“When you create a product, you have to solve a problem, because when you encounter a problem, you find a solution,” said Michael Mun, chief executive officer, Aztech Global which won the Enterprise Award at the Singapore Business Awards.
With expertise in data communication, Aztech has produced everything from modems to WiFi-enabled cameras to the Powerline products that allow for data transmission over a power line. Powerline in particular has seen much success outside of Singapore, due to older buildings having a lack of an Internet point to connect to.
“Until today, we are still selling this product in European countries; Germany is one of the big markets,” said Mun.
In the last 10 years, Aztech has entered into the Internet of Things (IoT) segment, where sensors or devices are connected in a network to share data. The majority of the company’s income comes from the IoT segment now, said Mun.
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Innovating for a breakthrough
The company is not content with the status quo, constantly looking to innovate and find a breakthrough to make a product better.
Driven by a lack of solutions, one such product that Aztech branched into was lighting, entering the LED lighting market 15 years ago when options were limited to fluorescent and incandescent lighting. Responding to a potential lighting project for Jurong Town Council, Aztech designed a LED lighting product, which the town council eventually accepted.
This led to more LED lighting projects across other town councils.
“We started from Singapore and went international, we sell a lot of LED lighting into Europe and Japan,” said Mun.
Part of Aztech’s success is its commitment to research and development (R&D). Rather than just purely competing on manufacturing or price, the company competes on its expertise.
“If you are fighting on price, we can never succeed or survive, because it is very competitive. We are almost 40 years old because of R&D, and customers come to us because of our design capability,” said Mun.
International markets
From its base in Singapore, Aztech has grown to serve international customers, with North America making up the bulk of revenue in 2024 at 79.1 per cent, and Europe taking second place at 15.5 per cent. The company set its sights on international markets early on, during its start as a PC manufacturer, breaking into the old Eastern Bloc markets of Poland, Hungary, Russia and East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“Without going international we won’t be where we are today because, realistically, the local market is too small for us,” said Mun.
Aztech’s research and development efforts are also not confined to Singapore, with R&D centres in Hong Kong and China. Singapore’s small labour pool necessitated expansion into other markets to get the right talent to join the company’s team.
Besides making their own products, Aztech is also active in contract manufacturing and joint design and manufacturing, partnering with customers to design and manufacture their products.
In helping customers design and manufacture products, a key question that Aztech asks is what is their target price. This is important as the price point has to be palatable to the eventual end-users for the product to sell.
“Whether you have a market, I think it has to be a price the consumer will be able to accept, because if the price point is not affordable, consumers cannot buy, then there is no point to create the product,” said Mun.
Copycats and geopolitics
There are challenges that Aztech faced in getting to this point, dealing with copycats and geopolitical tensions. Consumer electronic makers face the issue of seeing a copycat version pop up soon after their products hit the market.
Aztech is not afraid of others copying their products, said Mun. Competitors will often buy your products to open up, analyse and see what they can learn.
“You have to continue to invest and expand your R&D capacity so you will be ahead of them, then you will be able to compete,” said Mun.
Closer to home
Dealing with geopolitical challenges have also led Aztech to move manufacturing closer to home in Malaysia, setting up a manufacturing plant in Pasir Gudang, Johor. This plant is an alternative to Aztech’s China plant, and allows for products to be shipped with lower tariffs.
The factory in Malaysia is about 300,000 square feet, and has led to the downsizing of the plant in China due to geopolitical tensions.
“In fact today our Malaysia plant contributes almost 80 per cent of our sales,” said Mun.
Aztech’s DNA still remains in product development, design and manufacturing, with the company continuing to invest in R&D for manufacturing. Automation will be a key focus moving forward, for Aztech’s factories, with a combination of artificial intelligence and machines to improve quality checks.
Looking to leverage on Aztech’s background in electronics and automation, the company will be looking to apply this knowledge back into the two manufacturing plants.
“We develop a lot of things, but we use it inhouse. Eventually we can sell it to our customers too,” said Mun.
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