Sin Chew Woodpaq to ramp up footprint in South-east Asia, eyes IPO in 2030

[SINGAPORE] Sin Chew Woodpaq may have been established over half a century ago, but the specialised logistics provider is far from resting on its laurels.

The company plans to up its game through expanding in South-east Asia, scaling via tie-ups and acquisitions, as well as deepening its presence in high-technology industries.

The provider of engineered crating, precision packing, and integrated logistics solutions to various industries, including semiconductor, manufacturing and aerospace, also aims for a public listing, as well as a doubling of its workforce in five years’ time.

For now, it is focused on ramping up its geographical footprint in South-east Asia.

The firm’s landing of a strategic investment of an undisclosed value from Heliconia Capital Management in April will help fast-track its South-east Asia expansion.

Heliconia Capital Management is a wholly owned investment firm of Temasek Holdings with a focus on helping Singaporean and South-east Asian small and medium-sized enterprises to become regional or global leaders.

Tapping demand

Sin Chew Woodpaq plans to make inroads into major port locations across Malaysia and Thailand, attracted by their booming semiconductor sectors. These sectors in the two countries are projected to attain US$18.5 billion and US$11.5 billion, respectively, in revenue in 2025.

Calvin Goh, chief executive officer of Sin Chew Woodpaq, said: “Our customers were moving there and requested us to go (and set up shop) in Malaysia to continue to support them.”

The company has been serving the semiconductor sector for two decades. It had benefited when its customers from the sector enjoyed high demand in the early pandemic years.

Goh said that Sin Chew Woodpaq plans to enter Thailand and northern Malaysia through partnerships or mergers and acquisitions, rather than building its presence from scratch.

“In Thailand, we have already talked to someone… We may be able to see something concrete in the near future,” he noted.

Sin Chew Woodpaq is currently operating from Singapore and Johor. It has an office and a warehouse in Johor Bahru, and a factory in Muar.

It started beefing up its modest presence in the southern Malaysian state in March 2023, but has been serving customers elsewhere in the country, including in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Sarawak.

Growing and diversifying

Sin Chew Woodpaq began as a manufacturer of wooden cases used to transport goods when it was founded in Singapore 53 years ago by Goh’s father. Its main customers were Indonesian traders of used vehicle parts.

But, soon after Goh took over the six-man operation in 1997, the region was hit by the Asian financial crisis. Sin Chew Woodpaq’s business plummeted 80 per cent, which led him to pivot the company towards becoming a specialised logistics services provider around the year 2000 to adapt to the challenging business environment and conditions.

It diversified into serving the aerospace sector, first by supplying wooden cases and packaging parts, before going on to provide transportation for aerospace machinery and equipment.

After the act of terrorism in New York on Sep 11, 2001, affected air travel, Sin Chew Woodpaq’s revenue from the aerospace sector dwindled to near zero.

But it spotted opportunities from the exodus of Japanese multinational companies’ (MNCs) factories from Singapore, by providing them with packaging for their machinery and shipping them out.

Similarly, it helped Western electronics MNCs, which took over the vacant premises from the Japanese, with their relocation of machinery and equipment.

Over time, it developed the skill sets and know-how in handling and moving high-value machinery and equipment, and evolved to become a premium player in the specialised logistics industry.

Plans for future

Apart from increasing its footprint in the region, Sin Chew Woodpaq plans to deepen its presence in high-tech industries such as semiconductor, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing.

These are industries that require highly specialised logistics and packaging solutions for their sensitive, high-value equipment.

Sin Chew Woodpaq’s 680 clients across such sectors include MNCs and Fortune 500 firms, with STMicroelectronics and Qualcomm among them.

Many customers learnt of the company by word of mouth, and 85 per cent of them are recurring customers in spite of the premium rates it charges.

Goh said that while many customers have pointed out that the company’s quotes are not the cheapest, they have also appreciated the value of the services they receive. 

He added that they are also drawn to the one-stop services that Sin Chew Woodpaq provides, sparing them the hassle of coordinating with different contractors. 

Sin Chew Woodpaq will have its 300,000-square-feet advanced manufacturing and logistics hub in Singapore ready in 2026. The facility will feature temperature and humidity-controlled environments for semiconductor equipment integration during both pre-shipment and post-shipment phases.

This will help customers maximise turnaround, minimise downtime and optimise their supply chains by ensuring that their critical equipment is properly staged, tested and protected before deployment.

Sin Chew Woodpaq’s workforce stands at more than 260 employees currently. Over the next five years, there are plans to double that number to provide better value-add to clients in areas such as technology, sustainability and engineering, with a focus on developing talent through proprietary training.

The company will also bolster its in-house research and development team to enhance engineering protections for critical cargo by designing packaging systems with better durability, cushioning and contamination control, to reduce risks and avoid costly delays.

An initial public offering (IPO) is on its medium-term radar as well.

“One of our KPIs (key performance indicators) is to go IPO,” said the 50-year-old Goh, but he would not elaborate when asked about the scale Sin Chew Woodpaq needs to achieve before its public flotation.

All he would say is that the company would want to scale together with its customers. And it is bullish about the prospects in the region, fuelled by the demand for semiconductors.

“Because of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and many more, chips are in high demand. (Thus), more and more sophisticated machines are being shipped all over the world.”