Tapping grants to improve capabilities

A GUNG-HO attitude, a desire to take on the world and the lofty ideal to make engineering - a discipline that has taken a back seat in recent years to the allure of finance and all things software-related - sexy again.

As a young accountant with working experience at a Big Four auditor back in 2003, Eric Lew was ready and raring to bring his family business to greater heights.

But now, 13 years on, he laughs ruefully when asked about how things went down.

"It was a humbling experience when I joined the business. I realised that before you try to change anything, you have to understand and respect the culture first," the executive director of Catalist-listed Wong Fong Industries tells The Business Times.

"When I first joined, it was a traditional SME (small and medium-sized enterprise), there were good people and a good foundation. But we had to plan for the future, and to add new capabilities to the firm," Mr Lew adds.

And add new capabilities they did. The provider of hydraulic-powered load-handling equipment (such as truck-mounted cranes, hooklifts and tailgates), which was set up in 1964 as a truck equipment servicing workshop, posted a net profit of S$5.6 million on turnover of S$77.6 million last year.

It launched its initial public offering for listing on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on July 19, and made its trading debut on SGX on July 28.

To get to where it is, however, took some support.

Having worked with Spring Singapore for close a decade, Wong Fong has tapped more than half a million dollars in funding (in grants and rebates) from Spring over the years under the auspice of the Capability Development Grant (CDG).

On its part, Wong Fong has poured "millions of dollars" into enhancing the various aspects of the firm over the years, says Mr Lew.

The 43-year-old, who together with his brother Liew Chern Yean are the second generation leaders in the family business still headed by their father and uncle, oversees the firm's strategic direction and R&D (research and development) efforts.

Under his direction, Wong Fong has tapped the CDG to polish both the internal and external facets of their business.

In 2008, for instance, Wong Fong decided to improve the image of the business by renewing their branding. This entailed hiring branding experts to overhaul the way their employees dressed and the way its logo looked, among other changes.

Spring defrayed some 70 per cent of the costs.

"Young people sometimes, when they look at SMEs, they feel that isn't that cool, but SMEs are like retro music; after 10, 20 years, the retro music becomes cool again," says Mr Lew.

"It's about rebranding to make us 'cool', and make the next generation of young people incentivised to join us.

"Engineering is sometimes neglected. I'm trying to reinvent the engineering business such that young people will join the industry again."

To build on its past work, the firm engaged management consultant Hay Group in 2013 to shore up its HR (human resources) practices. Some of the changes the consultant recommended included suggestions for the firm to benchmark its salary package to other players in the industry for a more competitive pay structure, along with mapping a clearer career progression path for its employees.

The changes worked; the firm now has industrial designers and futurists among its ranks, and its pool of young managers under 35 also grew from a handful to more than 25 today.

As before, Spring defrayed about 70 per cent of the consulting costs. Yet, apart from simply providing financial support, the enterprise development agency also provided the catalyst for Wong Fong's R&D efforts: the Wong Fong Research and Innovation Centre (WFRIC), which Mr Lew runs.

"This idea of starting an innovation centre actually started off as a competition with a Spring officer," says Mr Lew. "They told me that they would be able to sponsor us in various areas if we came up with that sort of centre, so we did it."

Through the WFRIC, Wong Fong looks into future trends that could disrupt its business. Electric mobility, for instance, is one key area that the WFRIC is experimenting with.

Says Mr Lew: "Are we going to make a lot of money from electric vehicles in the short term? It's not going to happen. But in five years, 2020 could be the tipping point, and when it comes, we are prepared."

The firm has also tied up with Williams F1 (a British Formula 1 team) to develop Singapore's first electric supercar, which will be launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March next year.

Dubbed the Dendrobium, the car's development has helped Wong Fong to develop capabilities in the fields battery technology and vehicle platform safety, Mr Lew tells BT.

He adds: "Spring was very supportive; they gave us grants to send our engineers to England to learn, and when we engaged the consultant, Williams F1, we got some grants there too."

As the firm continues to reinvent its business practices, Mr Lew expects to continue working with Spring.

He says: "The thing is, the grants are always there. Business owners do need to allocate resources to focus on finding out what grants there are, but they are there - use them."

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