By Jonathan Kwok

A NEW association has been launched to help Singapore electronics and precision engineering companies win business in the rapidly growing medical technology industry.

The MedTech Manufacturing Consortium, which was unveiled yesterday at the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, is looking to overcome entry barriers so that local firms can tap the burgeoning worldwide medical technology sector.

The industry in Singapore doubled its manufacturing output from $1.5 billion in 2000 to about $3 billion last year. And, over the same period, the sector saw its employment base rocket from about 4,000 to more than 8,200.

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran, the guest of honour at the launch, said: 'Today, Singapore is a global leader in medical technology manufacturing. We account for 10 per cent of the world's supply of contact lenses, half of the world's thermal cyclers and more than 50 per cent of the world's microarrays.'

He added that demand for medical devices and pharmaceutical products is increasing across Asia, and that companies and economies in this part of the world are well-placed to take advantage of this.

Mr Iswaran cited Asia's strengths in precision engineering and other manufacturing capabilities as factors that would help it excel. According to the Economic Development Board, the sector is looking to achieve manufacturing output worth $5 billion by 2015.

In line with this goal, the association - a partnership between the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and four government agencies - will assist medical technology firms in workforce training, business planning and research and development.

In particular, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency has joined hands with SIMTech in developing a graduate diploma in medical technology manufacturing to create a skilled pool of professionals for the sector.

Classes are scheduled to start in January, and members of the MedTech Manufacturing Consortium will have priority enrolment for their staff.

Other services include industry consultancy and advice, R&D partnerships, business matching services and technology study tours.

Some 26 technology providers, product manufacturers and end-users have signed up so far, with each having to pay an annual membership fee.

Medical devices manufacturer and consortium member Beyonics Technology hopes its membership will lead to tie-ups with research institutions and MNCs, said chief executive Goh Chan Peng.

News of the launch of the association follows the opening in Singapore of Asia's first pacemaker and leads manufacturing facility last week by industry giant Medtronic.

The $80 million plant will start production from 2011 and create about 100 jobs over the next two years.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.