Kim Ann Engineering

CUSTOMERS of Kim Ann Engineering get more value for the money they spend to buy special steel and other specialty metals from the company.

The metals are processed into machinable parts which can be used to make products for the precision engineering, electronics, aerospace, and oil and gas industries. The company can cut metals to specific sizes, do the machining that is required, and provide heat treatment to enhance the strength of the raw materials.

Customers save time and costs of preparing the materials for the production of a variety of products.

"They can focus on their core production activities and they appreciate our support," says Kim Ann's chairman and managing director, Mr Lau Tai San.

The company, which has been moving up the E50 list of top local enterprises since 2003, also offers value-added supply chain management services. It can procure materials, stock them in its warehouses, manage and redistribute the inventory to meet customers' "just-in-time" production schedules.

Its customers are mostly American and European multinational corporations (MNCs) buying processed metal components at lower costs in Asia.

Kim Ann can meet their demands because of its knowledge, skills and capabilities in the field of materials management.

Mr Lau and his late father set up the firm in 1974 to carry out mechanical engineering projects. His father died of a sudden heart attack in 1975. Two of Mr Lau's younger brothers, who got their engineering diplomas in 1975, ran the family enterprise.

Mr Lau, who was their adviser, joined them in 1987 after working for Chartered Industries and a British MNC.

He says: "In the initial years, we struggled to find our niche in the market.

"There were too many competitors, little focus on our core activities and a restricted thrust in our direction."

In 1978, the company made the move to ride on the growth potential of the precision engineering industry and stay ahead of its competitors. It became a stockist and supplier of special steel and expanded its range of products to include other types of specialty metals.

It also adopted the "one-stop supply service centre" concept as its business model and moved on in the 1990s to improve services to customers. These services include helping them, especially those in the oil and gas industry, to get supplies of the materials that meet their requirements.

Entering the Malaysian market in 1991 was the first step in Kim Ann's regional expansion. In 2000, it developed its range of high-end products to meet the demand from electronics and aerospace firms.

With a workforce of 160 employees in Singapore, it started providing supply chain management services about two years ago.

Kim Ann has more than 10 service centres here, in the other Asean countries and in China and India. It can handle more than 20,000 tons of metal materials annually. It has more than 100 different grades of these materials and is a stockist of some 10,000 items.

Annual revenue has been growing by 25 per cent for the last five years and the current figure is $120 million.

Kim Ann is making inroads into new markets in Vietnam and the Middle East, and it will also seize opportunities to increase its presence in India.

Citing the key reasons for the firm's success, Mr Lau says: "We suffered slower growth during the recessions in the past but avoided losses because of our responsive business strategies. We strive consistently to embark on new growth trends and do not remain stagnant.

"We spread our risks among segments of different industries so that we have more pillars to support our growth. We don't depend solely on one segment of an industry. We continue to provide more value to our customers and diversify the range of our products."

Staff training and development programmes, participation in career fairs and dispensing bursaries to needy tertiary students with good grades and potential are among the efforts by Kim Ann to fulfil its corporate social responsibilities.

It also makes contributions to charities and is a sponsor of National Day celebrations, says Mr Lau.

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