JOB seekers applying at Kenyon Engineering, take note: Do not stroll.
The firm's managing director, Mr Tan Yong Keng, will not give you a second look.
'If a guy walks very slowly, he is out. Lazy people walk slowly,' the 57-year-old mechanical engineer declares with an air of finality.
Mr Tan can afford such unconventional assessment methods. His company, set up in 1987 as a sole proprietorship doing mechanical and electrical work, has grown into a powerhouse boasting global companies such as biologics giant Lonza, cigarette maker British American Tobacco and Fujifilm as clients.
Kenyon has $15 million worth of assets and an annual turnover of more than $50 million. It has footprints in China, Thailand, Malaysia and even North Korea.
And this year, it picked up its third Enterprise 50 award, an accolade that honours Singapore's most entrepreneurial firms.
Mr Tan met The Straits Times at Kenyon's sparkling five-storey, 15,000 sq m headquarters in Loyang Crescent - easily the most eye-catching among the factories in the vicinity.
Despite his spectacular success, the father of two comes across as anything but smug.
He declares that he is in no position to give anyone advice on how to start his own business, but readily shares his own story.
The son of two clerks grew up in a modest three-room flat in Bukit Ho Swee and graduated from the National University of Singapore with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1974.
He did not think too hard about what he wanted to do, but found a job soon enough in a mechanical and electrical company.
Over the next decade or so, he tried his hand at five other employers - mostly engineering- or oil-related companies such as Halliburton, BJ Services and Mobil (now called ExxonMobil).
Then out of a sense of frustration that his efforts were not appreciated by his bosses, he decided to start a building company with two other partners in 1984.
But the partnership soon soured, forcing Mr Tan to go it alone about three years later with a new company - Kenyon.
He set up shop in a 600 sq ft office in Bukit Merah - about the size of a two-room Housing Board flat - with just three staff members as well as help from his younger sister.
Proud moment
IN 1991, Kenyon was given a job to build a device to stop aircraft from overshooting the runway at an airbase. It completed the $500,000 project within 72 hours.
About 10 years later, Kenyon was invited to tender for a job to upgrade the very same structure at the airbase. The officer who showed him around the site told him: 'Why don't you go back to the original contractor? He did a very good job.'
Mr Tan says: 'He did not know that I was the one who did the job. That was the best accolade that we had.'
The early days were tough. Mr Tan set his sights on building factories but had to build a reputation by taking on small jobs involving mechanical and electrical work, as his company was still starting out and did not have a track record.
He was forced to survive by borrowing money with his credit card and salvaging some funds from a renovation loan that his wife took out.
'It was difficult to make ends meet. Sometimes, when I went to the market and had no money to pay, I had to lie and say I forgot to bring my wallet,' he recalls.
But his fortunes soon improved when his clients started noticing the quality of Kenyon's work, and began offering him bigger jobs.
One of his proudest moments came in 1991, when his company was given a job to build a device to stop aircraft from overshooting the runway at an airbase he declined to disclose. The $500,000 project at the operational airbase required Kenyon to complete the job within 72 hours.
About 10 years later, Kenyon was invited to tender for a job to upgrade the very same structure at the airbase.
The officer who showed him around the site told him: 'Why don't you go back to the original contractor? He did a very good job.'
Mr Tan says: 'He did not know that I was the one who did the job. That was the best accolade that we had.'
Kenyon continued to impress big-name customers with its attention to detail.
In the early 1990s, Kenyon moved equipment of British American Tobacco to Senoko, from its original plant in Bukit Timah. The company snagged the job even though it was not a professional mover.
Mr Tan explains: 'Our workers were very disciplined. We were not professional movers, but we took our precautions with the equipment because we have engineering backgrounds.'
In the same way, the company moved on to bigger projects such as a RM16 million (S$6.98 million) liquefied petroleum gas refuelling plant in Port Klang, Malaysia, as well as a chemical production plant in China. It is now building pipes for Lonza's Tuas plant to the tune of $11 million.
Mr Tan says Kenyon stays ahead of its competition because its staff are prepared to go the extra mile. One employee, he recalls, braved frostbite in North Korea by insisting on taking off his gloves to fix electrical wiring in sub-zero temperatures.
Kenyon keeps a close watch on staff welfare. The 100-odd workers hired from Myanmar, Thailand, India and Bangladesh live in air-conditioned dormitories within its headquarters, which has a 2.3m-deep koi pond that snakes around the building.
To motivate his employees, Mr Tan has gradually transferred ownership of Kenyon's Singapore subsidiaries to his staff. They now own 60 per cent or more of Kenyon Electrical Systems, Kenyon Interior & Construction, Kenyon Instrumentation & Control and Kenyon Mechanical.
Mr Tan intends to raise that figure to at least 70 per cent by the time he retires.
You get the sense that he will not sit still even if he does retire.
He jokes, as he gives a guided tour around his office rooftop fruit and vegetable garden: 'We are hungry contractors - qi he jeng cai.' That is Hokkien for 'rear fish and grow vegetables', a saying to describe one as being very hands-on.
He adds: 'I always tell my staff: 'Don't ever feel adequate. Learn from your competitors'... Anybody who owns a pickup truck and has two workers is my competitor.'
