By Sylvia Paik

THE old business saying that you should never waste a crisis has practically become a mission statement for Kranji Auto & Machinery Trading.

The firm has made a point of searching for opportunities amid the wreckage of recessions and downturns. You name it - from the Sars downturn to various financial meltdowns - and the 33-year-old business has found ways to thrive.

Dubai is the latest shockwave to hit the firm, which trades in cranes, tractors, excavators, wheel-loaders and other heavy machinery that it refurbishes at its plant in Sungei Kadut Loop.

The Dubai debt disaster could have been a potentially crippling event given that Kranji Auto derives the bulk of its business from the Middle East.

But the family firm - founder Toh Hong Poh, 55, and son Tze Meng, 33, run the operation - braced itself for the disaster and is ready to exploit any silver lining.

The Tohs were frequent visitors to the emirate and saw early warnings of its impending crisis.

The senior Mr Toh said he expected 'the Dubai crash before it happened'.

'Most building projects actually stopped a year before. Our orders fell by 80 per cent, so we were not caught by surprise,' he said in a mix of Mandarin and English.

'But we have confidence that Dubai will definitely recover as it is a central business district. Whatever goes down must rise again. I am 100 per cent sure that Dubai will recover and get back on its feet again,' he said.

Father and son are clearly people who see the glass as half full, even when confronted with the debris of Dubai's economic meltdown.

Son Tze Meng told The Straits Times: 'For Dubai, a lot of people think that it is all over. But there are actually plenty of opportunities out there in the Middle East.

'It will always have oil. With its oil, there will always be opportunities for business. So even with this crisis, we are confident that the Middle East will bounce back.'

The Tohs have hedged their risks by diversifying their markets and building up solid networks that deliver an annual turnover of between $12 million and $15 million for the firm.

'Dubai is only 15 per cent of our Middle East market. We are evenly spread throughout the Middle East,' said the father.

'We have built up good relationships and networks in the Middle East based on trust. Our company has been there for 25 years.

'Once you are well known in the market, everybody will start to introduce themselves to you.'

The firm's founder speaks from long experience. He was one of the first Singaporeans to venture into the then-uncharted territories of Middle East markets back in 1985.

Where the trailblazing father ventured, his son followed.

Tze Meng, who joined his dad's business in 2004, said: 'In 2005, I broke into the Doha market. My father had never been there before. I saw a lot of potential.

'It was just before the Doha Games, so the government was building lots of infrastructure like roads, bridges, buildings, new towns, drainage systems and hotels. We received orders for 50 units of heavy equipment in my first month there.

'My idea is that you don't wait for opportunities to come to you. You must go out and grab your opportunities.'

This entrepreneurial spirit flows through the family.

Tze Meng's paternal grandfather, Mr Toh Saik, was a Singaporean lorry driver whose old truck broke down so often that he became an expert at fixing it with spare parts.

He then set up a small business trading in spare parts for trucks in Malaysia and eventually took on his son as an apprentice.

Mr Toh Hong Poh went on to found Kranji Auto here at the age of 21 in 1976 after his father died.

The business took some hard knocks from the various economic crises that came at it over the years but always emerged stronger.

The 1986 recession prompted him to improve Kranji Auto's credit flow by expanding from supplying spare parts to trucks to trading in heavy machinery.

The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis cost the firm millions when its inventory value plunged by half, while currency fluctuations during the 2001 recession and in the most recent financial turmoil hurt the firm.

But the firm's founder persisted by expanding and diversifying his business and venturing into sometimes daunting foreign territories.

The resilient firm operates out of a warehouse in Sungei Kadut Loop and employs 12 staff, who refurbish old machinery imported from Japan and Europe for re-export.

Diversification is the key. Recession has taught the Tohs the valuable survival lesson of not putting all their eggs in one basket.

Kranji Auto now gets 30 per cent of its trade from Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia, 40 per cent from the Middle East, 10 per cent from Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands, 10 per cent from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and 10 per cent from Europe and America.

The Middle East remains its main market.

Tze Meng said: 'We are a big name in the construction field in the Middle East, although we are only a medium-sized player back home in Singapore. We do business with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Oman and Yemen.'

The firm may open branches in Jordan and Doha.

But Tze Meng is also sticking to the diversification theme by expanding the business in developing Asian markets such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar, and Libya and Sudan in Africa.

'These emerging markets are very profitable as they are developing very fast,' he said.

The Tohs are also branching out in another way by renting machinery.

'Due to the current financial crisis, our company is expanding our rental business because we realise that there is still a lot of potential in that area,' said Tze Meng.

'In order to succeed, we need to diversify our business from our core business, trading.'

While he has plenty of ambitions for the company, Tze Meng still defers to his father and his wealth of experience.

'Working for my father has been an inspiring experience. He has taught me about being professional and honest,' he said.

'Because it's only when we treat our clients and suppliers with professional integrity that we can really build a long- lasting business relationship.

'If we disagree, my dad makes the final decision. But most of the time, he's open to new ideas.'

Tze Meng's ambitions for Kranji Auto have a tangible goal: 'I hope to list my dad's company on the Singapore stock exchange, and make Kranji Auto & Machinery Trading one of the biggest players in Singapore.'

That aim, and dreams that the firm will thrive into a third generation, look on track.

Tze Meng said his three-year-old son Jun Zhe's first few baby words were 'Wa Ni Ji' (excavator in Mandarin), and the toddler's favourite toy is a remote control digger and crane.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.