BY CHEN HUIFEN

IN an age where a broadband connection is the norm and stem cell therapy offers new hope for treating a growing number of medical conditions, it is easy to forget that innovation can take place with even the simplest things.

The three-in-one coffee sachet, for instance, is taken for granted by many who toss it into their mug every morning without giving much thought to what goes into making it.

Not the folks at Gold Kili Trading Enterprise though. The 30-year-old company, known for its instant beverages, constantly thinks about ways to improve its products.

Since its founding as a coffee powder manufacturer and distributor, it has created more than 20 drinks from honey chrysanthemum to barley to chocolate latte.

'Like any company, if we don't come up with new products continuously, people will forget us,' says director Andy Ng. 'We may have faithful clients who followed us for many years. But we also need to attract new customers by launching new products that will appeal to them. Down the road, we need to consider the needs of Generation X and Generation Y.'

Innovation has gone beyond products to manufacturing processes. As Gold Kili expands its product range and grows its export markets, innovation on the production front has to keep up with the pace in product development.

'We don't want to have one machine just do one product,' says Mr Ng. 'We need one machine to do several products.'

In 2007, he set out to streamline the manufacturing process so that more products could be made with greater cost efficiency.

He found the answer in Italy, where sachet producing machine maker Universal Pack is based.

'We were very impressed with the technology behind the machine,' Mr Ng says. 'It requires very little maintenance. There's hardly any down time. And with lower supervision level, it can minimise human error.'

The machine integrates the sachet filling process with inner filter bag packing and outer foil sachet packing.

In other words, the manufacturing process is reduced from two separate steps to one integrated step, thereby increasing efficiency and cutting cost.

'Previously, the filter bags had to be packed by hand into the outer foil packing, which takes a longer time,' says Mr Ng. 'The new process reduces the raw material exposure period, so loss of flavour, for coffee especially, can be minimised.'

The machine also has an automatic mechanism to reject empty foil sachets, as well as built-in printing devices, a touch screen monitor and an electronic programme for automatic phase synchronisation. It can double production to about 120 filled sachets per minute, from the current 60-80 per minute.

In addition, the technology allows for changes in the shapes of filter bags, which could revolutionise the design of the finished products. It also reduces foil wastage and allows the use of eco-friendly boxing materials.

'Operations can be significantly simplified with minimum labour requirements,' says Mr Ng. 'Hygiene can also be enhanced, as the sturdy and robust design has made cleaning and maintenance of machinery easy.'

At 137,500 euros (S$269,651), the price was on the prohibitive side. But Gold Kili obtained a loan from DBS Bank, and a grant from Spring Singapore helped to lighten the burden of the capital investment.

Even after financing was taken care of, commitment to the project was essential. The company had to engage an engineer from the UK to train its production operators, including floor managers and technicians. This meant allowing staff to be relieved from their daily duties.

The whole project took more than 11 months, from conception to the stage of being operationally ready. Since December, Gold Kili has been making its coffee products with the new system.

In the same month, it introduced a new kopi kosong - coffee with no milk and no sugar - instant beverage using the same production line. And last month, it introduced a new natural ginger drink to the product line.

'The technology helps us complete the innovation chain,' says Mr Ng. 'We now want to embark on a range of sugar-free products to appeal to health-conscious consumers and those suffering from sugar-related disorders like diabetes and hypertension.'

This article was first published in The Business Times.