SINGAPORE - A S$70-million state of the art facility which brings food logistics, production and services under one roof in Jurong is aiming to take Singaporean brands further into international markets.

The Singapore-based investment holding company opened its massive new 300,000 sq ft headquarters. The building will host some of food manufacturing's most high-tech facilities, including Singapore's first high pressure processing line, which is a facility that extends the shelf life of food while retaining its nutrition.

It also has a fully automated 13-storey high storage and retrieval warehouse system, which does not require manpower inside the minus-28 deg C storeroom. The benefits of the automation include the reduction of floor space, as the warehouse takes up 14,000 sq ft, as opposed to a conventional facility that typically needs up to 60,000 sq ft.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was the guest of honour at the launch on Wednesday (Jan 11), said that Commonwealth Capital showed "one of the very important ways forward for the food industry".

Mr Andrew Kwan, group managing director of Commonwealth Capital, said that internationalisation was the main push for the creation of the facility.

Commonwealth Capital also has stakes in home-grown brands like The Soup Spoon, Pastamania and Roxy Laksa.

Mr Kwan said that the company hoped to derive at least 50 per cent of its revenue from exports in the next two years, which would be a major increase from its current proportion.

He added that the company was targeting regional markets, as well as the Middle East as its facility has halal-certified manufacturing and cold chain logistics facilities.