That was the message from Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, speaking at the Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards dinner on Friday.

The E50 Awards recognise the most enterprising privately-owned local businesses in Singapore. The top 10 collected trophies from Mr Lim last night.

'The recovery must come,' he said, and praised the toughness of the E50.

'It is not easy to do business; it is much harder to be ranked among the top 50. Thus, you are the toughest among the lot. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. So you are our toughest.''

He also urged businesses not to view trade unions as a problem, as they could be an advantage in aiding employers to access funding for training purposes.

'You may find a surprising partner in the trade union movement. E50 companies may not be aware of how useful the union can be. I recommend you to check it out for yourselves,' he said.

Many of the winners backed Mr Lim's comments on the need for perseverance.

One key theme expressed by the winning companies was the vital role of maintaining good customer relations.

'In terms of the global crisis, customers may also be reducing costs, but because of the trust that they have in the company, they will still come to you,' said Ms Angie Tang, chief executive of Franklin Offshore Holdings, which carried off the top award. Franklin provides services to major oil companies, oil rig owners and offshore contractors.

Ms Tang added: 'We are lucky that for Franklin Offshore, over the years, we have gained the confidence and trust from our customers so if they can, their first choice will be to come to us.'

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.