Expand Construction improved on its third place last year to emerge as the overall champion at the Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards.

Its achievement is a notable feat considering the woes faced by the struggling construction industry in the past few years.

New entrants took the next two positions - foam and rubber components manufacturer Armstrong Industrial Corporation came in second and petroleum company Midas NSSG International third.

They were among firms honoured for their enterprising spirit and innovation excellence at the E50 Awards dinner at the Resorts World Convention Centre.

The awards, now in their 24th year and presented last night by Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing, recognise the top 50 local, privately held companies that have contributed to economic development here and abroad.

Two special recognition prizes were also presented.

The Enterprise Transformation Award was introduced this year to recognise a firm that has best transformed itself to be innovative and future-ready.

It went to new entrant Elmich, a manufacturer and distributor of waterproofing, landscape engineering and architectural products.

The firm had shown that it has a viable business model to lift productivity and ensure sustainable growth through an innovative, manpower-lean approach while moving into higher value-added activities to enhance competitiveness.

The Internationalisation Award, now in its third year, was presented to another new entrant - Explomo Technical Services, a provider of land remediation and civil defence-related services. It won for its clear international growth and expansion strategy.

There were 34 new winners across a broad range of industries in the E50 Awards.

Manufacturing again made up the largest percentage of the winners at 18 per cent, followed by the construction and business services sectors at 14 per cent each.

Mr Jonathan Ho, head of enterprise at KPMG in Singapore, noted that there has been a greater emphasis on recognising companies that have "revolutionised or reset their business models" to create new intellectual property and stronger enterprise value.

"We are more certain, at any point in time, that the success of Singapore enterprises will be tilted in favour of those who can embrace innovation and master transformation," he said.

The awards are jointly organised by KPMG in Singapore and The Business Times, and sponsored by OCBC Bank. Supporters include Enterprise Singapore, the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Exchange.