A woman has taken the helm of the Singapore Precision Engineering & Technology Association (Speta) for the first time since the body was founded in 1982.
Ms Elise Hong, co-founder and chief executive of JCS-Echigo, which makes precision-cleaning machines and services for the hard-disk drive industry, was elected chairman at the annual general meeting last week.
Ms Hong, who had been deputy chairman, takes over from Mr Low Ming Wah, who is also the president and chief operating officer at Singapore-listed Micro-Mechanics Holdings.
Mr Low will guide Ms Hong for the next four years.
Ms Hong said: "I believe gender is not the criterion for business success. It is determination, creativity and a 'never-say-die' spirit that moulds the ultimate winner."
She added that she will continue efforts to tackle longstanding issues in the industry, such as its struggle to attract local talent and cost competition from overseas players.
Speta, which has about 400 members, has set up committees to drive business transformation, talent attraction and a shift towards digitally-advanced smart manufacturing.
The precision-engineering industry employed more than a fifth of the 473,000 workers in the manufacturing sector as at middle of last year and contributed around $38 billion in total output in 2019.
THE BUSINESS TIMES
