Manufacturing's pivot to advanced tech, digitalisation will be supported: Gan

Businesses here seeking to use cutting-edge technologies to improve their manufacturing processes and produce high-value products will continue to be nurtured, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said yesterday.

Speaking at a webinar organised by trade association SGTech and software firm Autodesk, he said many businesses had intensified their efforts to transition towards advanced manufacturing, adopt new technologies and upskill their workforce in order to overcome operational constraints amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some initiatives they have rolled out include cross-training existing workers to help them transition to different roles, doubling down on digitalisation of operations ranging from warehousing to invoicing, and automating production lines to cope with demand fluctuations.

These efforts have boosted the manufacturing sector's resilience and helped it deliver the strongest growth among all sectors last year. And it continues to deliver strong growth this year, the minister said.

But he added: "We are not out of the woods yet and there are now new challenges like supply chain disruptions to deal with.

"Singapore remains committed to supporting advanced manufacturing through a pipeline of initiatives, be it physical infrastructure, talent or financial support."

Among the infrastructure initiatives, the minister highlighted the Jurong Innovation District - a one-stop hub where manufacturers can gather to share ideas, innovate and create by co-locating different parts of the manufacturing process within the same space.

The industry-led Advanced Manufacturing Training Academy continues to facilitate the upskilling and reskilling of the workforce, equipping it with the ability to make the most of Industry 4.0 tools and solutions. Industry 4.0 refers to automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices, using modern and smart technologies.

The Government's financial commitment to advanced manufacturing is enshrined in the $25 billion Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 Plan, Mr Gan said.

"Our hope is that these investments will advance the development and translation of frontier technologies for manufacturing, such as artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.

"More importantly, staying committed to R&D (research and development) and innovation will allow us to establish niches in the manufacturing value chain, strengthen Singapore's competitiveness and capture new growth opportunities."

Among industry-led initiatives, Mr Gan called attention to SGTech's Stronger Together, Aiding Recovery (Star) Fund, launched last year with support from Facebook and Enterprise Singapore to help businesses digitalise, while also enabling players in information and communications technology to acquire new small and medium-sized enterprise customers.

The fund has so far helped 48 projects leverage technology to transform and prepare for the post-Covid-19 economy.

"I am happy to share that applications to the Star fund are still open and I urge companies to tap this opportunity to further their digitalisation journey," the minister said.

He also highlighted the Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific 2021 event to be held here next month, which will feature more than 100 Industry 4.0 solutions providers from over 50 countries.

Its Industry 4.0 Experiential Zone, digital sandboxes and one-on-one business matching will offer opportunities for participants to connect, discover and showcase innovative and practical solutions.

"Initiatives like these bring us closer to our vision of Singapore becoming a global business, innovation and talent hub for advanced manufacturing," Mr Gan said.