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Targeting untapped market segments: How S'pore firm became leader for solar and EV charging electrical boards
Offering solutions for new energy sectors, switchboard maker Enova Electrical more than doubled its revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic
Enova Electrical's Kallang Basin project, under JTC's SolarLand programme, utilises vacant land to generate solar energy for the national grid. PHOTO: ENOVA ELECTRICAL
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The decision by home-grown electrical switchboard specialist Enova Electrical to stake a claim in the renewable energy sector early on in its formation has certainly paid off.
This forward thinking in line with Singapore’s Green Plan propelled it to rank among the country’s Fastest Growing Companies in 2024, a list compiled by The Straits Times and Statista.
The groundwork for the company’s expansion was laid in 2019, when Enova moved quickly to enter the electric vehicle (EV) charging segment.
Today, it is the market leader in the supply of electrical distribution boards in both the solar and EV charging segments.
Managing director Terence Yoo, 48, explains: “We had a restructuring and refocused our sales efforts on market segments rather than the mass electrical market, which covers any installations that require electricity. From solar, we moved into EV charging. Now, we are moving into other new energy segments and also expanding our building construction segment.”
He adds that the company decided to provide customers with total solutions rather than just products.
“In solar projects, we supply and install not only the electrical distribution boards, but also the solar panels, inverters, solar structures and alternating current distribution boards (ACDBs). We ask a lot of questions, and provide consultancy in addition to sales and installation,” Mr Yoo says, adding that he believes in getting the job right the first time as revisions are a waste of time and resources.
These strategies have worked to Enova’s advantage. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the firm’s revenue climbed from $5.3 million in 2019 to $12.8 million in 2022 – a growth of 142 per cent.
This impressive revenue growth belied the company’s struggles during Covid-19.
“As physical presence in a factory is essential to producing electrical distribution boards, we faced frequent manpower shortages due to work-from-home and quarantine orders. We also faced delays in shipments and supplies, exacerbated by the shortage of electronic components required in the circuit breakers and meters that we install in the electrical switchboard,” says Mr Yoo.
But keeping its customers in mind, Enova made the decision to move to a 20,000 sq ft site and stock up on components to ensure the best delivery lead time, despite the risk of holding unsold inventory. Mr Yoo reckons Enova is the only manufacturer in Singapore that has ready stock of items like ACDBs, allowing customers to buy these off the shelf.
Doing what it knows best
Enova makes and supplies main switchboards and power distribution boards that are installed in buildings, solar installations, EV charging points and any other installations that require electricity to protect them from overloading, unexpected power surges and earth leakages.
Mr Yoo, who joined the industry after completing national service, worked for other companies including multinationals before striking out on his own in 2008. “It was my lifelong aspiration to be a business owner, and I believe in doing what I know best,” says the 26-year industry veteran.
The early years were challenging. Enova struggled to get enough orders and manage its operations, while cashflow was a perennial concern. But such issues are a thing of the past.
Since Enova started compiling its ACDB statistics for the solar segment in 2020, solar installations protected by Enova-manufactured ACDBs increased from 63.7 megawatt-peak (MWp) in 2020 to 136.7MWp in 2021 and 216.3MWp in 2022. In the first half of 2023, solar installations protected by the company’s ACDBs reached 107.1MWp. The total capacity in just these three and a half years amounted to 523.8MWp, about 52 per cent of the total solar capacity of 1,005.7MWp installed across Singapore as at the second quarter of 2023.
Enova recently completed a solar installation project in Kallang Bahru, under the third phase of government agency JTC’s SolarLand programme, an initiative that utilises vacant land to generate solar energy for the national grid. The company is currently working on another JTC solar installation project in the western part of Singapore.
Meanwhile, the number of EV charging points installed with Enova’s EV distribution boards increased from 210 in 2021 to 632 in 2022, and 676 in the first half of 2023. It is estimated that Singapore currently has over 3,800 EV charging points. The Land Transport Authority has said it aims to have 60,000 EV charging points across Singapore by 2030.
Investments to boost efficiency
Mr Yoo considers improvisation of existing work processes and investments in new equipment as the core strategies that will underpin Enova’s continued growth.
To this end, the company has introduced a ladder that can mechanically hoist objects for installation. “Instead of manual lifting, we are providing a better way to lift solar panels and other materials to rooftops for installation. This cost-effective solution is versatile, enhances safety and increases productivity,” says Mr Yoo. The company even became a distributor to supply this lifting solution to others.
Mr Yoo also believes microgrids are the way to go. These are energy management systems that integrate power generation from renewable sources such as solar, energy storage in batteries, and electricity usage.
By optimising the storage and distribution of electrical energy, microgrids can help reduce carbon footprint.
The use of microgrids onsite enabled Enova to charge its battery-powered tools overnight to speed up work processes during the day at its Kallang Bahru project. During the day, it charges its lighting fixtures and energy storage system with the use of solar installations onsite.
Mr Yoo believes such investments to boost efficiency will help accelerate Singapore’s path towards a greener future. “We’re committed to achieving a sustainable future through the supply of our products and services,” he says.
Click here to read more stories on Singapore’s Fastest Growing Companies 2024.
