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23-11-12, 09:27
Construction firm tops Enterprise 50 Awards list
Nov 23, 2012
By Melissa Tan
Lian Soon Construction was forced to ramp up productivity owing to a labour crunch, but its efforts have paid off.
The firm, which builds schools and other public buildings, yesterday clinched the top prize at the 2012 Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards.
It took eighth place last year, so getting the top award this year was "a very big surprise", said its managing director Alex Lee.
He told reporters yesterday at the award presentation that Lian Soon had adopted new software over the past two years, which helped it save "a lot of man-hours".
"I suppose this is how we won," he added.
The company spent an estimated $300,000 on new hardware and software, such as installing an intranet and an electronic leave application system.
Productivity has since gone up by about 10 per cent as revenue grew while headcount remained stable, Mr Lee said. The company employs about 160 to 180 foreign workers, including those working in its affiliates.
Mr Lee said that while the foreign worker policy is tough, the firm does "a lot of training and retraining" to teach workers how to multitask, and promotes people from within the organisation.
The second prize went to property firm EL Development, and the third prize to electromagnetic components maker Superworld Electronics.
Real estate and construction firms had a good showing in the rankings this year. Of the top five firms, four are in this industry.
Handing out the awards to the top 10 E50 winners at a gala dinner at Resorts World Sentosa, MrS. Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said the winning firms were "excellent examples of how success can be attained through innovation and productivity-driven growth".
"The Government has and will continue to ensure that the direction of policy is clear, that companies have reasonable time to adapt, and continue to monitor the impact of the measures closely, with a range of programmes to support industries and enterprises as they restructure and re-engineer processes," said Mr Iswaran, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Trade and Industry.
The other E50 winners were given their awards at a separate ceremony, also at RWS, yesterday morning by Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister of State for Finance and Transport.
In a speech, Mrs Teo said businesses have to make a "difficult transition" towards long-term sustainability, and "the sooner we are able to make it, the better".
The E50 Awards, now in their 18th year, were organised by The Business Times and KPMG in Singapore, and sponsored by OCBC Bank.
Nov 23, 2012
By Melissa Tan
Lian Soon Construction was forced to ramp up productivity owing to a labour crunch, but its efforts have paid off.
The firm, which builds schools and other public buildings, yesterday clinched the top prize at the 2012 Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards.
It took eighth place last year, so getting the top award this year was "a very big surprise", said its managing director Alex Lee.
He told reporters yesterday at the award presentation that Lian Soon had adopted new software over the past two years, which helped it save "a lot of man-hours".
"I suppose this is how we won," he added.
The company spent an estimated $300,000 on new hardware and software, such as installing an intranet and an electronic leave application system.
Productivity has since gone up by about 10 per cent as revenue grew while headcount remained stable, Mr Lee said. The company employs about 160 to 180 foreign workers, including those working in its affiliates.
Mr Lee said that while the foreign worker policy is tough, the firm does "a lot of training and retraining" to teach workers how to multitask, and promotes people from within the organisation.
The second prize went to property firm EL Development, and the third prize to electromagnetic components maker Superworld Electronics.
Real estate and construction firms had a good showing in the rankings this year. Of the top five firms, four are in this industry.
Handing out the awards to the top 10 E50 winners at a gala dinner at Resorts World Sentosa, MrS. Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said the winning firms were "excellent examples of how success can be attained through innovation and productivity-driven growth".
"The Government has and will continue to ensure that the direction of policy is clear, that companies have reasonable time to adapt, and continue to monitor the impact of the measures closely, with a range of programmes to support industries and enterprises as they restructure and re-engineer processes," said Mr Iswaran, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Trade and Industry.
The other E50 winners were given their awards at a separate ceremony, also at RWS, yesterday morning by Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister of State for Finance and Transport.
In a speech, Mrs Teo said businesses have to make a "difficult transition" towards long-term sustainability, and "the sooner we are able to make it, the better".
The E50 Awards, now in their 18th year, were organised by The Business Times and KPMG in Singapore, and sponsored by OCBC Bank.