Market Intelligence
Equipment and Machinery Singapore

Singapore Additive Manufacturing

As the regional powerhouse for advanced manufacturing technologies, Singapore provides an excellent platform for U.S. companies to enter the ASEAN region. Manufacturing represents a significant component of Singapore’s GDP — approximately 20% — and is highly valued and supported by the Singapore Government.

Over 2,700 precision engineering firms supply critical products and expertise needed to manufacture complex components and equipment used in industries such as semiconductors, medical technology, marine, offshore and aerospace. Some of the world’s biggest pure-play foundries have manufacturing facilities here, as do many other top outsourced semiconductor assembly and test companies.

Singapore’s position as the premier regional trading hub for the Asia-Pacific, numerous R&D grants and its highly skilled, English-speaking workforce are catalysts for U.S. companies to test and implement new technologies prior to further expansion within the ASEAN region.

Resilience:

To position Singapore as a resilient advanced manufacturing base in ASEAN, the Government has announced various initiatives to develop and grow cutting edge capabilities such as in robotics and 3D printing. Such initiatives will help to maintain the momentum of the manufacturing sector which grew 3.5% year on year for the first half of 2020 despite the challenging times due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

  • A new training program office called the Advanced Manufacturing Training Academy (Amta) which will collaborate with schools and training providers to help ensure the manufacturing workforce has emerging skills and knowledge.
  • A one-stop advanced manufacturing location called the Jurong Innovation District (JID) where the first phase will be completed in 2022 but has already attracted more than US$300 million in investments in 2020 .
  • A partnership with the World Economic Forum to launch the Singapore-developed Smart Industry Readiness Index (Siri) globally as an internationally recognized standard for Industry 4.0 transformation.

All these initiatives are expected to help Singapore and ASEAN manufacturers be more resilient by rethinking production and supply chains in a more sustainable manner as well as adopting digital strategies.

Industry 4.0:

This involves connecting machines in a manufacturing facility via Internet of Things (IoT) to automate processes and collect data which is used to optimize operations, enhance productivity and improve data mining. It is also important to ensure that standards and security protocols are being considered in the implementation of IoT. This will help small medium enterprises (SMEs) across various industry sectors to innovate and grow. SMEs are being provided with grants to send their staff for relevant training.

Opportunities for advanced manufacturing technologies are expected to be in the following areas:

Semiconductor

There is a significant push in the semiconductor industry towards water fabrication engineering to increase the output rate. Industry experts estimate that introduction of wafer fabrication engineering could help Singapore’s already blooming economy rapidly rise even further to the top due to the speed at which the electrical and photonic circuits are being completed. So far, the electronics semiconductor subsector has been performing well unlike other industries. This subsector accounts for close to 40% of Singapore’s manufacturing GDP in 2019 and employs 70,000 workers. It is expected to hire more workers due to demand for digital goods and services during the pandemic. Salaries for this sector have also been attractive but having skilled workers is important.

3D Printing and Robotics

Singapore has no heavy manufacturing and has relied on light manufacturing for decades. As such, 3D printing and robotics processes are very appropriate in many industry applications in Singapore. For example, 3D printing or additive manufacturing is being used in the aerospace and medical industry to produce sophisticated and highly precision parts.

Strategies

Despite global economic headwinds, Singapore is still one of the world’s strongest economies. Anchored in political stability, low corruption rates and transparent public institutions, the country is a trusted partner for businesses. Sound monetary and fiscal policies, together with a robust judicial system, underpins the country’s low-risk economy. Internet connectivity is also very important and is part of Singapore’s focus on being a smart nation.

Companies with capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, and the Internet of Things will lead to the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies for both big and small companies so as to accelerate the digital transformation of manufacturers in Singapore and internationally especially where supply chains are concerned.

For more information, contact office.singapore@trade.gov.