As a key partner in the push towards Industry 4.0 for manufacturers, Derrick notes that companies usually struggle with business challenges. He noted that, “The adoption by local companies (of technology), especially SMEs, still has some way to go. It is rather ironic as they stand to benefit the most from robotics and automation technology.”
From distributing mechanical and automation products in 1987, homegrown PBA Group now produces its own products using advanced manufacturing. The company is constantly upgrading to keep up with the changes that impact its business and has indeed evolved tremendously as a company. They have quickly expanded their business to key Asian countries and the US.
Mr. Derrick Yap, CEO of PBA Group is the second-generation leader of this family business who successfully transformed their business from distribution to a leader in robotics and automation. When the company was entrusted to his leadership, Derrick wanted to future-proof the company, he felt that the distribution of mechanical and automation parts lacked potential growth and is likely to be influenced by market changes. He realised that for PBA to have sustainable growth it needed to seek out a new business position.
At that time, Derrick was interested in a small portion of the PBA business which was industrial automation. He finds it fascinating with the idea that he could create things and there was a great potential to disrupt the market. This was how PBA, without moving to a totally new business or industry, set the business focus on an adjacent vertical and successfully pivoted towards robotics and automation. Now, PBA Group has over 30 companies under its umbrella, with more than 500 regional staff in 10 countries and is the market leader in robotics and automation.
PBA designs and builds products with core technology developed in-house. PBA's innovations include a full-suite of Industry 4.0 logistics automation solutions and a proprietary, made-in-Singapore line of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR), the GoldenRetriever Series. These are intelligent robots built with the latest navigation technology. The AMRs are robust, flexible and easily deployed across industries and managed with a Fleet Management System or Warehouse Automation Software.
As a key partner in the push towards Industry 4.0 for manufacturers, Derrick notes that companies usually struggle with business challenges. He noted that, “The adoption by local companies (of technology), especially SMEs, still has some way to go. It is rather ironic as they stand to benefit the most from robotics and automation technology.”
With technology evolving and improving all the time, one key challenge facing local companies is cost pressure due to the current global economic climate. There is a hesitance to extend capital use, while the long term benefits of technology adoption are there for the taking. At this point, there is a perception that technology is costly and requires high capital expenditure. Personally, Derrick believes that the labor cost in production can be drastically reduced with the implementation of automation and can, therefore, operations expenditure can be offset by capital expenditure. He added, "With the grants disbursed by the Singapore government, we have a 50-70 percent automation subsidy, thereby dramatically lowering our product's price. Furthermore, this cost is a declining cost considering that it's depreciated over time, as compared to labour cost which is always a rising cost regardless of country.”
At PBA, they have no intention of slowing down. They want to apply technology to everyday function, putting a lot of time and high technology to make their products seamless for the wide use of applications. PBA is also committed to keeping operations based in Singapore and feels that manufacturers in Singapore have much to be thankful for. To begin with, as Singapore is a global logistics hub, the cost of transportation is very low. In addition, also the common grouse is that overheads and land cost are high in Singapore, Derrick feels that political stability and transparency of costs results in significant intangible savings. In many countries, the hidden costs or incidental costs tend to be a large part of operating expenses.
To embrace Industry 4.0, local manufacturers should seek the help of local automation and robotics specialists to assist them in their operations and tap on the government to help them to offset costs and expand abroad. Help is out there, but the company must initiate the first step.