A tiny territory but an economic powerhouse, the city-state of Singapore has been on the Tata global map since the early 1970s says Syamal Gupta, chairman of Tata International

Singapore swings. It scintillates and sizzles. It's a place that seduces tourists to shop till they drop. But, for the businessman, it's an unparalleled Asian success story; a country that is both progressive and prosperous, with strong international trade links and a per capita GDP equal to leading western European nations.

But success hasn't come easy for this small city-state. Once a mere fishing village, decades of careful planning and meticulous implementation of shrewd economic policies have made Singapore what it is. Even in the early days, it aimed to be a city of the future, and there was clear emphasis on education and industrialisation. The township of Judong, for example, was developed with the express objective of attracting foreign investment.

Syamal Gupta who is on the board of Tata Sons and is the chairman of Tata International spoke to Christabelle Noronha on the Tata Group's early days in Singapore.

Two Tata visionaries — JRD Tata and Sumant Moolgaonkar, supported by Freddie Mehta — had the farsightedness way back in the early 1970s to see the future of economics, manpower development and technology in this Asian land of opportunity. The Tata presence in Singapore today is the result of this vision. Tata gave of its expertise and experience, and in turn acquired knowledge of the latest developments in science and technology.

A focal point of South East Asian sea routes, Singapore had a fairly big textile industry by the early '70s and its book printing industry was growing. Foreign investors like GE had just set foot in Singapore, and their offerings included consumer products and engineering items. Other multinationals were also looking at investing there.

The Singapore government realised that to attract hi-tech industries, it needed to improve its education system and offer high-speed training to its citizens. So, in 1972, when JRD Tata was on an exploratory visit to the city-state, then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's government requested him to set up a precision engineering unit and a training institute.

Tata Precision Industries (TPI) was set up in 1972, supported by the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB). It was the first Tata manufacturing venture in Singapore, and the Development Bank of Singapore was a major shareholder. I was fortunate to be chosen to spearhead the operations.

The Tatas were among the earliest Asian companies to do business in Singapore. The Group recognised the huge potential of the region and made it part of its expansion into uncharted geographical areas and new markets; an internationalisation effort that has been an ongoing process since the Group's very inception.

It was the late Sumant Moolgaonkar, former chairman of Telco (now Tata Motors) and Tata Exports (now Tata International), who was the architect of promoting Tata vehicles abroad. He was supported by the late Nani Palkhivala, a Tata stalwart who later became the chairman of Tata Exports. TPI eventually became the flag bearer for the group's foray into South East Asia.

Mr Tata frequently visited Singapore and encouraged and supported TPI. It was his foresight to enter into the manufacture of components for disk drives, computers and computer peripherals which continue to form part of TPI's current business. His vision was to make Singapore a centre for developing relations in the Asia Pacific region.

The Tata Government Training Centre (TGTC), supported by the Singapore government, was the first training institute of its kind in Singapore. Tool making, precision machining, electrical and hydraulic installation, as well as mould making, millwright work and other trades were included in the curriculum. Set up by TPI in technical collaboration with Telco, it produced technicians who were skilled in tool making and design. The institute was later merged with the Nanyang Polytechnic, one of the country's premier technical institutions.

By the time I moved on to my next assignment 10 years later, Singapore had transformed itself from manufacturing textiles to attracting investment in hi-tech industries such as semiconductors, electronics and what was then an exciting new field — computer peripherals.

TPI had evolved too. Market research showed that there was a big demand for sophisticated items such as precision engineering components, and these became part of the company's product portfolio. It designed and developed engineering components for multinationals like Texas Instruments, National Semiconductors, IBM, Siemens and others.

The severe foreign exchange restrictions then in force in India meant the company had to raise capital locally. To increase business, we undertook work for American Semiconductor Tools, to fulfil the company's global requirements.

Today, the Tata brand is well known and respected in Singapore. A large number of our companies have set up offices in the country. Mr Tata is one the international advisory board of Temasek, is a member of the Singapore Economic Development Board, and is on the board of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. What started over 30 years ago as a developmental activity to support Singapore's precision engineering industry, has grown to cover all of the group's major businesses in IT, automobiles, telecommunications and steel. TPI has built for itself a reputation for integrity, quality and reliability.

Today, I can proudly say that it is an ISO 9001:2000 as well as an ISO/TS 16949:2002-certified company, manufacturing for the stringent, high-quality demands of the disc drive, electronics and medical industries. Its components are made on a 'ship-to-stock' basis, which means that the components leaving the company's factory go straight to the assembly line of the customer.

Its operations include high-tech precision machining, tool design and manufacturing, plastic injection moulding, clean-room washing, clean-room assembly and packing (Class 100), high-energy magnetisation and fine blanking. It is fully integrated and has the capability and capacity to cover everything from the first stage of tool design and manufacturing to the last stage of assembly and packing.

TPI's customers include hard disk giant Seagate Technology, Sumitomo, MMI, Beyonics, Altum Precision, Emerson, Teleflex Morse, Wipro and GE, among others.

One critical component in all Tata ventures in Singapore has been the emphasis on building and sustaining relationships in a spirit of co-operation and partnership, creating employment opportunities and contributing to the social development of the local communities that the Tata Group has embraced and in which it functions.

Uploaded on March 29, 2006