SPEECH BY Mr LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR trade and industry, AT THE GROUNDBREAKING OF PRATT & WHITNEY’S SINGAPORE EXPANSION IN SELETAR AEROSPACE PARK ON 21 FEBRUARY 2008, 11.30AM

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning

I am pleased to be here at the groundbreaking ceremony for Pratt & Whitney’s Aerospace Campus at the SeletarAerospacePark.I understand that this facility will be the first phase of the campus, with land available for further expansion up to three hectares in this site.

Pratt & Whitney is today our largest foreign aerospace investor and employer.Its Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul, or MRO, business which has been in Singapore for over 20 years, employs more than 2,500 employees in its eight facilities here, some of these in partnership with the SIA Engineering Company, ST Aerospace Engineering and PAS Technologies.

Singapore – Asia’s Leading MRO Hub

With today’s groundbreaking ceremony, Pratt & Whitney again affirms its commitment to Singapore’s aerospace industry.In fact, the company’s facilities in Singapore are an ideal illustration of how our aerospace industry functions.Let me elaborate.Pratt & Whitney’s breadth of capabilities here means that an engine sent here for overhaul can be repaired largely within Singapore.The engine can then be re-delivered to the customer with minimum turn-around time and maximum efficiency.It also reduces logistics cost for both Pratt & Whitney and its customer. All these add up to a strong competitive edge for the company in servicing its customer base in Asia.

The component shops’ ability to deliver competitive repairs, combined with our good logistics connectivity also enable them to serve the global market including US and Europe. Their competitiveness arises from the high quality, quick turn-around time and ability to develop new and cost-effective repair solutions for their customers.It is because of the capabilities of entities such as these that our aerospace industry has achieved recognition as the leading MRO location in Asia, accounting for a quarter of the Asia-Pacific market.

Pratt & Whitney’s Commitment to High-value Activities in Singapore

Singapore’s goal for the aerospace industry has been to develop ourselves as a one-stop location with total MRO solutions. Pratt & Whitney has been a leader in achieving this in Singapore.In 2006, it set up its engineering centre here, known as Global Services Engineering-Asia. It was the first time such a facility was set up outside of the US. I remember this clearly as I had the honour of officiating at its opening two years back. This engineering centre is now the one-stop technical service provider to the company’s repair facilities in the Asia-Pacific.In just the two years since it started, the centre is already serving 75% of Pratt & Whitney’s Singapore facilities’ technical needs and will eventually serve 100%.

The presence of the centre has been critical in increasing the speed at which new repairs are developed and launched in the repair facilities here. The centre’s ability to perform same-day, on-site engineering review, has also enabled facilities such as Pratt & Whitney Services to achieve on-time deliveries of almost 100% and enhance yield improvements, thus creating added value for customers 

It is thus very welcome that the first phase of the campus here today is to house the expanded Global Services Engineering-Asia, with up to 60 engineers.I am delighted that Global Services Engineering–Asia has been so successful. It proves that the engineering talent that we have in Singapore is capable of carrying out some of the most demanding engineering work required in the engine MRO business.

The set-up of this campus at Seletar represents a significant milestone for Pratt & Whitney’s development in Singapore. While the Pratt & Whitney engine cluster here already enjoys greater efficiency and logistic savings by being on the same island, the potential for physical co-location of the engineering centre with future MRO will allow engineers from GSE-Asia to interact closely with the repair engineers in the development of new repairs. Overall building footprint and other services required can thereby be reduced as well. With Pratt & Whitney adopting this long-term approach to planning their campus in Seletar, the company benefits from greater integration and efficiency, made possible through locating in SeletarAerospacePark.We are confident that the Park will serve as an ideal location from which to serve your customers.

Developing the Manpower

Beyond physical infrastructure, we also recognise that the other critical requirement for the aerospace industry is qualified manpower. Demand will continue to grow, especially with the significant new investments at Seletar. In anticipation of these manpower requirements, we have put in place several measures over the past few years. These will ensure that the industry is able to find the manpower it needs across all skill levels – that is, craftsmen, technicians and engineers. With all the new courses that have been introduced, aerospace specialist manpower graduating from our institutes of higher learning in 2009 will be double the 600 trained in 2006. This is supplemented by the 15,000 plus engineering and technical graduates trained yearly.

We will also continue to refine the training available in anticipation of industry needs. This includes working with specialised aerospace training institutions such as Lufthansa Technik Training and EmbryRiddleUniversity, who can contribute expertise through collaborations with our local institutes as well as the set-up of physical campuses in Singapore.

We are encouraged in these efforts by the strong interest in aerospace studies. I understand that one of the most popular courses in our local universities is the recently-introduced aeronautical engineering degree.

To supplement our local workforce, Singapore also adopts an open immigration policy that enables companies to bring in qualified people from around the world. With all these efforts, we will be able to cater to the growing manpower needs of the aerospace industry here.

Conclusion

All signs point to the continued growth of the aerospace industry in Singapore. This would certainly not be possible without the strong support, commitment and vision from partners such as Pratt & Whitney. Once again, I congratulate you on the groundbreaking of this campus and wish you continued success.Thank you.