Speech by Minister S Iswaran at the opening ceremony of Kimberly-Clark Tuas Mill Expansion

​SPEECH BY GUEST OF HONOUR MINISTER S ISWARAN, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY (INDUSTRY) AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF KIMBERLY-CLARK TUAS MILL EXPANSION ON 7 JUNE 2016 AT 10:00AM

Mr Achal Agarwal

President for Asia-Pacific, Kimberly-Clark

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning.

1. I am pleased to join you today at the inauguration ceremony for Kimberly-Clark’s Tuas Mill’s expansion.

A significant milestone in Singapore’s partnership with Kimberly-Clark

2. The partnership between Kimberly-Clark and Singapore has grown from strength to strength over the years.  In 1991, the company first established a small Singapore office handling local sales. Since then, Kimberly-Clark has grown its footprint in Singapore to support its growing business in the region. The Tuas Mill commenced operations in 2003 and, by 2012, Kimberly-Clark had established its headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region at the Marina Bay Financial Centre. Today, Kimberly-Clark employs over 240 staff, a majority of whom are Singaporeans and PRs, undertaking a range of activities spanning manufacturing, sales & marketing and shared services.

3. The expansion of the Tuas Mill marks yet another significant milestone in Singapore’s partnership with Kimberly-Clark. Originally established as a diaper manufacturing plant, the Tuas Mill has been expanded to include two new production lines for baby wipes and diaper pants, bringing Kimberly-Clark’s total investment in Singapore to S$400 mil.

4. I would like to congratulate Kimberly-Clark on the successful expansion of this facility, and thank them for their continued confidence in Singapore.

Singapore as an important node for Consumer Businesses companies looking to grow in Asia

5. Asia will continue to be an important growth market for Consumer Business companies like Kimberly-Clark.  Asia’s growing middle class is expected to account for over 60% of the global middle class population by 2030[1].  With higher disposable incomes, these consumers are demanding more sophisticated goods and services, in turn creating new opportunities for Consumer Business companies.

6. Singapore is well-positioned to be an important node and gateway for Consumer Business companies serving the Asian market. Companies are attracted here because of our stable government, pro-business environment, connectivity, research and innovation capabilities as well as talent base.

7. Indeed, Singapore is home to a growing corps of leading consumer companies and their key strategic functions. Unilever has located the global teams for some of its key household and personal care brands[2] in Singapore. Nestle has established its global R&D centre for food and nutrition products, such as Nescafe coffee and Milo. Similarly, Kimberly-Clark’s choice of Singapore as its Asia-Pacific headquarters and the expansion of its Tuas Mill is testimony to Singapore’s strong value proposition for companies in this regard.

8. Consumer companies are also turning more towards open innovation partnerships to address the growth opportunities in the Asian market. I am pleased to note that Kimberly-Clark has already begun partnering with our local firms, and has set up a Digital Innovation Lab (aka the “D-Lab”) in Singapore.  The D-Lab, one of 3 in Kimberly-Clark’s global network, aims to bring together investors, start-ups, government agencies and the academic community to innovate for the consumer goods sector.  Such open innovation partnerships will play an important role in creating value for Singapore’s future economy.

Singapore will continue to strengthen our manufacturing sector by investing in advanced manufacturing and upskilling our workforce

9. At this juncture, let me also comment on the manufacturing sector, of which Kimberly-Clark and many other companies are an important part. Manufacturing continues to be a key pillar of Singapore’s economy, contributing nearly 20% of our nominal GDP in 2015.

10. As technological advancements continue to disrupt the nature of manufacturing, we need to focus on investing in new advanced manufacturing capabilities and on upskilling our workforce.  These initiatives will help to sustain the competitiveness of our manufacturing sector.

11. Indeed, as part of the work of the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE), advanced manufacturing has been identified as a key growth sector with significant opportunities for Singapore.  

Investments in advanced manufacturing

12. We will continue to partner companies such as Kimberly-Clark to undertake advanced manufacturing activities in Singapore. The Tuas Mill expansion will incorporate a high level of automation for the manufacturing of baby wipes, which will bring about significant productivity improvements for the company.  These efforts are in line with our national productivity drive.

13. The government is committed to investing in the development of such advanced manufacturing capabilities and supporting their adoption by the industry. Under the new Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 Plan, around S$3 bill will be allocated to support the development of capabilities in Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (AME).  Additionally, in the recent Budget, the government has introduced a $400 mil Automation Support Package over 3 years to help companies leverage technology and automation to boost productivity.

Upskilling of our local workforce

14. We will also continue to partner the industry to train and prepare our workforce to take up new job opportunities in advanced manufacturing. For example, Kimberly-Clark will be equipping its staff with the skills and capabilities to operate the advanced production lines. This will include training them in areas such as operations and maintenance of the lines, systems design, packaging architecture and quality control & monitoring.

15. Such efforts are in line with our national SkillsFuture initiative to support Singaporeans in developing the requisite skillsets to take on good jobs.

16. Public-private partnerships and skills development are also important themes under the Committee on Future Economy (CFE), as well as the Industry Transformation Maps that were announced as part of the 2016 Budget.  

Conclusion

17. Kimberly-Clark’s Tuas Mill expansion is a reflection of its commitment to investing in innovation and productivity. I am confident that the expansion will further strengthen Singapore’s Consumer Business industry, as well as our base of advanced manufacturing capabilities.

18. I would like to once again congratulate the Kimberly-Clark team on the successful opening of the expanded Tuas Mill.  

19. Thank you.

[1]  Brookings Institution, “The Emerging Middle Class in Developing Countries”

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2010/01/global-consumers-khraras

[2]  Global brand teams include: Close-up, Ponds, Lux, Clear and Life Buoy.

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