Singapore Poultry Hub Pte Ltd announced in October 2019 their plans to set up the first smart and green factory for the poultry industry in Singapore using a $40 million loan secured from United Overseas Bank (UOB). The new factory is projected to help Singapore Poultry Hub improve their productivity by 26 per cent and increase their capacity by 70 per cent.
Singapore Poultry Hub is a joint venture among five parties, namely Mr Tan Chin Long and four poultry producers and processors – Tong Huat Poultry Processing Factory, Kee Song Holdings Pte Ltd, Sinmah Holdings (S) Pte Ltd and Tysan Food Pte Ltd.
Singapore Poultry Hub will work with partners such as Enterprise Singapore to employ smart technologies such as robotics, Industry 4.0 technologies and the industrial Internet of Things at its new factory. The smart factory will also feature a new waste management system devised by FoodInnovate to reduce the amount of waste generated by the poultry processors. By converting part of the waste into protein that can be used as an ingredient for livestock feed, the company aims to become more sustainable in its operations and reduce their waste by 60 tonnes per day.
Mr Joseph Heng, CEO, Singapore Poultry Hub Pte Ltd, said they recognized the need to use technology to ensure their competitiveness in the long term. Besides the financing required, UOB also offered their expertise to determine how best to optimize the funds.
Mr Eric Tham, Head of Group Commercial Banking, UOB, also asserted that technology can enable firms to overcome the perennial challenges of cost and manpower. He considered their support of Singapore Poultry Hub as another example of their efforts to assist SMEs in transforming their business and seizing opportunities from trends such as Industry 4.0.
UOB and Singapore Poultry Hub are also exploring ways that the bank’s cash management solutions can help the poultry processor digitalize the collection of payments, reducing the use of cash and cheques.
