CATALYST FOR CHANGE
How does a Steel Company innovate in a traditional industry? That was the discussion Mlion Corporation had when they hosted Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Gan Kim Yong, at its Innovations Lab at 10 Winstedt Road.
The closed-door visit showcased some of Mlion Corporation’s recent growth and how Enterprise Singapore’s Scale-Up Programme has helped the company continue to grow despite economic challenges in the market. Mlion, which derives 80% of its revenue from overseas markets, has been focusing on growing its core business regionally by setting up regional offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
At the event, Minister Gan viewed Mlion’s first innovation, which has already been implemented in Davao, Philippines. The Mobile Four Roll Bend Facility, which can be packed in 20 foot containers and shipped to remote locations, is capable of rolling steel pipes without grid power. This innovation was spurred by a challenge from hydroelectric power plant owners who wanted to find a solution to bring pipe production to the remote mountainous areas. Currently, Mlion aims to set up two to three more of such plants in the Philippines in areas where transportation and accessibility is a challenge.
Minister Gan also viewed GoListid, an online digital platform for pre-owned steel material with the aim of reducing carbon footprint.
The platform seeks to encourage reusability of steel material by providing an avenue for construction companies to give their steel a second lease of life instead of scrapping it.
GoTagID, the second innovation that will be launching alongside GoListid, complements the GoListid platform by providing a durable tagging solution for steel materials beyond the point of sale. Users can easily scan and access quality data. The tags are able to withstand construction rigours in the field like sea water corrosion, impact and vibrations. Minister Gan tested the scanning capabilities and witnessed the ease of use in pulling records out from the cloud based system.