2015 New Year Message I took the helm as Managing Director

2015 New Year Message
I took the helm as Managing Director of JEL on 1 April 2013. It has since been slightly over one year
and 6 months, and I am delighted that the Group has continued to operate successfully, exemplified
by the strong revenue of S$508.3m, and a record total jobs secured of more than $700m.
I would
like to express our gratitude to our clients and business partners for their continued trust and support.
My appreciation goes also to the Management and staff, for their contributions and dedication to the
Group. You have played a part in creating solid foundations for the Group’s future growth.
2014 was a busy year, characterised by the record number of jobs quoted - more than doubled the
number of jobs submitted a year ago, value of jobs secured also reached a new high as we ramped up
our capacity, and took on bigger jobs. This is a testament of the trust placed by our customers and
business partners on our competencies, reliability and as a safety oriented engineering solutions
provider.
Other than the key existing markets, we have also capitalised on emerging opportunities in Bangladesh
and Brunei. We were awarded 2 M&E works for combined cycle projects in Bangladesh last year. This
should pave way for more jobs in Bangladesh where the government has set to achieve total
electrification for the country by 2020. We have also made inroads into Brunei by incorporating a
wholly owned subsidiary, JEL (Borneo) Sdn Bhd, in July 2014, and secured a few jobs for cogeneration
projects. We would want to expand our presence in emerging markets in addition to the existing key
markets in Southeast Asia. Similarly, we are actively reviewing opportunities in the Middle East. JML,
our maintenance subsidiary has established an office in Abu Dhabi to explore opportunities in the
Middle East.
We have gained good traction in executing the “JEL Group Management Policies”, a year after the
launch in January 2014. Development plans have been put in place up to 2018, focusing on the five
key initiatives, namely Group Integration, Engineering Capability, Human Resource Development,
Marketing and Safety. We will continue to build on these developments to attain a sustainable
competitive advantage for ourselves to propel future growth.
We have stepped up efforts to educate and train our staff on safety measures and applications. The
inaugural JEL Group HSE conference was held on 29 August 2014, with active participants from across
the Group. Experiences were shared and exchanged and best practices were cascaded to our
operations worldwide. A safety handbook was developed as a guiding tool for staff to observe issues
relating to workplace health and safety. We are fortunate that no fatal accident took place in 2014.
We cannot count on luck but on the efforts by everyone of us on safety awareness, and to remain
“zero accidents”, free of incidents/injuries in our operations globally.
The economic outlook for 2015 remains foggy, given the plunge in crude oil prices, dire state of
economy in some countries. If we happen to run in a fog, we have to bear in mind to sense whatever
changes that may affect us agilely, and be flexible to overcome the challenges with our core strengths.
This will ensure we emerge unscathed in any downturn.
Singapore is celebrating 50 years as an independent nation this year. Likewise, 2015 marks the 10th
year since Jurong Engineering was taken private by IHI Corporation. Our history could be traced
back to 1971 when the company was first incorporated, and I am heartened that we have evolved
over the years as a recognized leader in offering customized engineering solutions to our customers
not just in Asia, but also in Africa and the Middle East. Together, we have weathered recessions and
achieved many important milestones.
The ability to seize opportunities has set us apart from our competitors. Today, we have established
satellite teams in the region, with the same expertise and dedication as the team here in Singapore,
this allows for consistence in performance and quicker response to market conditions. We must
continue to build on existing capabilities so that new capabilities may be created. And we must also
draw upon the lessons learnt in the past, to add our resiliency as a company.
Last year, we were awarded several big projects. I am confident we will complete these mega projects
on time, without compromising on safety and quality. We must continue to work diligently and should
never be complacent.
As aptly described in the lyrics of our corporate song “Rising to the Challenge”, let’s strive to be a
performance leader of engineering solutions of choice, and to consistently exceed our customers’
expectations.
Thank You
Hiroshi Ide
16 January 2015

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