{"data":{"news":{"items":[{"title":"Reliable, resilient, responsible: 3Rs that define Island Concrete ","date":"2025-05-21 20:31:54","id":5854,"author":"","blurb":"","blurb_image_uid":"https://dxfpracgmlczp.cloudfront.net/2025/05/1747837446419_AKF09219 copy 2.JPG","blurb_expanded_image_uid":null,"article":"\n\t\n\n\n

One of Singapore’s leading ready-mixed concrete suppliers, Island Concrete – a subsidiary of Hong Leong Asia (HLA) – celebrates its 55th anniversary this year. SEAC talked to Simon Loh, chief operating officer of HLA’s Building Materials Group Singapore, about the company’s progress and innovations, and how it embraces the future.

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1). Mr Loh, congratulations as Island Concrete marks another milestone. What is the company’s strategy to maintain its competitive edge?

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Simon Loh (SL): Over the past five decades, Island Concrete has been an industry-leading brand in the built environment sector known for its product quality, timely delivery, and the scale to supply even the largest of projects – such as Marina Bay Sands.

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We continuously innovate through working closely with our customers – from developing a new or improved product to offering urban solutions, which adds value to the business. This includes the commitment to shift towards a lower-carbon and more circular economy, helping to deliver sustainable and responsible cities of the future.

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Looking ahead, we will continue to leverage our expertise and industry partnerships to ensure supply chain resilience to meet the needs of our customers. Reliable, resilient and responsible – the 3Rs – will be one of the mainstays of Island Concrete’s continued relevance and growth.

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2). Island Concrete has recently implemented several initiatives to improve productivity. Among them is to upgrade the company’s fleet of concrete mixer trucks from regular 9 cu m to 12 cu m. Can you share more on the benefits of having these larger-capacity trucks?

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SL: We have been upgrading our concrete mixer trucks from 9 cu m to 12 cu m since 2022. Many of our sub-contractors have also done so. At the end of 2024, these 12 cu m concrete mixer trucks already made up more than 40% of Island Concrete’s trucking fleet in Singapore. Based on this figure, we would have eliminated more than 138,000 trips in a year.

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This not only reduces road congestion and carbon footprint, but also reduces demand for truck drivers while at the same time increases their remuneration for each trip. On top of that, site casting can be completed much faster with shorter waiting times. Overall, the waiting time for each 12 cu m truck to offload on site has been reduced by about 20% compared to that using a 9 cu m truck.

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3). As you mentioned earlier, Island Concrete also adopts greener practices. One of the company’s efforts is to manufacture green concrete with alternative materials such as fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS). How much CO2 emissions can be saved by using this green concrete?

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SL: Enviromix, one of the eco mixes offered under Island Concrete, allows approximately 20% emission reduction compared to regular concrete. The performance of green concrete is also similar to traditional concrete.

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Our green concrete was used in the construction of CapitaSky – a 31-storey Grade A office building on 79 Robinson Road. Recent projects that will also use our green concrete include the new NS Square at Marina Bay (which will replace The Float @ Marina Bay) and an executive condominium in Tengah Plantation.

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In addition, our latest batching plant in Pulau Punggol Timor, in northeastern Singapore, is expected to be commissioned by the second quarter of 2025. This plant is designed with sustainability in mind. It will feature larger, more efficient mixers as well as a conveyor system that helps minimise carbon footprint and labour inputs.

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4). In today’s fast-paced work environment, what kind of training does Island Concrete provide to ensure that its staff and technicians are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge?

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SL: Technical training sessions, both on the job and in classrooms, are essential to upgrade and enhance the skills of our employees and production technicians. Apart from the internally conducted training courses, our employees are also encouraged to attend external training programmes on hard skills, such as how to leverage concrete technology or enhance productivity and efficiency in modern construction with advanced materials, courses administered by recognised institutes like ACI (American Concrete Institute) – Singapore Chapter.

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5). The construction landscape in Singapore has changed so much over the last few years, especially since the pandemic. What do you see as the biggest barrier(s) in this market?

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SL: One of the challenges the industry faces is the slow adoption of new technologies and practices. In general, the industry possesses a somewhat conservative outlook towards new technologies and practices. The focus has always been about accumulating successful track records; gaining confidence before new technologies and practices can take off, which is understandable as mistakes can be costly. Another part of this may also be due to the imbalance in the allocation of risks vs rewards amongst the various stakeholders, especially during the early introductory stages of the new product and technology lifecycle.

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Most tend to take the ‘follow the leader’ approach, letting others prove the success before adopting for their own use. This leads to slower adoption and changes. Regulatory push or tweaking the risk vs rewards balance might also be a good way to encourage quicker adoption.

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6). In addition to digitalisation and sustainability, do you see other trends emerging in the ready-mix concrete sector?

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SL: High-performance concrete seems to hold good promise in Singapore’s construction industry. As our structures get taller and selling price of space increases, high-strength concrete gives the advantage of handling the higher stresses with a smaller column cross-sectional area. Concrete with good chloride resistance could also be an important part of the product portfolio, especially when we deal with structures that are needed to tackle rising sea levels.

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7). Speaking of innovation, Island Concrete is currently collaborating with industry partners to develop an autonomous wheel loader at Jurong Port’s Ready-Mixed Concrete (RMC) Ecosystem. Can you tell us more about this latest initiative?

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SL: The autonomous wheel loader is still in the development stage. Once ready, we will pilot at the Jurong Port RMC initially. Once the concept has been proven, we intend to deploy at least eight units across the island. They will function as an integral part of our batching plant, with each machine having a load capacity of up to 6 t.

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Fitted with sensors and cameras, the wheel loader will be operated unmanned and controlled through a system software. Whenever raw materials inventory in the storage hopper is low, sensors laid in the raw materials storage section of the batching plant will kick in and the storage hopper will activate the loading process until the hopper is fully loaded.

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The wheel loader will select and load the correct raw material into the correct storage hopper. After the raw material is fully replenished, the machine will return to its charging station and await further instructions. Unless there is a malfunction, there will be no need for human intervention.

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This autonomous wheel loader can operate round-the-clock and is suitable for long, continuous operations. As the machine is electrically powered, its carbon footprint will be lower than that of the traditional diesel-powered model.

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Such an initiative will enhance our operational efficiency and reduce demand for wheel loader drivers, while improving safety. It will also enable the redeployment of headcount to carry out more complex tasks.

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If the pilot run at the Jurong Port RMC Ecosystem is successful, we intend to replicate the process across our other batching plants when feasible.

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Note: This story has also been published in the May/Jun 2025 issue of SEAC. Click here to read online or here to download the PDF file (pages 46-48).

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Hong Leong Asia Ltd (HLA) and Sunway Construction Group Berhad (SunCon) have officially opened the HL-Sunway Prefab Hub, the largest integrated construction and prefabrication hub (ICPH) in Singapore.

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The 3.8-ha facility will produce a wide range of building components, including prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction (PPVC) components, precast bathroom units, precast household shelters and large panel slabs. It is capable of supplying up to 100,000 cu m of precast elements for 2,500 dwelling units annually.

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Located in Punggol, the new ICPH has been built under HL-Sunway JV Pte Ltd, a 51-49 joint venture between R3 Precast (a building materials business of HL Building Materials Pte Ltd – a wholly owned subsidiary of HLA) and Sunway Concrete Products (S) Pte Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia-based SunCon).

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The HL-Sunway Prefab Hub is the sixth ICPH in Singapore, and the largest in terms of size and production capacity, said Desmond Lee, Singapore’s Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration, at the opening ceremony on Friday (21 July). It is the first ICPH that can produce the full range of components used in HDB (Singapore’s public housing) projects. Thus, the facility is potentially able to support upcoming build-to-order (BTO) developments across the country.

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Mr Lee revealed that HDB is also exploring greater standardisation of precast components. “This allows its builders to procure components of standardised dimensions and connection details from more sources. If one source gets disrupted, builders can easily switch to alternative sources and be assured that the new components will fit into their building plans.”

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Such efforts will benefit precasters too, added Mr Lee. “Standardisation can speed up the production process by reducing the downtime required for change of moulds or manual adjustments. It also allows precasters to reap economies of scale and lower their production costs, enabling the industry to further develop capabilities in emerging areas.”

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Rising efficiency with automation

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In line with the local built environment sector’s transition to higher construction productivity and a healthier and cleaner work environment, indoor machining such as rebar mesh fabrication machines are installed at the new ICPH to increase productivity and safety. At the same time, this streamlines manufacturing processes whilst reducing quality non-conformances and increasing the overall production throughput.

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Neo Choon Keong, deputy CEO for industry development at Building and Construction Authority (BCA), said, “ICPHs are in support of industry transformation, in particular the move towards advanced manufacturing and assembly. The ICPHs will help to raise construction productivity through wider adoption of prefabrication, and enhance precast supply resilience. To achieve the full benefits, the industry must design and construct with greater standardisation of the precast components, to make construction more manufacturing-like. This will enable the adoption of robotics and automation solutions in both off-site production and on-site installation.”

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Another highlight of the HL-Sunway Prefab Hub is the automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), a robotic warehousing system that enables precast components to be automatically stored and retrieved without the need for manual labour. With 26 production lines and two automated precast production systems, overall productivity is expected to improve by up to 80% when the facility is operating at full capacity.

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“Through the use of cranes and mechanical arms, precast components are automatically moved from the production line to storage racks, resulting in a remarkable 80% increase in labour productivity,” said Mr Lee. “This will also create good jobs for Singaporeans. Increased automation and digitalisation will benefit our workers by opening up opportunities for them to move from more physically-demanding roles to higher-skilled jobs that pay better.”

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Tan Sri Chew Chee Kin, president of Sunway Group, commented, “Sunway and Hong Leong Asia share a common vision and aspiration in our journey towards innovation, efficiency and sustainable development for the built environment. This hub represents the seamless integration of cutting-edge technology, intelligent design, and the expertise of our skilled workforce. It signifies a paradigm shift in the built environment sector today by harnessing the use of prefabrication and modular construction methods.”

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Moving forward, Mr Lee pointed out that “the demand for precast will increase as Singapore continues to push for design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA) as the default method of construction. For instance, BCA enhanced the Buildability Framework in April 2022 to require all large building projects to adopt DfMA technologies.”

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The establishments of ICPHs will boost the resilience of the local construction industry, Mr Lee reiterated. “The supply disruptions we experienced during the pandemic underscore the importance of maintaining some precast production capabilities locally. Building up our ICPH capabilities has allowed us to localise the production of critical components. This makes our supply chains more resilient so that construction works can continue, even if imports are disrupted.”

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Green features

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Apart from its manpower-efficient automation technologies, the HL-Sunway Prefab Hub is a Green Mark Gold certified building, awarded by BCA under the Green Mark for Non-Residential Buildings NRB: 2015 scheme.

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The ICPH employs greener practices for construction processes. The tower batching plant with a flying bucket has adopted green building best practices with enclosed raw materials storage and misting spray to lessen dust pollution. Its holistic system design approach also provides a wastewater recycling function which will reduce the water footprint and improve operational sustainability at the facility.

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The rooftop solar photovoltaic panels supply 25% of ICPH’s energy consumption and is expected to generate 1,165 MWh of electricity a year, enough to power 288 four-room HDB households.

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Furthermore, the facility has been designed to include natural ventilation and use of daylight to maximise airflow and mitigate heat, which will help to ensure the comfort of its workers.

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Stephen Ho Kiam Kong, CEO of HLA, said, “HLA is delighted to have had the opportunity to integrate digital and green technologies into our suite of building solutions that not only build resiliency into our supply chain but also drive the transformation of the built environment. HL-Sunway Prefab Hub ushers in a new chapter of the built environment sector’s green journey and we are pleased and honoured to be a key player for sustainable, advanced manufacturing in Singapore.”

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All images: HL-Sunway JV

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