Techblog
CASE STUDY: Moving in the Right Direction - Asia Marine Products
Asia Marine Products adopted technology innovation to bring a high-efficiency industrial fan blower to market.
For a company originally focused on providing the marine industry with safety equipment and energy-efficient lighting solutions, developing an industrial fan blower may seem an unlikely undertaking.
Nonetheless, Mr Chung Cheong Woh (above left), Director of Asia Marine Products, and his partner, Mr Lin Weng Siang (above right), saw the need to improve the energy efficiency of such blowers and decided to pursue the opportunity. Used to ventilate confined spaces on ships under repair, fan blowers are switched on for long periods of time and consume large amounts of energy.
"We got this idea from one of our customers, who asked whether the energy efficiency of the blowers they were using in their shipyard could be improved," explains Mr Lin. "With more than 100 fan blowers used round the clock in a shipyard there was plenty of room to improve the efficiency."
Jumpstarting innovation
With this in mind, Asia Marine applied for SPRING's Innovation Voucher Scheme (IVS)*, which connects small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with knowledge institutions to develop their innovative ideas. SMEs can redeem the $5,000 vouchers for services ranging from process upgrading to the development of products and services.
"The IVS was very helpful because it paid for the feasibility study. It gave us the confidence that our idea was feasible." - Mr Lin Weng Sian
The grant enabled Asia Marine to tap the expertise of the Marine & Offshore Technology Centre of Innovation (MOT COI) at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
"The IVS was very helpful because it paid for the feasibility study. Together with the MOT COI, we identified a framework, timeframe and budget for the project. It gave us the confidence that our idea was feasible," says Mr Lin.
After proving the feasibility of its idea with the IVS grant, Asia Marine applied to SPRING's Technology Innovation Programme to develop it into a marketready product. "SMEs face resource constraints and thus having funding at the right time can be critical to how an idea eventually pans out," adds Mr Lin.
The collaboration with the MOT COI resulted in a more energy-efficient design that delivers about 40 per cent more air despite using a smaller motor. In addition, the main body of Asia Marine's blower is made of fibreglass-reinforced plastic, which is lighter and more corrosion-resistant than conventional steel blowers.
"With this improved design, more air is supplied through the outlets. Therefore, fewer trunkings are required for ventilation, which helps save costs and increases productivity," notes Mr Lin.
Besides helping Asia Marine improve the design of the fan blower, the centre also measured and validated the blower performance and helped the company to test the product on a smaller scale before scaling up for commercial production. "We found the technical support and technology consultancy provided by the COI very beneficial. We were able to discuss the technical aspects of our idea with the staff, who are experienced in marine and offshore technology," says Mr Lin.
Expansion plans
With the improved blower successfully commercialised, Asia Marine is now planning to set up a facility to produce it on a larger scale to cope with anticipated demand.
Mr Chung notes: "This will be very different from what Asia Marine has been focusing on. Previously, we were bringing in products developed by other companies and providing technical support to our customers. Now, we are going into innovation and product development. Technology innovation has helped us to move up the value chain."
*On 1 June 2012, the Innovation Voucher Scheme was renamed the Innovation & Capability Voucher and expanded to cover three new areas: productivity, human resources and financial management. For more information, please visit www.spring.gov.sg/icv.
SMEs can adopt technology innovation to create innovative, value-added products that meet market needs. Find out how you can take the first step to upgrading your company's capabilities with SPRING's Innovation & Capability Voucher at www.spring.gov.sg/icv.
Reproduced with permission from SPRINGnews September 2012 Issue. Published by SPRING Singapore.