Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry- Dr Koh Poh Koon's visit to A*STAR's SME Partner Wavelength Opto-Electronic on 26 February 2018

Mr Christopher Lee (left)- who was previously seconded to Wavelength Opto-Electronic under the T-Up scheme- demonstrating the use of the MatCalorie which he developed during his secondment to SMS Koh Poh Koon (centre).

In the lead up to the 2018 Committee of Supply (COS) debate- Dr Koh Poh Koon- Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry- visited homegrown precision engineering SME Wavelength Opto-Electronic- a beneficiary of A*STAR’s Operation and Technology Roadmapping (OTR) and Technology for Enterprise Capability Upgrading (T-Up) schemes. 

Wavelength Opto-Electronic is a manufacturer of high-value glass lenses for advanced laser systems- ranging from medical equipment to electronics. It has worked with A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) for more than a decade to tap on R&D to remain competitive. Over the years- the SME has invested at least S$5 million in R&D. 

During his visit- SMS Koh was briefed on how Wavelength has leveraged R&D with A*STAR’s guidance and technical expertise to moved up the value chain- from manufacturing glass lenses to producing high-value products and services such as intelligent inspection systems for quality control. 

When touring Wavelength’s R&D facilities- SMS Koh was presented with a demonstration of technologies developed with the help of A*STAR’s OTR initiative and the T-Up scheme- such as an automated contact lens inspection system. He also interacted with A*STAR’s T-Up scientists who have been seconded to Wavelength.

According to the latest National R&D survey- R&D expenditure by precision engineering companies rose 50 per cent in 2016 from the previous year.  There was also a 20 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of research scientists and engineering (RSE) jobs in the precision engineering sector. 

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