(From left) Steelaris founders Aileen Ang, Ang Tee Seng, Johnsen Yee and Handi Ho.
Steelaris was founded in 2011 – when all four of the founders were in their 30s. Having come from various professional backgrounds, they were certain that they would need to set technology as the base to build their company on – and invested in enterprise resource planning software like SAP from day one.
In the first 5 years of business, Mr Ang Tee Seng, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Steelaris, found that the founders were still figuring out how best to run the company and were not too sure what assistance they might need. The client first met our Business Development Advisor, Daniel Ang between 2017 and 2018, when they realised that they had to update the technology to keep up with the times.
Daniel took the time to understand the business and the pain points and needs, and finding out that the company wanted to
- Upgrade their tech systems
- Future-proof their company by learning about Blockchain & AI and potentially implementing them
- Embark on the journey to make Steelaris carbon neutral
Upon assessing the company’s requirements and seeing firsthand the founders’ commitment to making these changed, Daniel suggested for them to take up the Sustainability Grant. This was especially vital for Steelaris as the grant allowed them to engage with a consultant (PWC) to assess their carbon footprint.
Mr Ang shared that the company foresees that being a frontrunner in introducing Green Steel products and working towards carbon neutrality will strengthen their branding and bolster their efforts when competing on the world stage.
This is evident in their recent MOU with Salzgitter Mannesmann International. In their press release marking the event, Alexander Soboll, Managing Director of Salzgitter Mannesmann International GmbH, summarizes the future cooperation as follows: “The cooperation with Steelaris has enabled us to build a bridge between Europe and Asia. In Steelaris, we have found a partner who, like us, not only places value on sustainability but also on quality – an expedient “match” for both parties. We are delighted to have achieved this thanks to the excellent cooperation with our colleagues in the Group.“
Mr Ang appreciates Daniel’s constant efforts in following up closely with the business and for building up Steelaris’ case strongly when applying for the Sustainability grant and linking them up to the cluster in Enterprise Singapore.
The company practices sustainability, not only in its efforts to go green, but also in various aspects of running the company – especially in its Human Resource and Training practices.
Steelaris sees value in ensuring sustainability in HR as it believes that an organisation is only as strong as its people. They’ve adopted the HR Tripartide Standard, put in place Flexi-Work arrangements, supports continuous staff training, ensured fair pay by checking it against the market rate annually, and implemented job redesign to retain capable older staff.
When asked where he sees Steelaris in next few years, Mr Ang responded that he hopes to continue “business as usual” by building long-term relationships with clients.
About Steelaris
Steelaris is a steel supply and project management company based in Singapore. Its team provides steel sourcing and project management services to more than 1400 customers globally. The company has presence and partnerships in Singapore, Malaysia, ASEAN, Middle East, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and China.
About Partners for Business Growth (PBG)
The PBG program is an initiative supported by Enterprise Singapore, that aims to support promising enterprises to transform in areas such as digitalization, talent development and internationalization.
The support provided could include:
a) One-on-one in-depth business diagnosis
b) Development of detailed business plans
c) Business coaching
d) Implementation of growth roadmaps/initiatives, including identifying the relevant programmes and referrals to suitable partners
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