If you have ever used the ubiquitous thumb drive or transferred your holiday photographs wirelessly from your camera, it is the innovation of Singaporean technology firm Trek 2000 International 5AB that made it possible. After the invention of the disruptive thumb drive and its launch worldwide in 2000, Trek 2000 went on to develop a series of disruptive inventions and innovations, carving out its own pioneering path.
In 2010, it unveiled the world’s first WiFi SD card, known as FluCard. “At the time, cameras’ basic feature was photo-taking while memory cards were for storing data. We embedded WiFi modules in the memory card, enabling it to transmit live data wirelessly. All digital cameras with Trek’s Flucard can immediately transfer their contents onto your mobile devices, PCs and terminals,” says Trek 2000 group president and executive chairman Wayne Tan.
It introduced the first Thumbdrive Bio, which can only be unlocked via facial recognition, preventing thieves from accessing the data. It also launched a portable WLAN server with wireless charging, wireless protocols, and data storage. Tan shares, “We wanted to offer an all-in-one workstation for busy people on the go.”
Its Re-YTHM earbuds have unique alert and proximity features. When users drop a Re-YTHM earbud, it triggers an alert on the earpiece. The proximity feature alerts users if they are too far from connected smartphones to avoid the device from being left behind.
Tan highlights that Trek 2000 continues to innovate and set itself apart. “We see ourselves as a research and development-based firm that focuses on developing innovative solutions for the world.” Today, it has business units including interactive consumer solutions (ICS), which spans its range of in-house memory solutions, and customised solutions (CS) which caters to B2B customers.
Its third and newest business unit, set up a few years ago, is in renewable energy solutions. This diversification is Tan’s brainchild and passion. He explains: “When I became group president in 2016, I envisioned that the company should focus on the next technology trend in renewable energy.”
See also: APAC Realty's CEO Marcus Chu: 'The property industry still needs agents'
A new purpose in renewables
Unlike other players that may be merely systems integrators, Trek 2000’s focus is on developing sub-system solutions for all renewable energy players. “Over the last two years, we have developed our datalogger, dashboards, Internet of Things, mobile apps and cloud [services]. We are aggressively developing AI in our platform that features predictive, preventive and prescriptive assistance.
“For example, our AI platform can track a solar panel’s condition and predict degradability to enable pre-emptive repair and replacement. In prevention, it pays close attention to components and flags potential issues so that these can be addressed before they lead to faults, which can cause fires. If problems do occur, it can prescribe ways to solve them.”
Tan emphasises that concentrating on these three “P”s (predictive, preventive and prescriptive) is how Trek 2000 will distinguish itself in the increasingly crowded renewable energy market. “We made our foray into renewable energy because we saw this technological gap in monitoring and analysis that we knew we could fill, and that is where we will keep making a difference.”
See also: Our goal is to be a great Malaysian mining company: Fortress Minerals’ CEO
He adds that many countries are investing heavily in renewable energy in light of worsening climate change and the urgent need to curb it, creating tremendous opportunities globally for Trek 2000. “We want to ride the wave in renewable energy. We are working with several global partners, including energy storage systems and microinverters.”
Since Tan took over management, he has restructured and put in place a new team to tackle challenging endeavours in the future. “I have a young, passionate, committed and exciting team to bring the company forward.”
Igniting the spark of innovation
To undergird its research and development, Trek 2000 has also made recruiting and retaining talent a priority. “We’ve ventured outside of Singapore and have R&D facilities in Malaysia, India, and Vietnam to tap into the area of excellence. We upskill and cross-train our staff, and expose them to our strategic partners.”
He shares that senior management staff are empowered to make decisions. “The way I approach leadership is that everyone who works in Trek 2000 plays a part in growing the company. If you have shown that you are capable, I want to make sure that you have the capacity to think outside the box and take us further.”
Anyone with a promising idea can take it directly to senior management too. “I believe that everybody is an inventor, and I encourage this through our open-door policy. If the idea is good and we adopt it, we will file the patent under the employee’s name to reflect ownership.”
Over the years, Trek 2000 has also built strong relationships with its customers. Tan recalls an incident when the firm had difficulty collecting payment from a client. With the employee in charge of the account, he met the buyer to understand the situation, lent a hand and worked out a viable payment plan. He says: “It wasn’t just about teaching my staff empathy.
“Your customers are your future. Helping them maintains your own business’s longevity.” Trek 2000 has been with most of its customers and vendors for over five years, and some, such as memory chip maker Kioxia, partly owned by Toshiba, for over 20 years. “They appreciate our continual innovation.”
About Trek 2000 International
Trek 2000 International is an industry leader, innovator, original inventor and patent owner of the ThumbDrive®. It offers state-of-the-art design solutions ranging from interactive consumer solutions, wireless, antipiracy, compression and encryption to sophisticated enterprise solutions all catering to the fast-changing digital industry. Trek 2000, with its library of granted patents, is represented all over the world and has offices in the US, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Netherlands, China and the Philippines. The company’s website is: www.trek2000.com.sg.
About kopi-C: The Company Brew
kopi-C is a regular column by SGX Research in collaboration with Beansprout (https://growbeansprout.com), a MAS-licensed investment advisory platform, that features C-level executives of leading companies listed on SGX. These interviews are profiles of senior management aimed at helping investors better understand the individuals who run these corporations.
