Food solutions and gateway services provider SATS has commenced a lease agreement with JTC to build an innovative food hub in Singapore’s Jurong Innovation District.
The move is in line with SATS’ strategy to strengthen its Singapore core, while growing its international and non-travel businesses.
The $150 million project will bring together all of SATS’ expertise in food production, ranging from culinary, food technology, supply chain, innovation, sustainability, digitalization, food safety and nutrition.
The company will also deploy automation and robotics to achieve operational efficiency and transform its current food production processes.
For example, processes within the hub with be networked with Internet of Things (IoT) technology to provide data that will aid planning, increase asset utilization and reduce food waste.
Large bath production of meals will be automated to achieve efficiency while certain manual processes such as meal assembly will potentially be carried out by robotic finger grippers and auto dispensing units for various food components.
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The company will also expand its SATS Global Innovation Centre (SGIC) to the hub, enabling it to tap into proximity with food tech start-ups SMEs and institutions of higher learning to develop an open collaboration platform for innovation partnerships.
The SGIC is network which includes SATS’ Innovation Hubs in Singapore and the UK which look to create opportunities for cross-border collaborations.
Meanwhile, the food hub will look to be an experiential hub where visitors can learn about food innovations and sustainability through educational tours of the facility.
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The five-storey building spanning 20,000 sqm is slated for completion in 2024.
“Automating our meal production processes changes the landscape significantly to benefit our customers, suppliers and business partners. It will enable us to implement hi-tech food production to achieve cost efficiency, strengthen operational resilience and create greater opportunities for upskilling our people,” says Kerry Mok, president and CEO of SATS.
He adds that the company aims to help local businesses to innovate and scale their operations cost-effectively to compete internationally, through its innovations in innovation and automation.
Mok also believes that setting SATS’ Food Hub in the Jurong Innovation District will allow it to tap into Singapore’s innovation ecosystem to develop new products and services.
Agreeing, Tan Boon Khai, CEO of JTC says that “SATS will be the first food player to join a growing community of innovative companies in the District”.
He adds that the two companies will look to collaborate on new and exciting projects sustainably by leveraging the latest technology.
Shares in SATS closed down 5 cents or 1.16% at $4.27 on Apr 7, before the announcement.
Cover image: SATS
