West of Jurong Lake Park, on the outskirts of the Jurong Industrial District, lies the Singapore logistics hub of SSAB. CITO Representative Viktor Mårdström went there during his trip to Singapore to better understand how Swedish industrial companies operate in the region. Lars Juntti, Vice President and Head of Operations at SSAB Singapore, hosted CITO during the visit.
Most of the buildings that house the various international companies in the Jurong Industrial District are rather nondescript. SSAB’s office is no exception to this rule and CITO would likely have found it very hard to get there were it not for the taxi driver who knew straight away where to go. Mr Juntti chuckles a bit when he’s told of the difficulty of finding one’s way to the premises, before he serves some coffee in his office. SSAB or Svenskt Stål AB is an iconic Swedish industrial company that specializes in manufacturing steel.
Compared to the rest of the region Singapore is not a country that SSAB exports much steel to. Mr Juntti explains that although there are a few customers in Singapore, the bulk of the exports go to China these days. He also adds that this is one of the reasons why the SSAB office and warehouse in Singapore is so nondescript; its essentially just a logistics hub and storage. Mr Juntti shows CITO around the warehouse and some of the different types of steel that are being stored there for further shipment. The different types of steel typically varies in density, as well as whether or not they’re resistant to corrosion. Mr Juntti also showcases the basic cutting tool that is available at the warehouse – it is capable of cutting simple forms and patterns out of a bigger piece of steel. If the cutting that needs to be done is more complex, SSAB enlists the services of one of its various sub contractors in Singapore. SSAB is thinking of moving further into selling steel to OEMs however and Mr Juntti states that such competences might be in-sourced in the future.
Mr Juntti is moving on to work for SSAB in Shanghai in the near future, something he does not mind at all since he is of the opinion that life in Singapore quickly gets slightly boring. CITO wishes him the best of luck at his new job and thanks him and SSAB for hosting this visit!
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