Hong Hua Holdings was established in April 2017 after a business decision to consolidate six business units across food trading, manufacturing and retail under one roof. Along with the restructuring, a five-year plan involving 24 projects was devised to increase productivity and performance.
Two-thirds of the projects were in collaboration with NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) who has been supporting with some $1.25 million worth of technological improvements since 2015 through the Inclusive Growth Programme.
For instance, meat processing machines now ensure there is greater food consistency, resulting in 40 per cent reduction in man-hours at its factory. About 20 low wage workers also saw an average salary increment of 15 per cent.
Meanwhile, with the import of combi-ovens, the workers at Hong Hua’s food stalls take half the time to prepare food and enjoy 12 to 15 per cent of salary increment. With leaner manpower needs, some of the staff are now redeployed to other workstations.
New Products
With a number of streamlined processes in place, the company is able to produce more, reap higher profits and allocate its resources into research and development.
“I want to do what others have not done. Next year, we are supplying chopped and rinsed vegetables as well as marinated and semi-cooked meat to help food stall owners overcome manpower constraints. We are also looking into technologies that can help us prolong shelf life and increase nutrition value. They will help us to internationalise in the long run,” said Hong Hua Director Lim Teik Soon.
Valuing Mature Workers
Hong Hua also believes in mature workers and doing social good - over half of their 200-strong team are aged 40 and above. The company taps on e2i’s Place-and-Train programme to give them better salaries.
One worker who has benefited is 63-year-old senior food processing assistant Mak Keng Fong who received a 13 per cent wage increment in August 2017 after completing an induction programme and food safety management ISO certification.
“I used to be a technical engineer in the oil and gas industry but they let me go after I reached retirement age. I am glad to find a suitable job that is not too fast-paced. Here, I make use of machines to help with processes such as packing and work from 7am to 3pm. The working hours allow me to pick up my grandchildren, dine with family and enjoy my hobbies in the evening,” he said Mr Mak.
