Malayan Daching is a small and medium-size enterprise (SME) based in Singapore. Although the company began as a weighing scale manufacturer, their core business currently also includes engineering and construction.1
History
Malayan Daching was established in 1955 as a manufacturer and repairer of mechanical scales and dachings by the late Sim Thiam Siong.2 A daching is a traditional weighing instrument consisting of a beam, a pan that is suspended on one end of the beam and a counterweight on the other.3 The traditional dachings were calibrated in katis and tahils instead of the metric system, and were used extensively in local commercial sales.4
Today, Malayan Daching has expanded its business to include sales of weight-related products, powder-processing systems and packaging equipment, as well as the provision of services such as engineering design, building and construction.5
The word “Malayan” in the company’s name was a result of the historical context in which it was founded: Malayan Daching was established in 1955 during the British colonial period, when Singapore and Malaysia were then known collectively as Malaya.6
Sim Sem Peng, the eldest son of Sim Thiam Siong, is currently the chairman of Malayan Daching.7
Company profile
Malayan Daching’s mission is to provide “innovative solutions for all needs”, while its vision is to be the “preferred service provider to [its] customers” and to “achieve the highest performance standard in each area of [its] businesses”.8
To date, Malayan Daching has three subsidiary companies: Metall-Treat Industries Pte Ltd, Ban Guan Chemical Pte Ltd and MDC Tech Centre Pte Ltd.9
Products and services
Besides supplying various products ranging from weighing equipment, packaging machines, X-ray inspection systems to food-processing machines,10 Malayan Daching also provides construction and engineering services.11
Malayan Daching has its own in-house building and civil engineering department that specialises in construction work for commercial and industrial buildings. The company’s engineering services include waste-water treatment and gas storage systems.12 Malayan Daching as a contractor is registered with the Building and Construction Authority.13
Malayan Daching also offers maintenance, calibration, verification and testing services to various industries. For instance, the company performs testing services for equipment regulated by the Ministry of Manpower. As a laboratory for calibration and testing, Malayan Daching acquired accreditation under SAC-SINGLAS (Singapore Accreditation Council-Singapore Laboratory Accreditation Scheme) in 1988.14 The company has also been appointed by SPRING Singapore under the Weights and Measures Programme as an authorised verifier for non-automatic weighing instruments and oil-dispensing pumps.15
Certifications
Malayan Daching has garnered several International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications, including ISO 17025:2005, ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004.16
Community involvement
The Malayan Daching Bursary was established to provide financial assistance to Singapore Institute of Technology undergraduates in the full-time degree programme for chemical engineering or mechatronics.17
Milestones18
1955: Establishment of Malayan Daching Company on Havelock Road.
1988: Becomes the first weighing company in Singapore to gain SAC-SINGLAS accreditation for calibration and measurement.
1990: Malayan Daching is incorporated.
1993: Moves to larger premises at Hillview Terrace.
2005: Malayan Daching celebrates its 50th anniversary.
2006: Building and civil engineering department is established.
2010: Acquires Ban Guan Chemical Pte Ltd with total shareholding.
2012: Moves to current premises at Tanjong Penjuru Crescent.
References
1. Malayan Daching. (n.d.). Corporate profile. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/about_corp_profile.html
2. Malayan Daching. (n.d.). History background [sic]. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/web/about_background.html
3. Chin, L. C. (1997, November 19). Lean and productive with IT. The Straits Times, p. 63. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Hands off the board’s new metric daching. (1974, April 4). The Straits Times, p. 11. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. They still use dachings. (1952, February 1). The Singapore Free Press. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Soon, a metric daching. (1973, April 25). The Straits Times, p. 7. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
5. Malayan Daching. (n.d.). Corporate profile. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/about_corp_profile.html; Weighing up the benefits of standards and accreditation. (2014, August). SPRINGnews, 8–9. Retrieved from SPRING Singapore website: http://www.spring.gov.sg/Resources/Documents/SPRINGnews/FV_Aug14/web/flipviewerxpress.html
6. Malayan Daching. (n.d.). History background [sic]. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/web/about_background.html
7. Weighing up the benefits of standards and accreditation. (2014, August). SPRINGnews, 8–9. Retrieved from SPRING Singapore website: http://www.spring.gov.sg/Resources/Documents/SPRINGnews/FV_Aug14/web/flipviewerxpress.html
8. Malayan Daching. (n.d.). Mission. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/web/about_mission.html
9. Metall-Treat Industries Pte Ltd. (2015). About us: Company milestones & roadmap. Retrieved from http://www.metall-treat.com/aboutus.html; Malayan Daching. (n.d.). Ban Guan Chemical Pte Ltd. Retrieved from Ban Guan Chemical Pte Ltd website: http://www.malayandaching.com/web/banguanweb.html; Malayan Daching. (n.d.). Milestone: 2014. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/web/about_milestone.html
10. Malayan Daching. (n.d.). Machineries. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/
11. Malayan Daching. (n.d.). Building & civil engineering department. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/bec_deparment.html
12. Malayan Daching. (n.d.). Building & civil engineering department. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/bec_deparment.html; Malayan Daching. (n.d.). Our core sectors & services. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/bec_sectors_services.html
13. Malayan Daching. (n.d.). Corporate profile. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/about_corp_profile.html
14. Weighing up the benefits of standards and accreditation. (2014, August). SPRINGnews, 8–9. Retrieved from SPRING Singapore website: http://www.spring.gov.sg/Resources/Documents/SPRINGnews/FV_Aug14/web/flipviewerxpress.html
15. Weighing up the benefits of standards and accreditation. (2014, August). SPRINGnews, 8–9. Retrieved from SPRING Singapore website: http://www.spring.gov.sg/Resources/Documents/SPRINGnews/FV_Aug14/web/flipviewerxpress.html
16. Malayan Daching. (n.d.). About: Accreditation/certification. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/about_acredit_cert.html
17. Singapore Institute of Technology. (2013). The Malayan Daching Bursary. Retrieved from Singapore Institute of Technology website: http://www.singaporetech.edu.sg/tuition-fees/the-malayan-daching-bursary
18. Malayan Daching. (n.d.). Milestones. Retrieved from Malayan Daching website: http://www.malayandaching.com/about_milestone.html
This article was written by students from Montfort Secondary School as part of the “50 Schools, 50 SMEs” initiative held in celebration of Singapore’s 50th birthday. For more details, please visit http://www.singapore50-ei.sg/project-50schools-50SMEs
The information in this article is valid as at 8 May 2015 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
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