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From being the butt of jokes, Dr Felix Ong has become the envy of entrepreneurs worldwide. In 20 years, he turned a floundering metal stamping shop into a multi-million-dollar group. Indeed, he who laughs last laughs best. | |
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When Felix Ong took over Seksun Corporation Limited from a relative in 1982, his dream of prosperity quickly turned into a nightmare. He said: "On my first day at work, a lorry came to the factory to repossess my grinding machine and milling machine. I had to negotiate for more time. Luckily they agreed. It was then that I realised the company was really in bad shape." Although he was ill-prepared and knew nothing about precision engineering, he resolved to turn the company around. But the odds were stacked high against him as Seksun was small, unknown and had no track record. Recalling the initial difficult months, he said he once paid a visit to a multinational company, hoping to make a sale, and was made to wait at the reception for the purchasing manager. After waiting for three hours, he was told that the purchasing manager had left for the day. On another occasion, he happily brought back a job only to discover that his machines were too small to get the work done. Faced with multiple setbacks, many young entrepreneurs would have called it a day, but not Felix, then 36. "I had the fighting spirit," he said with pride. "I told myself, 'What's the big deal? This time fail, try again.'" Hungry for work, he took on any job that promised a margin and often put in 17-hour work days to improve sales. In time, all the hard work paid off. Seksun broke even in the first year and was profitable by the third year. During the economic recession in the mid-80s, when several competitors folded, Seksun continued to thrive. The visionary CEO then hired the first batch of polytechnic graduates. This was an unconventional move then. In those days, workers in the industry had little education and learnt the trade by apprenticeship. He said: "Business associates and competitors laughed at me. They said I was selling char kway teow with lobster meat, one plate still selling at $1. But who has the last laugh? It's me. More than 20 years later, I'm proud to say that 10 of these poly graduates are still with Seksun. Today, they are my directors and senior managers." Another bold step he took that drew derision was building a large factory in 1989, aiming to grow annual turnover to $10 million. People in the business circle thought he was unrealistic and started calling him "Tua Pao Ong" (Cannon King in Hokkien) instead of Felix Ong. But that very next year, Seksun's turnover hit $14.5 million, with profit exceeding $1 million. Since then, the company's fortunes have been growing exponentially. Last year, it posted a record group net profit of $20.4 million and group revenue of $236.7 million. Today, Seksun is one of the leading providers of high-precision metal components and electronic manufacturing services for the computer, electronics and telecommunication industries. It has manufacturing facilities in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Thailand and the United States. The company, which has received many accolades, was twice named among the 200 best small companies in the Asia Pacific with annual revenues below US$1 billion by Forbes Asia. An inspiration for all local SMEs dreaming to make a name in the global arena, the Seksun story tells of how guts, foresight, determination and sheer hard work won the day. ET | |||||
