Siemens expands into Asia with new plant in Singapore

German automation company, Siemens is expanding its industrial automation division in Singapore and across Asia.

The expansion in Asia, as reported by Reuters, serves to cater to the rise in demand for automation technology in the region. The news site also reported that the company initially confirmed the news earlier this week on Tuesday and that it is due to provide more details on its expansion plans in Asia on Thursday. 

A spokesperson from Siemens told Reuters that the company intends to build a Digital Industries (DI) factory in Singapore that provides cutting-edge technology which will be part of its strategy to increase its global diversification and resilience. 

The cost of the expansion is estimated to be a low three-digit million-euro sum as seen in Reuters’ report, which it gleaned from Wirtschaftswoche, a German magazine which first reported the news of the expansion.

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According to the magazine, Siemens’ CEO, Roland Busch initially intended for China to be the location of choice for the expansion. He had also reportedly set up the internal project titled ‘Marco Polo’, which was aimed at doubling sales of the DI division by 2025. However, geopolitical tensions altered his plans and he decided to divert the expansion to Singapore instead.

Siemens' most recent involvement in Singapore was when it was recently awarded a contract by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) to provide its Communications-based Train Control (CBTC) signaling system and platform screen doors (PSD) for the Cross Island Line (CRL). The order was worth approximately €310million.

Regarding its appointment, Siemens Mobility’s CEO, Michael Peter said that with the company’s regional base in Singapore, the signaling project is aimed at being one of its stepping stones for its long-term goal of making a sustainable impact in the mobility landscape in Asia.

“We will continue to grow our core competencies in the region through investing in localisation strategy and local talent development,” he added in a statement. 

The automation company's initial foray into Southeast Asia's digital space was in 2017, with the launch of its first fully integrated digitalisation hub in 2017, in a bid to bring its expertise and innovations in the Internet of Things (IoT) to the region. This was through a collaboration between customers and partners to create digital applications and build digital ecosystems respectively.

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