Thomas Tan of Kim Heng Marine & Oilfield

Kim Heng Marine & Oilfield specializes in offshore rig services, shipbuilding and repair and supply chain management with a fleet of vessels sold in Singapore and overseas with business operations covering Southeast Asia, Australia, Middle East and Europe. It’s Executive Chairman and CEO Thomas Tan said that Singapore’s marine and offshore engineering sector had similar cycles in the 1980s and many companies still found opportunities in the end.

From a small tugboat company to the current listed corporation, Kim Heng was founded by Thomas’ father Tan Eng Hai in 1968 together with a few partners to run the tugboat company and initially offers tugboat and shipping services for clients in Singapore and Malaysia.

61-year-old Thomas, who is also the 2^nd generation’s successor, lived in the Beach Road neighborhood during his childhood days. He would help his father in cleaning and repairing his tugboat after school from the age of 7 and other than having their own tugboat, he and his family would sell soya bean milk, fruits, otah and drinks at a stall set up in their tugboat at either Beach Road or Tanjong Rhu.

Mr Thomas Tan, Executive Chairman and CEO of Kim Heng Offshore & Marine

With the Tans’ making concerted efforts as a family, the senior Tan’s tugboat business expanded gradually from just a single tugboat to multiple tugboats and eventually he founded Kim Heng Tugboat Company. However, this company does not have a telephone, printer nor an office space. Thomas joked that his father would park his tugboat nearby and found shelter under a random banyan tree and once he opened the canvas table, the banyan tree became his “office”.

Beach Road in 1963 where Thomas and his family used to live when he was young

Due to the family’s circumstances, Thomas joined his father’s firm in 1978 after completing his studies at St Joseph Institution (SJI) and National Service (NS). Together with the senior Tan and his elder brother Tan Sek Khoon, 64, who is Kim Heng’s former Chief Operating Officer before his retirement in 2014, the trio worked together to promote business sales. As Thomas and Sek Khoon were young at that time with aggressive mindsets, they transformed Kim Heng from having tugboat services before gradually expanding into offshore rig, shipbuilding and ship repair services.

A typical tugboat which marks the beginning of Kim Heng

Following Singapore’s rapid economic development in the 1990s, the government strongly promoted the marine and offshore industry and as a result, Thomas and Sek Khoon have switched to purchasing oilfields and machinery before renting them to oil and gas companies. Soon after, they are also involved in the shipbuilding business while building and expanding their current shipbuilding facilities in Jurong.

One of the major projects that Kim Heng undertakes in their 51 years of business is building a brand-new pipelaying barge, the Jascon 25 vessel in 2006 which requires the necessary technological content and high levels of difficulty. However, this barge has facilities similar to a hotel that consist of guest rooms, cinema, conference room, recreation room, laundry room and restaurant with a capacity of nearly 300 people.

One of the vessels owned by Kim Heng

In early 2014, Kim Heng Offshore & Marine Holding Ltd was listed on the Singapore Exchange’s(SGX) catalyst board with it’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) price of 25 cents per share and raised $39.8 million in capital. In the financial year of 2018, the Group earned a revenue of $38.06 million. However, they suffered a net loss of $13.51 million after tax due to difficult industry conditions. As of December 2019, the market capitalization is estimated to be worth $34 million.

In Thomas’ opinion, he feels that the secret to his own success is that having cash on hand may not lead to a successful business but with constant hard work and perseverance, it will be paid off.