Singapore: All eyes on industry future at summit

That’s the backdrop against which gasworld will soon be staging its Future-Proofing Industrial Gases Summitin Singapore this summer.

The wider Asia region, including bullish economies such as China and India, is increasingly regarded as the growth hotspot for the industrial gases business. According to gasworld Business Intelligence, the South Pacific gases market alone – including the South East Asian markets of the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia – was worth around $3.3bn in 2017. Almost all of the individual markets involved in this region have demonstrated strong, if not double-digit, growth rates over the last decade.

The small island city-state of Singapore has been the largest industrial gas market in the South East Asian region for the past few decades. This is now mainly thanks to the sprawling operations and high level of industrial gas demand of the petrochemical complex on the man-made island of Jurong, and the advanced electronics manufacturing industry located around the city. The gas market growth has been good over the past decade for Singapore, averaging 9.5% year-on-year (YoY).

This is a technology-ready ready, at the heart of the digital transformation and arguably the future hub for industrial gas and equipment activity. Whilst Singapore faces the prospect of slowing growth compared to its younger, emerging counterparts in the region like Vietnam or Myanmar, there is still considerable growth to be achieved in new applications that are emerging, economic diversification, and the conversion of captive to onsite gas supply.

There is also the inescapable topic of Industry 4.0, digitisation and operational change. All eyes are on the future of the industry, and the future-proofing of the industry is in focus this June as gasworld holds its Future-Proofing Industrial Gases Summit 2019in Singapore.

To be held at the Orchard Hotel in Singapore from 25th-26th June, the event will focus on the wave of digitisation and automation sweeping through the industry as a result of Industry 4.0 – arguably one of the single biggest megatrends it faces. As well as holding the summit content programme, a table top exhibition will further inform and educate delegates through then sharing of latest technologies and practices from key technology innovators.

Almost all of the exhibition spaces at the event (18/23) are already booked, with technology innovators including ASCO Carbon dioxide, Cryostar, HABONIM, Herose, Mack Valves, Pentair Union Engineering, Rotarex, SIAD Macchine Impianti, TrackAbout, and VRV & Chart Industries all signed up to be present at the event and showcasing their latest technologies. A number of ‘local’ participants will also be showcasing their technologies and services at the event, from Beijing Sinocleansky Technology Corp. to CIMC Enric Group and PT Smart Technology Gas.

All will be present in the name of knowledge exchange and future-proofing, as will an illustrious programme of speakers that includes Air Liquide, Anova (formerly DataOnline), Chem-Gas Pte Ltd, Guangdong Huate Gas, Linde plc, and the Singapore Manufacturing Consortium (SIMCO).

The future is definitely bright for the South East Asian gases market, with increasing industrial gas intensity across most significant end-user sectors, new applications emerging, a technology-ready culture, and new windows of opportunity in business models and strategies. All eyes will be on these exciting future paths forward in Singapore this June.