HE WAS not afraid of getting his hands dirty.

After completing national service, Mr Lim Kong Yang's first job was that of a general worker in a local firm.

The job scope mainly involved cutting materials and polishing products, for a salary of $500 a month.

But doing menial tasks or manual labour was important to learn the basics of precision engineering, he said.

Mr Lim, now a 42-year-old precision engineer, said this has paid off for him today.

At 26, he left employment to set up his own firm, A & One Precision Engineering.

Today, the firm's sales track record is healthy.

A & One Precision Engineering chalked up about $38 million worth of sales in the last two years.

Looking back, Mr Lim said that when he was a student, he knew he did not have good academic results and therefore needed to learn a skill.

He completed his certification for NTC-2 and NTC-3 in metal machining and precision engineering after his GCENlevels.

'You also have to be keen to learn the skill, then you can be sure of accelerating your career,' he said.

'But we find that today, young graduates have a different impression about this (engineering) profession,' he added.

Most people think that engineers work in unpleasant environments with low pay.

Mr Lim does not deny that the starting pay is low at $1,100 to $1,300.

But in the long term, precision engineers could enjoy higher salaries and career development.

Industry trends show that senior engineers or programmer engineers could take home about $5,000 per month.

'Not many people realise how important this profession is.

'Products developed from this industry are in high demand.

'These range from handphones to cars to television sets,' he said.

This misunderstanding about the profession could have been one of the factors contributing to the current shortage of skilled labour in the industry.

Because of the shortage, MrLim had to resort to hiring foreign workers to fill the need for machinists and engineers.

There is a need to create awareness about the advantages of precision engineering, he said.

The father of four added many precision engineering firms offer a comfortable work environment.

With advanced technology, there is little need to cut materials manually.

NO GETTING HANDS DIRTY

'Engineers now work with computers that are programmed to design and cut the moulds, according to the client's needs.

'So there is no worry about getting your hands dirty,' he said with a laugh.

After 26 years of being his own boss, Mr Lim knows of the high risks involved.

Without proper understanding of the demand and supply of products from this sector and the high costs involved, he could have lost his $100,000 capital in a short time.

'At that time, I did not care much. Maybe you can call me young and naive.

'But I saw the potential of this business. I could see the growth driven by demand from other industries,' he said.

He started the firm to cater to only one sector - hard disks and computer storage products.

Today, A & One Precision Engineering has expanded to cater to the semiconductor industry, oil and gas sector, the medical equipment industry, telecommunications and aerospace sectors.

Mr Lim continues to reinvest his profits to expand his firm.

From one factory in Singapore, he now runs five factories in China, Malaysia and Indonesia.

His clients include major firms from the US, Europe and Australia.

'I am sometimes bewildered at the growth, but I continue to push my team to work hard,' he said.

He added that although the sales target this year is high at $50 million to $60 million, he believes his team will be able to achieve it.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Feb 09, 2008