From bendemeer to your interior

Inside Continental’s HQ off Bendemeer Road is a hive of R&D activity dedicated to car-cabin infotainment, instrumentation and essential electronics.

THERE was a time when Singapore used to build cars, assembling them from CKD (completely knocked down) kits. The car assembly came to an end when our Government decided there was little value-add in the automotive industry here, because very few components were manufactured locally and nothing was designed indigenously for the cars being assembled.

In the decades after, the term “Singapore’s automotive industry” referred to nothing more than the sale and marketing of motor vehicles.

Interestingly, because of the huge rise in Asia Pacific new car sales and Singapore’s global economic stature, several automakers set up regional offices here. This provided another impetus for major automotive component manufacturers to do the same.

One of the best examples is Continental. Most readers have no doubt heard of Continental tyres, frequently used in high-performance cars, but the German company, founded in 1871 in Hanover, is much more than just tyres.

Continental has, over the years, acquired a number of vehicular component suppliers, such as Siemens VDO, making it a major OEM supplier to American, German, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers.

The firm’s business is driven by components that go into cars’ chassis, powertrains and electronic control systems.

Continental Automotive set up its Singapore headquarters in 2007. Five years later, it unveiled the largest automotive research and development centre here. In fact, it’s the biggest of its kind in Asia, dedicated to in-car information management systems and serving a number of motorcar makers worldwide.

The company cites the country’s excellent infrastructure, strong government support and pool of talented engineering workforce as the reasons for housing its crucial R&D functions here.

With a current staff strength of 1300, mostly in the engineering department, Continental’s R&D hub focuses on the full range of interior components, plus modules for interfaces, electronic control and system management.

The items developed here include dashboard instrumentation, in-car entertainment, multifunction monitors, telephone connectivity, power-seat controllers, security devices and cameras/displays.

Continental Automotive currently supplies its range of interior systems to Mercedes- Benz, BMW and Audi, just to name a few. And yes, some of the systems were developed right here in Singapore.

From its 16,250 sq m headquarters in Boon Keng Road, Continental Automotive Singapore provides complete solutions for car manufacturers. This means the R&D centre is not just a closed-door facility that merely takes instructions from the head office – it executes entire projects independently.

Every project starts with customer enquiries, then moves on to cost evaluation, design specifications, module design and manufacturing methodology for the project’s components.

As an example, if Kia Motors of South Korea makes contact with Continental Automotive in Germany, the Korean automaker will be directed to the Singapore HQ.

The process begins with a design brief from the engineering division that provides the desired specifications and functionality of the component.

Continental’s assigned project team then puts the proposal together, covering both technical and commercial aspects, for the customer.

Once the proposal is accepted, the relevant software and hardware engineers get to work, creating a system that meets the design brief.

The initial phase involves plenty of submissions before approvals are given and the complete unit in question can be built as a prototype. Also critical are the details necessary to facilitate mass production.

Here in Singapore, the whole process ends with the issue of a “proceed to manufacture” order from the satisfied client.

Continental operates from 430 locations in 55 countries, so the factory arm assigned to produce the Singapore-designed product depends on specialisations, delivery timings and available production capacities. The Singapore base does not undertake any mass manufacturing.

Even so, the activities and expertise of Continental Automotive Singapore are most important.

Because developing a product/component requires a high level of engineering skill, in both hardware and software.

Hence, most of the 1300 employees are electrical/ electronic and mechanical engineers. With Continental’s international presence, a substantial percentage of the engineering staff are foreign nationals.

According to a spokesman, Continental will continue to recruit more engineers and is very keen to tap on the talent pool emerging from local institutions.

Which is why the company offers a Talent Management Programme, which ensures the training of new personnel and the skills-upgrading of existing engineers, in order to keep the Singapore R&D centre at the forefront of automotive technology.