80th Anniversary Commemorative Book - Singapore Manufacturing ...

The then-Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, accompanied by the late Mrs Lee, toured the SMF’s Buy-Singapore-Made exhibition at the National Stadiumbasement. They were escorted round the various stalls by SMF officials, headed by the then-SMF President, Mr Ong Leng Chuan.The mega fairsIn terms of scope and appeal, the SMF trade exhibitions in the 1970s and1980s were glittering affairs akin to the F1 events of today, said GroupPresident of event organiser PICO, Mr James Chia.The over-arching theme was: Buy Singapore-made goods.“In the Singapore calendar at the time, it was like the centrepiece of theyear. It was the only mega fair around then,” said Mr Chia, whose companyhad been contracted by the SMF on several occasions to help run theexhibition, and design and build stands.Often, the SMF would follow up these exhibitions with smaller displays insupermarkets, department stores and shops.The SMF only started organising regular exhibitions from 1970 following a38-year hiatus. Its then-President Whang Tar Liang was credited as one ofthe key people behind the move. In a message to mark the start of the 1970exhibition, he explained: “The main purpose of organising this exhibition isto show the general public the achievements of Singapore’s industrialisationduring the last decade. We have also to prove to overseas buyers thatSingapore has made and will continue to make quality products.”Unlike the trade exhibitions of today, which cater to niche industries suchas a furniture show or a food fair, the SMF exhibitions were general massmarketevents which showcased a staggering plethora of goods. In theearly 1970s, many of these were basic necessities, reflecting the simplernature of manufacturing then.Canned food, drinks, tyres, shoes, clothes and furniture went on display atvenues like hotels, the Singapore Conference Hall, the National Stadiumand the old World Trade Centre convention halls.Entire families of excited Singaporeans would pay an admission fee andthrong the halls to check out the goods on display, or to snap up discountedgoods. There were also plenty of foreigners, as the fairs were marketedoverseas, attracting visitors from around the world who were interested inSingapore’s offerings.In 1976, products from other ASEAN countries started making anappearance at these exhibitions. From 1973, the SMF’s Trade DevelopmentCommittee also started organising Asean Trade and Industrial Fairsfeaturing products from Asean and Singapore. Mr Michael Yeo, who wasPresident of the SMF at that time, recalled: “It was very memorable. EvenSingaporeans were quite surprised to see ASEAN products here.”These exhibitions were resounding successes. In September 1973, forinstance, the 120 exhibiting manufacturers received more than $2.5million worth of contracts and orders over the 10-day event at the NationalStadium, which was attended by about 120,000 people.PICO, which was founded in 1971 and became a SMF member soon after,also benefitted from the exposure it received from these SMF exhibitions.“When we first became the SMF’s contractor for the fair, it was the largestscaleevent we had ever handled,” said Mr Chia. “It enabled us to buildup a track record and we were then able to offer our services to local andinternational clients.”Following its work on the SMF trade fairs, PICO set up similar fairs formanufacturers in Malaysia. This eventually led PICO to establish a Malaysianbranch in 1982. Today, the company has 2,500 workers across 36 cities.A Partner in Nation Building 1965 – 1996 55