Singapore’s world-class talent powers Dyson’s global ambitions

British technology firm Dyson makes almost all its digital motors in Singapore and is expanding its presence in the city-state. Mr Scott Maguire, its VP - Engineering and Operations, R&D, explains why the firm remains bullish about Singapore after more than a decade in the country.

Q: Why did Dyson choose Singapore as its RHQ?

Maguire: Singapore is Dyson’s second home. With more than 10,000 people globally and over 4,500 engineers and scientists in our R&D hubs in the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, China and the Philippines, Singapore is a core part of our engineering and operations footprint.

It is just over 10 years since we began in Singapore with a small, focused engineering team. Our task was to develop, and make, the world’s first high speed, digital, electric motor. Today, Dyson has more than 1,000 people working in its Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Centres. In 2017, we announced that we would be investing a further £330 million (S$594 million) into our future here. That shows the scale of ambitions in Singapore.

Singapore offers a ready access to world-class engineering and supply chain talent. At our technology centre, we have the world’s brightest minds working on artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, fluid dynamics, vision systems to bring hardware, electronics and software together. The talent base allows us to develop our digital motor, connected machine, Supersonic hairdryer and vision system robotics products all in Singapore. It is critical that we have the right people who understand the data, leverage it and apply the benefits to our supply chain.

Like Singapore, Dyson takes a long-term approach to success. We are continuing a £2.5 billion (S$4.5 billion) investment programme in long-term technology and Singapore is the same. The government has a Smart Nation agenda and is open to using the city-state as a test-bed to experiment and innovate. This iterative approach is very Dyson and we think that it makes sense to deepen our commitments in Singapore as we continue to expand our engineering and operations footprint worldwide.

Q: What can you find in Singapore which is difficult to obtain in other territories?

Maguire: As a technology company, Dyson needs access to engineering and supply chain talent as well as a strong infrastructure that supports R&D and manufacturing. Singapore is one of the few places where you can find this combination.

Revolutionary technology starts with research, which requires long-term thinking and investment into future technology in our R&D spaces. Singapore makes sense for us to manufacture the digital motor because it's one of the few nations with the skills, and supply chain, to make such a complex motor, before final assembly takes place in Malaysia and the Philippines.

Take our latest motor, the Dyson digital motor V10. It spins at 125,000 RPM and is the fastest and most advanced Dyson digital motor, giving the new vacuum the most powerful suction in use of any cord-free stick machine. To manufacture such an intelligent and precise motor, Dyson engineers have developed brand new and fully automated manufacturing processes in Singapore which now have more than 300 autonomous robots with the capacity to produce up to 13 million motors a year. 

Q: What is your strategy for Singapore as your Asian base? How are you looking to use it as a launch pad for your growth in the region?

Maguire: As a dynamic city in Asia, Singapore provides a close link to the rest of the region and allows us to create technology for an urbanising world. Last year, 73 per cent of Dyson growth came from Asia. We see tremendous growth opportunity here and value being in the region. Working on a similar time zone has undoubtedly made our development cycle more efficient.

Singapore understands the value of technology and advanced manufacturing and is willing to make the necessary investment. That is our approach too. It is where we will continue to launch future generations of motor technology before transferring them to other locations.

Q: You have spent more than a decade in Singapore. What lessons have Dyson picked up during this period about investing and developing here?

Maguire: You have to remain focused on the long-term and partner with the right stakeholders. Like Dyson, Singapore takes a long-term view to investing in technology. It is no coincidence, that to realise our technology ambitions, we are deepening our commitment to Singapore. Dyson has in-house expertise in fluid, mechanical, electronics, EMC, thermal, chemical, acoustic as well as software engineering. We are committed globally to developing future technology, of which the Singapore Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Centres are a part of. At our advanced manufacturing centre, we have just invested another £30 million (S$54 million) for the V10 motor production. We believe that by working together, we can make real technological breakthroughs.

Q: James Dyson said last year that Singapore has "some of the brightest minds"? Would you be able to elaborate on the kind of talent which your firm has found and groomed here?

Maguire: Like the UK, Singapore is facing a shrinking pool of engineers. In a recent speech to university students, PM Lee called for the development of a visionary plan that takes the country from SG50 to SG100 and beyond as we reimagine and rebuild Singapore. And you need engineers for this. Our job is therefore to create exciting new opportunities for young people here, igniting a passion in them to make some new technology that solve a problem, to engineer an original product and design it well. Many of our engineers start off as interns or graduate engineers, working alongside practicing engineers and scientists. We are deepening our investment in Singapore to achieve our technology ambitions. Our plan is to develop core technologies, around which we could then engineer products. We need people who can create better versions of existing technologies such as the motor, purification and filtration. At the same time, as we venture into new areas, we need skills to develop other core technologies in areas such as vision interpretation, energy storage and robotics. We will make more than 20 million machines this year, and source more than 4 billion components from over 20 countries. They must all arrive on time, to the exact specification and quality. We must cope with natural disasters and other events. Every 2 to 3 years these components, and the product in which they are assembled, are obsolete and we start all over. And that's just the hardware. We need the agile brains, and determined characters, to make this complex operation happen. And for that, we need the best brains to do so.

Q: Finally, after spending a few years in Singapore, is there a favourite spot for you and your family?

Maguire: I enjoy taking my kids out at my spare time, especially playing by the pool or beaches on Sentosa.