Continental

The history of Continental Automotive Singapore dates back to the 1980s. The activities were part of Philips Car Systems, VDO, Siemens VDO respectively, until the latter was acquired by Continental AG and turned into Continental Automotive Singapore Pte Ltd in 2007.

Lo Kien Foh, Managing Director of Continental Automotive Singapore, explains: “The company started with the design and development of in-car products, such as radios and GPS systems. From solely focusing on the Infotainment & Connectivity business unit, the company grew into covering the entire Interior division of Continental Automotive in Singapore.” This includes everything that can be found inside a car; from display systems, technologies for radio and navigation, user interfaces to solutions for safety and comfort. On top of that, the company expanded by setting up the Transmission business unit from the Powertrain division two years ago which develops and manufactures highly sophisticated control solutions for all kinds of automatic transmissions.

Currently, around 80 per cent of the employees are Research & Development (R&D) engineers. They work on innovative products and solutions that are used on a global scale. Also, the intellectual property department for Asia is located in Singapore. Hence, innovation is a key focus area for the company, not only in Singapore but worldwide. “Innovation is the key to growth, survival and sustainability of our company,” emphasizes Lo Kien Foh.

Many initiatives and programmes exist to take employees along on the innovation journey. Lo Kien Foh adds: “Innovation comes from the people and therefore we provide platforms where our people are given the opportunity to share their innovative ideas.” ‘Contivation’ is one of our internal online platforms where ideas can be generated, consolidated and eventually implemented through voting. Also, several innovation and entrepreneurship challenges are organised each year, both locally and globally.
In addition, the interior solutions that are developed in the research facility can be applied and tested in the office. For example, a camera that can sense the health of the driver or passenger was also installed in the office to find out if it was too hot or cold and to check the state of health of employees. The office thus acts as a ‘living lab’ for technologies that are developed in-house.

Above all, innovation goes hand in hand with sustainability. The company does not innovate solely for the purpose of developing an innovative product, they also ensure it is an environmentally friendly product. “In the end, we want to be a good citizen in the world; not only in terms of the products we offer but also in the way we do our work,” says Lo Kien Foh.