AS a second-generation leader of precision engineering manufacturer Armstrong Group, Phyllis Ong has taken her 50-year-old family business to new heights. Her vision is to collaborate with diverse talents and organisations from around the world to grow the company into a scalable, world-class manufacturing platform.

Under Ong’s stewardship, Armstrong Group has positioned itself as Asia’s leader in the B2B (business-to-business) precision engineering space. Headquartered in Singapore, the company has expanded its footprint across seven countries, operating 16 factories and two sales offices.

Armstrong specialises in customising solutions for noise, vibration, heat, and safety management for diverse industries, including automotive, consumer electronics, industrial, as well as medical and healthcare. The company serves an impressive roster of global clients, including Mercedes Benz, BMW, Bosch, Dyson and Shimano.

Ong’s path to the helm of a manufacturing business like Armstrong is far from typical. She started her entrepreneurial journey in 2003 by co-founding Whole Earth, Singapore’s first and only Michelin-awarded (Bib Gourmand) plant-based restaurant. In 2017, she established CORI Innolab, a biotechnology company that invests in the development of advanced collagen used in skin healing and anti-ageing.

She credits her varied business experiences for shaping her leadership style – one that emphasises a bold vision, the courage to embrace mistakes, and the significance of forging the right partnerships.

“Building new businesses and brands in very niche markets, whether a Peranakan-Thai plant-based restaurant 20 years ago or creating exceptional skin healing products with one of nature’s most powerful biologically active marine collagen, have provided me the opportunity to have the courage to experiment and persevere in areas I find purposeful,” says Ong, who was recognised as the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year in the Advanced Manufacturing category in 2023.

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“In my leadership role at Armstrong, while the nature of business is very different, the same traits have helped me in crafting an ambitious vision and partnering leaders who share common values and passion in driving a sustainable and purpose-led organisation,” she adds.

Committed to environmental sustainability

Under Ong’s guidance, Armstrong has proactively offered environmentally sustainable options to its clients. For instance, the company has been promoting materials that are recyclable, and innovating in its product design to reduce unnecessary components while improving technical capabilities.

This commitment extends to the company’s own operational practices, as well as collaboration with suppliers to develop greener solutions. For instance, other than tracking and measuring energy consumption at its factories worldwide, the company is co-designing more innovative products which would use less components without compromising quality.

“We are putting efforts towards co-developing greener solutions with our suppliers, as we recognise that all our customers, who are mostly global brands, will eventually be prepared to pay a little more for greener and more sustainable solutions as responsible corporate citizens,” says Ong.

Forging partnerships to drive growth

Ong highlights collaboration as a cornerstone of Armstrong’s success. The company’s strategic partnerships, dating back to the late 1980s with Japanese conglomerate Bridgestone, have been pivotal to its success over the years. Recent technical partnerships with European and American firms further underscore Armstrong’s commitment to global growth and collaboration.

“Our strong partnership ecosystem allows us to support our partners’ European- and American-based customers who have a presence in Asia and vice versa. Together we can better support our customers who prefer suppliers who can provide a global footprint for them,” Ong explains.

As a board member of Enterprise Singapore, as well as a council member of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation and Enterprise 50 Association, Ong is also playing her part to support and promote home-grown enterprises, encouraging them to expand regionally and globally.

Looking ahead, Armstrong Group is embarking on a major business transformation and is preparing for M&As (mergers and acquisitions) in the coming years, as it strengthens its capabilities in Asia and establishes more global partnerships.

Says Ong: “My takeaway is that in order to succeed, we need to identify and bring together both key internal stakeholders and external customers and partners to share common visions and goals as early as possible in the journey. Leaders who are able to communicate and collaborate effectively, together with a general good sense of self-awareness would be valuable talents for sure.”