springnewsENABLING ENTERPRISE

Vol 1 No 5 / @

2009

A Mind in Motion

Chef in the Box

HVS ENGINEERING SHOWS THEWORLD INNOVATION IS ABOUT SOLVING PROBLEMS

SAVOURING UPMARKETGOURMET FOOD IN THECOMFORT OF HOME WITHLAZY GOURMET

The biomedical sector’s blazing rise over the past

seven years has made it one of Singapore’s

best performing economic stars.

Singapore’s biomedical

sectorin the PINK of HEALTH

ISSN 1793-8767

Please email your comments/feedback to: estelle_koh@spring.gov.sg

EDITORIAL TEAM

Jennifer Yap (jennifer_yap@spring.gov.sg)

Estelle Koh (estelle_koh@spring.gov.sg)

DESIGN & LAYOUT

Kevin Loo

PHOTOGRAPHY

Ooi Cheong

ADMINISTRATION

Tan Meng Kiang

PUBLISHING CONSULTANT

Pagesetters Services Pte Ltd

www.spring.gov.sg/springnews

Feature Story 3Under the Microscope: Singapore’s Biomedical Sector

News Clips 1

SME Showcase

HVS Engineering Pte Ltd 6

Lazy Gourmet 7

Programmes 8

Contents

Singapore may be small but there are still opportunities here. The Singapore brand name is strong. It is easier to be accepted overseas when you have already established yourself here. MR ALEX CHOW

SME Showcase6

HVS Engineering Pte Ltd

Mr Alex Chow, the managing director of HVS Engineering Pte Ltd, is a man always on the move, echoing his com-pany’s tagline “Balls in Motion… Clean-ing in Action”. Open with his thoughts, he throws up ideas and ideals effortlessly. He takes on existing products and prac-tices, transforming them in new ways by asking, “Why not?” It was this mentality that led to the incorporation of HVS, build-ing upon a revolutionary way of cleaning

shell heat exchanger systems.

A Practical SimplicityFor decades, companies used sponge balls bigger than the diameter of the tubes to remove fouling formed on the surfaces. There are issues with this sponge ball system: The sponge balls would easily get stuck in the tube –

pressure loss. The balls’ scrubbing effect resulted in high wear and tear of sponge balls as well as abrasion in the tubes. Mr Chow’s solution came from ask-ing one simple question: “Why not use smaller balls?” This sparked the inven-tion of the HydroActive VeloBall System (HVS System).

The HVS System is a self-contained cleaning system which utilises design-

within part of the heat exchange system to clean foulings at the initial stage of for-mation. It is able to continuously circu-late the brush balls through the tubes as compared to the intermittent cleaning se-quence of the old system, ensuring foul-ing would not have any chance to occur. These specially designed brush balls can also reach and clean the grooves of the tube which are inaccessible to larger sponge balls. HVS Brush Balls’ unique property results in more effective clean-

least 10 to 18% in electricity bills.

One Thing at a TimeMr Chow says, “Focus on our products

heat, and then we can face the glo-bal challenge.” Armed with patents for HVS’s products and systems which are registered with the Intellectual Property

clearly gone through processing and testing by patent panelists and industrial applications.

SME SHOWS THE WORLD INNOVATION IS ABOUT SOLVING PROBLEMS

A Mind in Motion

Using Singapore as a test bed for the solutions, HVS ensures that they are feasible before exporting them. Mr Chow adds, “Singapore may be small but there are still opportunities here. The Singa-pore brand name is strong. It is easier to be accepted overseas when you have already established yourself here.”

For HVS, going global is the way to grow and succeed. Instead of launching from

out and come in, that is, get business from the Western counterparts before coming back to Asia. Currently, HVS has partners in Europe and the United States. Even clients from Japan and the United States are knocking on HVS’s door via word-of-mouth referrals.

People FirstAnother characteristic of HVS is their

“Never give up. But don’t push and don’t hard sell. We want clients to make their own decisions after they have looked at their options. We also don’t over-prom-ise; we only sell what we can deliver. ”

Mr Chow’s thoughts on how SMEs can thrive in the marketplace also demon-

-es, “Keep good people. Don’t let the good ones go just because of the recession.”

Editor’s Note

Dear Friends of SPRING SEEDS,

Perhaps, it has been business as usual for you, alittle roughed-up for others, and discoveringnewfound opportunities for some during this toughpast year. Nevertheless, we hope that the worseis over.

More importantly, it’s timely for businesses to takestock of performance and keep the team focusedto chart new areas of growth for 2010!

The odds of surviving economic cycles go farbeyond owning successful products and services.Skills, not pure-product plays and money - is thehurdle.

In a Business Times article, ‘The Secret toCorporate Longevity’, 4 August 2009, a quotefrom the author of award winning book ‘The LivingCompany’, Arie de Geus, said, “Capital is nolonger king. Rather the survival of companiesis becomingly increasingly dependent onskills, capabilities and knowledge of theirpeople.” A great line worth giving some attentionto.

In this issue, we feature:• ‘Getting to Know Local Business Incubators’ –

how they can play a bridging role to your ventureand HVS Engineering’s experience

• ‘Melioris – Providing Solutions to Manage YourWorking Capital’, on Financial Business ProcessOutsourcing (BPO)

• Recent investments in our portfolio – DataTerminator, (information leakage and protectionspecialist), Gener8 (develops bio-compositeprosthetic limbs), and Singapore Emulsion Fuel(produces green fuel)

• ‘In the Spotlight’ – a snapshot of someinvestees recently featured in the media and otherupdates. Read on for more!

Wishing you a vibrant year ahead with greatopportunities!

Best regards,The Editor(On behalf SPRING SEEDS Capital (SSC) Team)

NewsletterSPRING SEEDS CAPITAL

P.S. Do you have an interesting story to share orfeedback on our quarterly issue? Attention it to ‘TheEditor @ SSC’ and email us at seeds@spring.gov.sg.

1 / 6SPRING SEEDS QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER (ISSUE 7, DEC 2009)

Getting to Know Local Business Incubators

Business incubation is generally known for their array of supportstructures, comprehensive business guidance and network ofassociates designed to accelerate the development of early-stageventures and grow long-term success stories.

We highlight eight local incubators/venture accelerators supportedunder the Incubator Development Programme (IDP) introduced bySPRING, to enhance the incubation services available to nurtureinnovative start-ups.

2 / 6SPRING SEEDS QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER (ISSUE 7, DEC 2009)

• iAxil Venture Accelerator CentreLeveraging on more than 10 years of experience, iAxil is aone-stop centre providing a total solution to helpentrepreneurs grow their ventures.

Services offered by iAxilVentureAcceleratorProgramme

Assists start-ups to launch, grow andexpand. Programme comprises of modulesfocusing on business modeling,business/financial planning, fund raising,market testing and expansion planning.

Infrastructure Shared business facilities/ services, andaccess to interactive networking platforms.

Global MarketAccessProgramme

Taps on Ascendas’ global net of partners tosupport incubatees internationalise.Participating start-ups undergo intensivepractical workshops. Overseas experts couldbe assigned to advise on implementationplans.

Mentoring Has a pool of local and overseasexperienced professionals in management,technology, business strategy and finance.

Website: www.iaxil.netContact: Ms Tay Yiling at yiling.tay@ascendas.com,Tel: 6774 2459

In Japan, we engaged a research entity, Yano Research, to assist with a comprehensive Phase 1 marketpenetration strategy, completed in May 2009. They also helped us in arranging to visit and evaluateprospective partners/distributors in August. This led us to consider Phase 2 - setting up an agent office and/orseeking out potential investor/partners.

As for the US segment, we were linked-up to a recognized venture accelerator, Skysong in Arizona StateUniversity in Q12009. Phase 1 of market research in US completed in June and we’re preparing to proceed toPhase 2 - for sales leads generation and pilot project. We visited SkySong in September to explore the scopeof our implementation plans in the coming year.

It has been a timely, good learning and stepping stone experience for us with iAxil’s professional support.Their corresponding partners in USA and Japan have been responsive and proactive in our projects.Overseas expansion is a long-term commitment and the right resources and muscles are critical to make thatleap. We’re thrilled to be part of the programme - useful for a growing enterprise like us.”

We were excited about it and shortly after,expressed our keen interest to embark onour targeted market outreach initiative - inUnited States and Japan.

The key persons at iAxil whom we workedclosely with, have been most supportive andconstantly followed-up to get us started.

• How iAxil’s Global Market AccessProgramme Helped HVS Engineering

HVS Engineering, a specialist inmaintenance solutions, provides costeffective and improved cleaning techniquefor heat exchanger systems, through theirHydroActive VeloBall System. Alex Chow,HVS’s Managing Director, shares hisexperience with iAxil’s Global MarketAccess Programme.

“Our involvementwith iAxil startedwhen we attendedthe ‘iAxil GoingGlobal Workshop’in October 2008.

TECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY

Necessity is the mother of invention.Almost always. that is how man-

kind has progressed and tackled thechallenges Mother Nature has posed.Man’s ingenuity has picked up thegauntlet and painstakingly surmountedthe barriers that have arisen at everyjuncture. HVS Engineering Pte. Lim-ited, is one of the many ventures, whichsymbolise grit, lateral thinking anddogged initiative. The Managing Direc-tor Alex Chow is among the manytechnopreneurs who have contributed tothe progress of technology, finding so-lutions to contemporary concerns, whileadding feathers to their caps.

HydroActive VeloBall System(HVS) Engineering Pte Limited, as thecompany he heads is known, has trig-gered a revolution – or should we sayevolution? – in the heating, ventilationand air conditioning (HVAC) sector, andfor more than 12 months, has been at-tracting the attention of potential end-users of its HVS System around theworld. Talking of end-users, these en-compass just about every sector, whichuses heat exchangers, wherein fluidsflow through tubes, and leave back un-desirable deposits on the surface of thetubes. In other words, be it hotels andairports, or oil and gas sectors and powerplants, or semiconductor manufacturingunits and desalination plants, the HVSsystem could find uses and yield im-pressive short-term and long-term ben-efits to the end-users. What exactly isthe HVS System, and what are thesebenefits we are talking about?

Why HVS?Heat exchangers, as one and all

know, are contraptions designed totransfer heat from one medium to an-other, the primary purpose being eitherto cool or to heat. The heat exchangerfluid is the one that will either withdrawheat or give heat to a process fluid,which is meant to be cooled or heatedrespectively. The fluids could be gasesor liquids.

HVS System

Deceptively Simple, and thereby Ingenious

By G Venkatesh

The heat transfer occurs by a com-plex mix of conduction, convection andradiation, and the fluids concerned, donot come into physical contact with eachother. The separation is a metal wall,which transfers the heat from the hotterside to the cooler side. Imagine a casewhen either of the two fluids – the heat-giver or the heat-acceptor – brings withit some impurities, which get depositedon the metal walls of the heat exchanger.These deposits could pile up with the‘passage of fluid and time’, and adherestubbornly to the metal walls.

Now, as readers are aware, the rateof heat transfer per unit time, is directlydependent on the surface area availablefor the heat to move through to the re-ceiver-fluid. The deposits referred to, ifon the side of the hotter fluid, may pos-sibly absorb heat and retain them, andnot pass the same over to the metal wallsonto which they are attached. Worsestill, they may even radiate the heat backafter some time to the warmer fluid. Ifthese are on the colder side of the wall,once again, depending on the nature ofthe deposits, the transfer of heat fromthe wall to the deposits and therefromto the colder fluid may be slowed down.

Consider another case when the de-posits pile up around the inner circum-ference, and this hinders the flow rateof the fluid. If a pump is used to drivethe fluid through, this constriction –small though it may be – necessitates alittle more expenditure of energy by thepump. And yes, when the required cool-ing or heating effects are not obtained,the process efficiencies may drop, withthe process fluid, inadequately heatedor cooled, not delivering the goods, soto say.

Some very critical applications aresensitive to the process fluid tempera-tures. In a paper and pulp mill for in-stance, where the process water is re-used many times before being sent fi-nally to the wastewater treatment plant(WTP), the chemical oxygen demand

(COD) of the process water is found toincrease with temperature, thus eventu-ally placing higher loads on the WTP.If the temperature can be controlledwithin a specified range by suitablycooling the process water – not muchthough – things could be brought undercontrol, and the heat thus extractedcould also be put to use elsewhere inthe plant. If this process water has topass through a clogged heat exchangerwith its tubes dotted with deposits, byvirtue of the fact that the effective sur-face area of heat transfer is reduced, thedesired temperature control may not beobtained. This is just one instance,where the deposits on the tubes of theheat exchanger could have a negativeknock-on effect on everything that fol-lows the heat exchange process.

One knows that heat exchangers aresubjected to periodic maintenance, withthe operation suspended temporarily –downtime – and the tubes cleanedmanually. This cleaning consumes a lotof water and cleaning chemicals, whichare then disposed off – more load forthe WTP. Not just this, the downtimemay cost some money. HVS attemptsto tackle both these problems and doesso with élan. This is how it works…

HVS systemHVS Brush Balls and HVS Elasto-

meric Balls of suitable sizes (some ofthese have spikes on the surface) andweights, are circulated continuously bythe inherent hydraulic pressure from theflow of fluid running through the heatexchange unit. These cleaning balls aredrawn into a network of small tubes andconsistently brush out dirt deposits overthe internal surface. The frequency andduration of the cleaning process, type,size and weight of the cleaning devicescan be customised based on the opera-tional characteristics of the HVAC sys-tem. Once the balls enter the tube, theymove on their accord, without necessi-tating extra motive force to move them

228 Industrial Products Finder, August 2006

TECHNOLOGY

around. Further, they can withstand tem-peratures as high as 350oC, and thus areapt introductions in the oil and gas sec-tor. It has been estimated that energysavings of between 5% and 30% can beobtained in the longer run, by installingthe HVS system onto heat exchangers.The cleaning of the balls after everycycle takes place in a hydrodynamicchamber into which they are drawn, andthis greatly minimises the waste-load-ing volumes on the environment, vis-à-vis the conventional manual ‘dismantleand clean’ operations.

This, needless to say, saves time andenergy, not just in the plant but also inthe WTPs servicing the industry, andimproves process efficiency. And whatis more, it is uncomplicated, just asmany ingenious solutions to problemsare.

While Mr Chow has won the inau-gural Singapore Environment Council-Senoko Power Green InnovationsAward 2005 for his contributions to en-vironmental care and energy efficiency,his company is working shoulder toshoulder with the Agency for Science,Technology and Research (abbreviatedas A*STAR) in Singapore, for furtherdevelopment of the technology in keep-ing with the changing climes.

Young Pupa, Growing into aChrysalis

Mr Chow is keen on diversifying themarket for his product, both geographi-cally and sectorally. Considering that theHVS system addresses some of the mostpressing global concerns of the day – en-vironment and energy – there can be nosecond thought about the acceptance andthe subsequent success of the HVS sys-tem in installations around the world.HVS Engineering Pte Limited, is work-ing on forging stronger partnerships inthe ASEAN region, the USA, Japan, theMiddle East and India. As Chow says,the Indian market presents opportunitiesfor him, while it would be a wee bit diffi-cult to get it across to Chinese clients.

The guts and the grit that the com-pany has exhibited and the efforts it hasbeen taking to make the system knownand understood by potential end-users,will take these humble brush ballsaround the world, in the years to come.

(Readers may contact Mr Chow for moreinformation and business queries atalexchow@hvs.sg) �

Alex Chow responds to a fewqueries about the HVS system in theQ and A below. As given to under-stand in the interview, the configu-ration of the HVS system would varyfrom project to project, and hence,this feature does not provide anillustration.

Q. There is a reference to patentapplications. In which country hasit been filed?

PCT patent applications have beenfiled in key industrialised countries ofthe world.

Q. There is also a mention aboutdistributorships in many countries.How many of these havematerialised?

Distributorships in Singapore, Ma-laysia, Indonesia and Thailand havebeen firmed up. Negotiations are onin the Middle East, USA; Japan andChina.

Q. Do you directly target custom-ers in the end-user sectors, or do youalso approach heat exchanger mak-ers, with the system?

Our customers are building own-ers, facility managers, hotels, hospitalsand shopping malls among others. Yes,we do approach heat exchanger mak-ers also.

Q. Can old heat exchangers - anyand all - be retrofitted with the HVS sys-tem?

Yes, HVS can be incorporated ontoold heat exchangers quite easily.

Q. A brief list of clients alreadyserviced?

To put it succinctly, our clients in-clude airports, marine sector, processengineering plants and the power in-dustry.

Q. Do the elastomeric balls them-selves absorb any heat from the flu-ids in the tubes? Are they designedfor minimal absorptivity?

HVS Elastomeric balls are made ofinsulating material and so do not ab-sorb heat.

Q. As dirt can be easily tackled,can the system find favour in north-ern Europe or Canada for instance,where snow (with dirt) can be sentthrough the tubes as an efficient heatexchange medium in industries for

instance for refrigerating food-stuffs?

Yes, absolutely. As the HVS Sys-tem cleaning principle is based onpositive physical contact to the tubes,dirt can be easily swiped away. Suchsystems will work fine in Europe orCanada. It is also well suited to theMiddle East where sand particles inwater are common.

Q. What is the Mean-Time-Be-tween-Replacement in the case ofthe elastomeric balls? How does thiscompare with the Mean-Time-Be-tween-Repairs of an exchanger with-out these balls?

When the HVS System is used ina heat exchanger, there is no need forthe annual shutdown for manual clean-ing. In the absence of the system, the shut-downs for such manual cleaning couldbe as frequent as once in 3 or 6 months.

Q. Has it caught up in China,where energy efficiency is vital in theyears to come?

Not yet. But China is certainly ahuge untapped market. However,much education and convincing willbe needed to make the building own-ers there adopt such technology. Theremay be a lot of resistance. Green is-sues are not entirely on their prioritylist.

Q. Would you really believe thatIndia will be a strong market for theHVS system?

Yes. HVS System has been provento clean tubes of heat exchangers andhas been validated by many buildingowners and third-party professional in-spection companies. I am certain it willfind acceptance in the Indian market.Besides, India is our first choice, be-cause there is no language barrier – En-glish being the language of business.

‘Resistance likely in China….easier acceptancepossible in India’

Mr Alex Chow (left) receiving the SEC-Senoko Power Green Innovations Award

230 Industrial Products Finder, August 2006