The Business Times, Thursday, July 16, 2009
Binter’s on a
JOYCE LIM/THE NEW PAPER
Binter & Co general manager Marcus Lim
himself heads a drift team, known as Team
Goodyear-Binter, that takes part in drifting
competitions in the US.
SINGAPORE NEWS 7
Singapore
to host
high-speed roll women’s
meet in
It has climbed steadily up the Enterprise 50 rankings to 14th August
position, note ABIGAIL CHONG, COLIN LIM and AMANDA TAN BESIDES hosting the
Asia-Pacific Economic
I
T is somewhat fitting that a man with a passion for brands, sizes and patterns. “The industry has been very Cooperation (Apec) forum
motorsport is driving a tyre manufacturer for- conservative in the past,” Mr Lim said. “But the world has this year, Singapore will be
ward. Since its entry into the Enterprise 50 rank- changed, and online retailing is the definite future of our the venue for the 14th
ings six years ago, Binter & Co has climbed steadi- industry. This will be the way many of us will purchase Apec Meeting of the
ly up the ranking from the 32nd spot to 14th posi- tyres.” Women Leaders Network
tion. Last year, it clinched a special award for hav- To engage the next generation of consumers, Binter is (WLN) on Aug 4 and 5.
ing been on the E50 list five years running. Despite involved in on-campus automotive student clubs at two lo- Formed in 1996, WLN
being linked with some of the biggest names in the cal universities. Besides being a major sponsor, the com- promotes the participation
industry, this company dares to be different. pany is also involved in the clubs’ activities such as Formu- of women in economic and
The family-owned business distributes tyres for a wide la Drift displays, motor sports carnivals and competitions. trade-related activities,
range of brands, including Goodyear, Firestone, Cooper Mr Lim himself heads a drift team, known as Team and shares the
and Kumho. Before joining his father in business, general Goodyear-Binter, that takes part in drifting competitions perspectives and expertise
manager Marcus Lim, a qualified auditor, worked for sev- in the US. of leading women with key
eral automotive companies in the United States. He also Charity has not been forgotten. Open-to-public drift ses- Apec decision-makers.
learnt vicariously from the success and failure of his coun- sions were conducted to raise donations for the Breast
terparts. Cancer Foundation two years ago. The coming WLN
Binter has ventured beyond Singapore, to Africa, the While Mr Lim admits that it is not a sexy industry, meeting will focus on five
Middle East, Eastern and Western Europe, and the US. there are compensations. One strength of the tyre busi- main issues – sustainable
Its customers range from automotive enthusiasts to ness is its relative stability. The only impact that he has development, work-life
those with almost no technical knowledge of tyres. “We noted in the current downturn is that consumers are buy- harmony, women in
cover the entire spectrum of customers,” said Mr Lim. ing cheaper tyres. Even with tightening margins, Binter business, the knowledge
“Binter has also expanded its product portfolio over the has emerged from the fourth quarter of 2008 relatively un- economy, and tripartism
years and is now the third largest tyre distributor in Singa- scathed. Mr Lim remains confident of the company’s abili- and social enterprise.
pore.” Its local customers include ComfortDelgro and Pre- ty to remain in the driver’s seat in the industry. Commenting on the
mier Taxi. agenda, Singapore’s
The company makes an effort to cater to each segment. The writers are students of NUS Business School
Minister of State for
To attract the automotive enthusiasts, it has the Formula Community Development,
Drift Championship. And for those with little knowledge Youth and Sports, Yu-Foo
of tyres, Binter has introduced the online portal Tyrepac. Yee Shoon, said the
Binter has obtained the exclusive right to host the For-
committee will
mula Drift Championship in South-east Asia for three
“recommend ways to
years. This helps it to showcase the tyre brands that Bint-
er carries in its portfolio. But it was also Mr Lim’s passion integrate women into the
for motorsport and his aspiration to manage his own global economy, which is
home-grown race team that spurred him to seek the in line with Apec’s theme
rights to host the championship. of sustaining growth”.
The inaugural event in Singapore was held on April 27 Mrs Yu-Foo is
last year, and has helped to raise the profile of the compa- chairperson of the steering
ny. Even though expenditure for this event far exceeded committee for the WLN
the revenue, the company remains positive that the brand- meeting.
ing initiative will bear fruit. In fact, Binter has struck up a Before the meeting, an
working partnership with ESPN Star Sports which will Apec Digital Economy
help change the Formula Drift from a pure branding initia- Forum for Women will be
tive to one that will also generate income. It is just another held on Aug 3.
example of how the company identifies avenues for in-
This will discuss best
come growth. This series is part of the Enterprise 50 Educational practices and women’s
While replacement tyres and corporate sales provide
the bulk of the company’s revenue, Mr Lim recognises the
Project between the E50 partners and the NUS Business
School. Binter & Co was one of the E50 winners in
role in fostering an
infocom technology
limited growth potential of the local market. This explains
its latest initiative – Tyrepac, Asia’s first online tyre por- 2008. The annual E50 ranking is co-organised by The environment.
tal. Tyrepac.com was launched in Singapore last October. Business Times and KPMG, sponsored by OCBC Bank, Online registration is
It was in response to the growing trend of online shop- and supported by Spring Singapore, IE Singapore and available at http://www.
ping. Tyrepac aims to be the region’s foremost data Infocomm Development Authority. apecwln2009.sg/register.
source online on tyres, with an exhaustive listing of html.