SCS 50: Celebrating 50 years of nation building
For half a century, Straits Construction Singapore (SCS) has played an important role in building Singapore. To celebrate 50 glorious years of helping transform the country’s skyline, SCS laid out a series of events starting with 2018’s photography competition and logo design competition.
A showcase of creativity
Participants of the photography competition travelled across Singapore to capture the country’s unique and stunning sights featuring our company’s completed projects. Sixteen winning photos and four runners-up were chosen from the 114 entries and received cash prizes. Aside from cash, the winning photos also had the honour of being featured in our 2019 special edition table calendar.
After showing their eye for photography, our staff also gave our 50ᵗʰ anniversary a truly distinctive identity by showcasing their design prowess in the logo design competition. Forty-nine designs gave their unique take on the tagline ‘Building Beyond 50’ that reflects our vision of continued growth well into the future. The winning design was used as the identity of our anniversary while the runners-up complemented the official logo.
The festivities continue
We formally launched our anniversary logo in 2019 during our annual dinner and dance event. It was also when we presented our new corporate video. Our talented staff once again unleashed their creativity and displayed their acting skills in producing the video. It pays tribute to our founder and Chairman, Mr Wong Swee Chun and tells the company’s story from the point of view of our CEO Mr Wong Chee Herng. From its foundation to its growth in both good and challenging times, our Chairman’s vision and values can be clearly seen throughout the company’s history.
The festivities didn’t end with the launch of the logo. Rather, it was only the beginning of even bigger events. In March 2019, we launched our WSHE campaign with its slogan “Take time to take care of your Safety and Health”. Highly esteemed guests graced the event that included our Guest of Honour, Minister of State for Manpower and National Development Mr Zaqy Mohamad and the members of the Ministry of Manpower, WSH Council, WSH Institute, Singapore Contractors Association Ltd (SCAL), as well as our clients and business partners. Our guests also viewed our WSHE poster displays and visited the WSHE Games and Fringe Activities that featured an instant photo booth and health screening for our staff and workers.
Building strong ties at work and at home
SCS also values the importance of strong family ties. In July, we celebrated our Family Day that focused on the importance of maintaining harmony between our life and work. Held at Wild Wild Wet, the half-day event gave our staff and their families the chance to form closer bonds with stage games, telematch games, lucky draw, carnival snacks, and a buffet lunch. Each one also took home mementoes. Joining the SCS families are our top management, including our CEO Mr Wong Chee Herng who opened the event. As the Family Day drew to a close at 2 pm, everyone then had the opportunity to spend the rest of the day with their loved ones at Wild Wild Wet.
On the day of our anniversary, we held a teambuilding event. With everyone clad in white polo shirts, SCS staff gathered at Safra Toa Payoh for The Amazing Straits Race. With the slogan “Site to side, we unite”, participants were divided into teams of 10 and raced around our iconic completed projects in Singapore. Like the reality show that inspired the race, each team had to complete a task at each stop after which they received a clue to their next location. They also raced against time as they rode only public transport going to their next stop, adding pressure and excitement to the race. At the end of the day, the top three teams were awarded medals for racing ahead of the pack. And what’s an anniversary celebration without a cake? Our Chairman, CEO, COO, Director, and Director of Finance made the day extra special not only with their presence but also with the much-anticipated cake cutting ceremony. It was indeed a sweet way to celebrate over five decades of building iconic landmarks across Singapore.
For a better future…the drive to zero waste
While we celebrate this milestone year, we also took this opportunity to heed the government’s call to make this year the year we embarked on the journey to Zero Waste.
The two-week zero waste campaign in November aimed to educate our staff on recycling best practices and effects of wastage on climate change. It was a week of awareness and action with educational talks, a recycling drive and a site visit to Semakau Island.
It has definitely been an eventful and memorable 2019.
50ᵗʰ ANNIVERSARY GALA
The 50ᵗʰ anniversary celebrations concluded with a Gala dinner held at Shangri-La Hotel, Island Ballroom, on 11th Jan 2020. The annual dinner and dance was special this year with invited guests that included our business partners. It was an elegant event hosted by celebrity entertainer, Sebastian Tan aka Broadway Beng, coupled with LED kites illuminating the ballroom with its performance.
A specially produced animation video depicting the journey of Straits Construction from its date of establishment and how the company has grown in tandem with the evolution of the construction industry opened the evening. CEO Mr Wong Chee Herng graced the event with a welcome speech followed by a heartfelt speech by Chairman Mr Wong Swee Chun.
Guests and staff were gifted with a special edition tea glass bottle and a holder embossed with SCS 50ᵗʰ year logo. Long Service Award recipients and Best Employee Award winners were honoured, with special appreciation to staff that have served beyond 20 years. A video montage of the 2019 celebratory events was also showcased.
An evening to recognise and honour partners that contributed to the growth of Straits Construction. An evening to celebrate a milestone and looking beyond.
