From father to son 60 years of E&E

Just as Singapore has matured and prospered over six decades, Electronics & Engineering Pte Ltd (E&E) has also grown from humble family roots into becoming the number one systems integrator and distributor in South-East Asia. Nestled on a small block of pre-war houses along Outram Road, where it still conducts its business today, E&E began a journey of discovery having stuck to the principles instated by its founder, Mr Goh Kiok Chuan. In fact, E&E has played a firm role in installing the most cutting edge A/V systems into prestigious landmarks not only in the Lion State itself but as far and wide as Beijing and India. The company, in parallel with the nation, has found its true identity and heritage.

Mr Goh was a keen photographer and established a photo studio in the southern Malaysian town of Benut in the State of Johore in the 1930s. He then developed a passion for cinema, whereby he would rent a 16mm movie, set up a projector, put up a bed sheet screen at a vacant lot near the shop and set out benches. The weather-permitting Open Air Cinema concept was born, in which he collected 20 cents per entry for those who wanted to watch the movie. After the Second World War, he took jobs as a cinema projectionist with Shaw Brothers and as a cinema service engineer with Rank O’Connors, before working as a technical manager for film production and distribution company Hong Kong United. Together with two of his friends, Mr Goh decided to set up a new company in the radio and cinema business. In 1951, Electronics & Engineering came of age, importing portable radios, radio parts and WISI antennas from Germany. The radio business did not perform to expectations and Mr Goh returned to the movie projection business once his partners had sold their stakes of the business.

The new business was financed by selling two houses bought just after the war, and in 1963 his son Ronald Goh entered the frame. ‘I was literally born into the business,’ recalls current MD Ronald Goh. ‘My father founded the principles of E&E, taught us to work smart, to think things through and be righteous. Therefore, he insisted that I go to a technical school as it had better prospects, whilst assisting him in the workshop in the evenings. I remember we had a large workbench in the house where I would tinker with the gadgets and power tools and got myself into trouble many times, such as the time when I plugged a 6-volt motor into 230-volts mains electricity. I had the sparks blown right back into my face! But I learnt quickly and was able to repair and align Bell & Howell and RCA 16mm projectors on my own at a very young age.’

In the late 1950s, E&E specialised in refurbishing cinema-projector systems and became a main supplier to local cinemas. However, it was during the 1960s when new sound systems were being developed for the cinema industry together with more complex public address systems that E&E matured. ‘We started to install an increasing number of sound reinforcement systems into schools and auditoriums in addition to night clubs and restaurants,’ furthers Mr Goh.

The MD had enjoyed setting up sound systems for his school’s annual concerts, in addition to repairing amplifiers and loudspeakers. His striking attribute – one that has never deserted him – is his supreme confidence in designing and installing sound systems. No project has ever been too difficult or too large for him to take on. He therefore established the pro-sound division of the company upon joining, and there was just one brand that interested him.

‘We imported Altec Lansing loudspeakers for the cinema market,’ he proudly remembers. ‘As time went by, the multi cellular horns and famous A7’s started to make appearances in ballrooms, discotheques and concert auditoriums. They really were an industry standard. One of our first contracts was to install the Altec Lansing sound system for The Singapore National Theatre in 1963. We also installed the first discotheque in Singapore above Ginos, which was an Italian restaurant in the Tanglin Road district. It was opened in 1965 by Herbie Lim, and was aptly called Ginos-Ago-Go – the DJs were university students. We installed many other discos after that, such as the Barbarella at the Ming Court Hotel and Lost Horizon at the Shangri-La Hotel.’

As the 1970s progressed, E&E found itself installing more and more cinema projects in Malaysia and Indonesia, including churches, nightclubs, shipyards and even an off-shore oil rig for Shell in East Malaysia. The company installed the 35mm projection and the distributed in-car speaker system for Cathay’s Jurong Drive-In Cinema.

The company’s landmark project however came in 1972 when it was awarded the S$900,000 tender to install the outdoor and indoor sound system in Singapore’s National Stadium, which was designed by the Boston-based acoustic consultants Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BB&N). Dr Jacek Figwer, owner of a PhD in acoustics, was the engineer in charge of the project. It was the first opportunity for E&E to work with an international consultant and for the then 28 year old Ronald Goh, it presented a big challenge.

‘Not only did we have to correctly install the whole system through shop drawings, but we also had to learn everything about large scale project management,’ Mr Goh recalls. ‘Dr Figwer recommended the services of Andrew Ferregy of Hannon Engineering from Los Angeles to assist us with shop drawings and rack terminations. Our own Eng Kong Engineering Works was established in 1969 and they built the main and side speaker cluster housings together with the speaker brackets. They have withstood the Singaporean heat, rain and humidity for the last 38 years, while every speaker and solder joint remained intact until the stadium was recently de-commissioned and demolished.’

Mr Goh is obviously very nostalgic and was saddened by the demolition of what he calls ‘the Grand Old Dame’ – the site of his first major project. ‘It’s pleasing to know that the control console complete with mixers, switches, turntables as well as the control and power amplifier racks from the control room are being preserved intact and will be relocated to a museum.’

Word of mouth is the most effective marketing tool and following the success of the National Stadium project, E&E found itself rewarded with more projects such as the Golden Million nightclub. Hotels such as the Shangri-La became important reference points, and the company’s growth in South-East Asia ensured invitations to install similar sound systems into ballrooms in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Meanwhile, the Hyatt Hotel duly noted the handiwork of Mr Goh and his team and E&E won the contract for its ballrooms in Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta. In the years following, the Hilton, Sheraton, Conrad, Regent, Marina Mandarin, Boulevard and Grand Copthorne all contracted E&E’s services. Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur followed as did many of BB&N’s projects such as the Selangor Dewan Jubilee Perak Auditorium and Banquet hall.

Singapore’s rising star was beginning to attract more opportunities overseas. ‘One of the most satisfying projects that I ever accomplished in my career was designing and providing the sound system for a one-night-only performance in September 1984 of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at the National Stadium,’ Mr Goh recalls.

‘We were commissioned by CitiBank to provide the sound system for this once in a lifetime performance. When this was announced, there was a big hoo-hah from the purist and critics who said that the National Stadium was a poor choice venue for such a performance because of its size and acoustic problems. That put additional pressure on me and I had to put in extra efforts to make extra sure that I got everything right. I was even interviewed on TV to tell the public that the sound system for the performance would be as good as it could be.

‘The evening came and the Altec Lansing sound system was so natural and clear from the front seats all the way to the back of the stadium galleries. The next day, I received the ultimate compliment that anybody can give to a sound reinforcement system designer. It was from Violet Oon, who was a reviewer for the Sunday Monitor. She wrote: ‘It was a combination of informality, of drama, of pizzazz and of professionalism. I am no technician, but the music must have been amplified. The wonder of it was that we did not notice it – an indication of the perfect marriage of art and artifice.’

Words of wisdom

Mr Goh senior, who passed away in 1992, shared many wise words with Ronald as they worked over the years, and it seems this advice is now being passed on for yet another new generation.

‘My Dad taught me as a businessman that a handshake is a commitment and to honour all your commitments and pay all your bills,’ Mr Goh explains. ‘I have taught my son to do the same. Gary joined us after he graduated with an Engineering degree in 2004 and over the last six years he has worked hard in the business to earn the respect of his colleagues, customers, consultants and principals. He is now poised to take control of E&E, and with his own board of directors will spearhead the third generation.’

For his own part Gary Goh is keen to honour tradition. ‘When I came into E&E, I was thrilled to be part of the family business,’ he explains. ‘My father has always been a light to the pro-audio community here in Singapore and you’d be hard pressed to find someone more passionate about the pro-audio business than he is. The success of the company can be traced directly to his incredible work ethic and sticking to the principles laid down by my grandfather. I intend to carry on that legacy.’

However, the Altec Lansing success story couldn’t go on indefinitely, as Mr Goh recalls. ‘Altec were under the ownership of Mark IV Audio at that time and they made some bad mistakes against our interest, so we decided to change camp and switched to Harman in 1993. In the earlier days we were already working with Crown amplifiers, who were a non-Harman company at the time and also produced tape recorders and microphones, in addition to UK based Soundcraft consoles from the very beginning. We took on Shure microphones in 1998 and represented Rane, DBX, Symetrix, Soundcraft and BSS for a number of years. We have added a number of A/V brands during this decade as the tenders we bid for call for more A/V solutions than they used to do. We installed all brands of 35mm projectors too like Philips, Kinoton, Strong, Fedi, Cinemeccanica and Christie.’

The company’s roll call of successes in systems integration is undoubted, but the bulk of its turnover and profit comes from its distribution model, having set up a large dealer network through Malaysia and Indonesia. Most of the 78 Singaporean staff are engaged in distribution at the Outram Road four-storey head office and showroom, which has grown to cover over 1,400-sq-m in recent years. A fully-equipped service centre is a few doors away, while 3,600-sq-m warehouses are located at the nearby Tan Boon Liat Building.

As a result, E&E has firmly established itself as the largest distributor in the region in terms of turnover, size of company and A/V brands. ‘Indonesia offers huge potential and we have an office in Jakarta,’ explains Mr Goh. ‘We’ve survived some turbulent times, including riots back in 2003. It’s home to a quarter of a billion people, and the music industry is thriving there.’ To the north of Singapore, Systems Electronics and Engineering Sdn Bhd operates from a four-storey building in Jalan Cheras, Kuala Lumpur to serve the Malaysian market. More recently in 2008, E&E established its own branch office in India known as E&E Systems (India) Pte Ltd, based in Bangalore. ‘Our branch office in India also performs as a systems integrator and service centre, while representing Tascam, Adam and Mymix exclusively,’ says Mr Goh.

Elsewhere, a wholly-owned subsidiary company named Eng Kong Engineering Works is based in Jurong, boasting a well-equipped 850-sq-m workshop that fabricates and manufactures heavy steel work such as speaker clusters, motorised lighting and scenery hoists, screen frames and curtain tracks. After operating from three different locations over the last 35 years, it finally relocated into its own building in Toh Guan East in 2005. Above the high-ceiling workshop are storage facilities fitted with a single-tonne travelling motorised hoist capable of lifting finished goods or raw materials for storage in a heavy duty industrial racking system. The workshop comes into its own when E&E needs to customise products for its many and varied projects.

Ronald’s brother Daniel is currently heading the Malaysian office and is very proud of his elder brother’s achievements. ‘I personally don’t think the guy ever stops!’ he exclaims. ‘He just keeps pushing and pushing and in turn E&E keeps getting better and better. That’s my brother for you – he is so much like our father.’

E&E’s motto – ‘getting it right the first time’ – served the company well in the 1990s as it was awarded with an increasing number of regional contracts, including the prestigious Hard Rock Cafe chain throughout South East Asia and China in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Kowloon, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Meanwhile, the rapid rise in Singaporean church memberships and congregations has proven a blessing to the company as it has installed sound systems into more than 150 Singaporean churches to date including Riverlife, Novena, St Andrews Cathedral and the Faith Community Baptist Church.

In the late 1990s, a number of upcoming theatres called upon E&E’s services, including the Kallang Theatre, Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, the National University Cultural Centre, the Yong Siew Toh Music Conservatory, and many smaller educational theatres. So when the iconic and prestigious Esplanade Theatres on the Bay project was announced in 1999, E&E was a natural choice for the contract to install systems into the concert hall, main theatre, drama studio, dance studio and rehearsal studio. Project Manager Joe Fong recalls the work 10 years on. ‘This was a job that brought many people in from around the world to get the sound and acoustics right. It was technically difficult, but really rewarding in the end. It took E&E to the next level.’

More recently, E&E was commissioned to provide the sound system for the press conference room, media centre and the winner’s podium at the Singapore Formula One circuit. Continuing around the Bay, the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort now dominates the skyline – and yet again E&E found itself asked to deliver three main contracts including the background music system (BGM) for the entire resort, the A/V systems for the VIP and hospitality suites, and the sound reinforcement and communications systems for the two theatres.

‘I am a firm believer in giving my customers more than they expect and I give them my guarantee,’ explains Mr Goh. ‘’The legacy of E&E is important and our mission statement implies that we never cut corners. Every one of our projects delivers total satisfaction for our customers.’ This commitment to delivery has also rubbed off on Gary and the rest of the E&E team. ‘We are constantly evolving with every project that we do, improving our processes and raising our standards. At the end of the day, customer satisfaction is our number one priority. If we stick to those standards of excellence, E&E will go far.’

The father-to-son heritage and the highly respected business that Ronald Goh has built since joining in 1963 doesn’t daunt his son Gary, as he readies himself to take the baton in this relay. ‘I plan on continuing the legacy of E&E and build upon the solid foundations left by my father and grandfather,’ he asserts. ‘We have grown over the years to keep up with market demand, and we will certainly be venturing into new markets which will bring E&E into the next millennium.’

But the final word goes to his father: ‘We have worked with many principals over the years – some relationships were built that have lasted the test of time, others come and go as quickly as the people on top change hands. Regardless, everyone in pro audio knows who E&E are and what we stand for. What’s most important is that over the years, our customers have come to recognise the dedication and commitment we give them, which is how many of our customers end up being our friends.’

Having developed a pioneering business in the 1950s and risen to numerous challenges, E&E has placed itself at the top of its profession in South-East Asia. With success, there are many imitators and competitors, but none of them can keep up with the energy, dynamism, professionalism or ingenuity of E&E. Indeed, the work that Mr Goh has contributed to the region led to the MD being awarded with an AES Fellowship in 2004. It seems obvious after all this time that the principles that Mr Goh senior handed down to his son Ronald in his early days hold the secrets and foundations of delivering excellence. It is inspiring to know that the next generation at E&E has adopted the same mantra and is set to take the company into the next lap.

www.enepl.com.sg