Star Bamboo Singapore

Part 1

Yes I know I’ve been tardy with the photos from our trade show in Norway, but things have been really hectic the past week.

It feels like people in many countries have simultaneously woken up to the wonderful properties of our eco-friendly bamboo flooring.

Anyway, I’ve managed to figure out what “Bygg Reis Deg” really means (No, it’s not “Big Rise Day”).

• Bygg - Building
• Reis - To construct
• Deg - You

So it loosely means “building and construction for you”, an apt name for the largest building materials fair in Norway.

OK, on to the photos!

When I say that Bygg Reis Deg 2007 is the largest show of its kind in Norway, I wasn’t kidding.

Just check out the crowds above at one of the two entrances.

The numbers increased every day, and the grand total at the end of 6 days was well over 60,000.

This is an astonishing figure because the fee is 120NOK (or S$32) for 1-day entry pass. Many trade shows I’ve attended before would struggle to meet this figure even if entry was free. This speaks volume of their passion for building and renovation.

This is our lovely booth, with bamboo flooring installed, of course.

“Stjerne Gulv” literally means “Star Floors” in Norwegian, which is a direct translation from Star Bamboo.

“Bambusgulv” = “Bamboo flooring”. Not too hard to guess, but hard to pronounce.

Our regular visitors and customers would probably recognise the cover photo from our web site and brochure.

Norwegians are very hands-on people – even the bamboo flooring was a DIY job and the standard was comparable to many flooring professionals here in Singapore.

The per capita spending on renovation and construction in Norway is among the highest in the world. Despite a small population of 4.5 million (Singapore’s latest figures show 4.68 million residents), they spend a staggering amount on flooring.

The best is that they are willing to pay for high quality products. This is great because that fits perfectly with our ideals at Star Bamboo.

Sometimes it could be disheartening losing a sale because a higher quality product costs more to manufacture, but I see it as a case of getting the right customer.

One size can’t possibly fit all. We cannot compromise quality to lower costs. So it’s a matter of finding customers who appreciate our quality.

This is Sigmund, the Managing Director of our Norwegian partner company, hard at work. Our bamboo flooring has certainly intrigued many visitors.

He’s a natural salesman, it was an eye-opener to see how he put people at ease before he gave them the pitch.

This is Sigmund, taking a break (thankfully there weren’t many visitors around at the time).

Norwegians are friendly people. They are at ease making eye contact and smiling, even to strangers at a business event such as this. It was such a contrast with Singaporeans, and left a deep impression on me.

It was a casual and relaxed atmosphere. You could see that our attire was plain jeans and shirts. Many of the builders even turned up in their overalls.

This is Petter, our marketing expert. We had a lucky draw during the trade show, and what else could the prize be but bamboo flooring, of course.

Here, Petter is busy sorting the eligible entries and the winner out of more than 150 participants was later announced over the PA system.

He also single-handedly dismantled the booth and flooring after the show ended. I feel small when I stand next to him and Sigmund.

OK, that concludes part 1 of my Norway report. Part 2 and more photos coming your way soon!

I headed down to One Fullerton at 7pm on 07/07/07. I parked further away at Market Street as I was expecting a big crowd to turn up.

There were crowds indeed, but for the National Day Parade rehearsal at the floating platform just across the bay. The driveway at Fullerton Hotel was also packed with cars and guests for one of the many wedding dinners happening all over the island.

Volunteer helpers greeted us with markers at the pledge board, so I penned a short message:

“Save our Trees” (I should really improve my handwriting):

The live telecast of the Live Earth concerts were broadcast on a projector screen at a nearby marquee. The rows of plastic white chairs were mostly vacant, people were checking out the sponsor booths instead:

I suppose if they had wanted to just watch the concert, they could have done so in the comfort of their home.Flyers and freebies were being handed out.

I got a card that proclaimed “Vegetarianism – The Noble Way of Living”. Found out later it was some sort of spiritual cult, so into the bin it went.

Otherwise the event was pretty quiet. Perhaps the crowds would come after the NDP show is over but I had to rush off for a dinner appointment.

Caught the fireworks finale while cruising along Benjamin Sheares Bridge, what a lovely sight. The traffic police with their flashing sirens stationed along the road shoulders added to the spectacle.

So Live Earth came and went over the weekend. I don’t know if anything has changed, or if people treat it as a mega-party.

At the very least, there is definitely greater awareness of climate change and that can only be a good thing.

Bamboo is the truly most versatile material. You can:

• wear it (bamboo fibres and cloths)
• walk on it (bamboo flooring)
• cook with it (bamboo kitchenware)
• chop on it (bamboo chopping boards)

It’s so versatile, we almost forget you can eat it too. Usually we just eat the shoots.

But trust the Japanese to come up with something wacky. They have turned bamboo charcoal into a fine powder, and used the ashes with anything from bread to tea!

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The big news last weekend in Singapore was the announcement by S Iswaran, Singapore’s Minister of State for Trade and Industry that the F1 carnival is finally coming to our shores.

F1 is the most un-green sport today. Today’s Straits Times newspaper carried an article with some fascinating nuggets of information to show just how polluting it is:

• Each F1 car burns up to a litre of fuel and releases 1,500g of carbon dioxide per km, which contributes to an estimated 10 tonnes of CO2 per race weekend.
• The mooted night race format requires an estimated 500 energy-sapping high-intensity light poles.
• F1 car engines are loud enough to be heard literally half way across Singapore, or shatter glass windows of nearby buildings.

Coincidentally, S Iswaran was also the Guest-of-Honour at the prize-awarding ceremony for the Eco Products International Fair (EPIF) 2006 where Star Bamboo won the Silver Medal for our bamboo flooring:

The EPIF and F1 are at opposite ends of the eco-friendliness scale, but there is one common link.

From the outset, the Singapore government has cited commercial reasons for courting F1: tourism receipts, branding of Singapore as a cosmopolitan and glamourous city to 500 million television viewers, and jobs creation.

That is why the Singapore government has committed itself to spending up to S$90m per year for the F1 race. If green businesses were ever to enjoy this level of support, we would have to demonstrate the same kind of ROI.

After all, it’s just business.

Bamboo is a beautiful sustainable material. It’s strong, durable and extremely fast growing. Did you know that some species of bamboo have been known to grow an astonishing 1 metre in a single day?

No wonder companies have been making all sorts of products from it for years, from flooring to chopping boards and other household items.

Star Bamboo was one of the first companies to make furniture out of the bamboo material. But it’s a matter of time before other companies caught on to this.

Read the rest of this entry »

I received a bounced mail today.

It was a traditional Lunar New Year greeting card sent to an overseas associate. I had written only the street address, without the city nor postal code. This is perfectly fine in a small country in Singapore, where the city is the same as the country.

In my rush, I even omitted the country, which you could see was hastily scribbled in right before I popped it in the post:

It took 3 months to be sent back to me.

This is an incredibly slow and inefficient way of telling me that I’ve written an incomplete mailing address. With email, it will take less than a minute.

Then it struck me how much I’ve come to rely on the Internet.

Star Bamboo is based in Singapore, with our factory in China, and we sell to customers around the globe.

I rely heavily on the following to communicate with my clients and business associates:

1. Email ()
2. Web site (www.starbamboo.com)
3. Blog (you’re reading it now)
4. Various B2B trade web sites

All these would have been impossible without the Internet. It is vastly more efficient than letters, faxes and phone calls.

Just think about how you found Star Bamboo, and chances are it’s through the Internet.

So I will be emailing my associate above to wish him a terribly belated Happy Lunar New Year instead.

Today, the newly appointed Singapore Consul-General in Xiamen, China, Ms Tee Bee Lock, visited our factory in Shaowu, Fujian.

Star Bamboo is one of the more prominent Singapore companies in the area, so it was very nice of them to come by for a chat.

The Consulate-General office is a great channel to reflect our concerns and feedback about doing business in China.

According to their web site, their mission is to “safeguard the interests of Singaporeans visiting, living and working in the Consular Districts of the Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan Provinces as well as to promote bilateral, political, economic and cultural links between Singapore and China.”

Sounds great to me.

Our Managing Director, Mr Tan Yin Keong, postponed his flight for 2 days in order to meet her.

In this day of instantaneous electronic communication, nothing beats talking face to face.

Our Managing Director, Mr Tan Yin Keong, explaining how bamboo flooring is produced to the Singapore Consul-General, Ms Tee Bee Lock (right). At the center is Ms Tee’s assistant.

Mr Tan and Ms Tee in front of our Star Bamboo factory. Actually, this is the back of the building – all the action happens at the front.

Thanks very much for coming by, Ms Tee!