It has been a year since Sapphire Windows moved into their new 65,000 sq ft headquarters and state-of-the-art factory building at Loyang Drive. The four-storey building sits on a JTC single-user industrial site with a 20-year lease.
When Jeffrey Liew, founder and managing director of Sapphire Windows, acquired the site, he thought he could just build a one—or two-storey building. “JTC required that we build a new factory four times the size of the building we had,” he recounts.
Jeffrey consulted his son, Sean, the firm’s general manager. They decided to proceed with the construction of the larger factory and at the same time, acquire more advanced equipment. The total investment amounted to $10 million.
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Shortly after construction began on the site, Covid-19 hit. “Many people said, ‘Wah Jeffrey, you are very gutsy, doing this during Covid-19.’ I told them, ‘If I knew Covid-19 was going to hit, I would have shelved it,’” recalls Jeffrey.
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However, most people worked from home during the pandemic and realised they needed a quiet workspace. Many began to think of renovating their homes. Construction and building renovations took off and Sapphire Windows was able to ride that wave.
Investing in a state-of-the-art showroom
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The Liews spent over $1 million on a new show gallery on the top floor of the building, designed by celebrity interior designer Nikki Hunt, founder and design principal of Design Intervention. “We initially didn’t intend to spend so much on the showroom,” says Jeffrey. “But once the fourth floor was completed, we decided to create a show gallery where people will go ‘wow’ when they step in.”
He spent three times more than he had originally budgeted. In addition to the show gallery, the 15,000 sq ft floor plate on the fourth floor accommodates the general office area for the executives, individual suites for Sean, Jeffrey, and other managers, and meeting rooms. That level also includes a staff pantry, a recreational area, and a badminton hall with two full-sized badminton courts.
The investment is paying off in terms of greater brand recognition and increased business from luxury bungalow developers, individual homeowners of Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) and others who want to renovate or rebuild their landed properties. Besides GCBs, Sapphire Windows has supplied window and door systems to more than 20 bungalows in Sentosa Cove, including socialite Jamie Chua’s home on Coral Island. Another client was Meir Homes, where Sapphire Windows provided the glass windows and doors for the GCB at 2 Cluny Hill, which was sold in May 2021 for $63.7 million or a then-record price of $4,291 psf.
Sapphire Windows provided glass windows and doors for Seraya Residences at 9 Seraya Lane. The boutique development by developer Macly Group has just 17 units and was completed in May 2022.
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“With our new office and show gallery, we want to demonstrate that we can manufacture and install first-rate windows,” says Jeffrey.
Sean adds: “We have a 35-year track record, and we are known to the people in the property market — the builders, the architects and the contractors.”
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Fathers and sons
Jeffrey became interested in windows when he was studying in Toronto, Canada, in the early 1980s. He was fascinated with windows and how they suited the different seasons there. “I had no inclination to enter the window business then,” he says.
When he returned to Singapore upon graduation, he went to work for his father, whose company, Chuan Hiap Seng Steel Construction, supplied steel and other materials to the marine sector. The company was established in 1927 by Jeffrey’s grandfather. However, after working for Chuan Hiap Seng for seven years, Jeffrey grew restless and wanted to strike out on his own.
While building his new house in the late 1980s, Jeffrey was looking for suitable windows when he came across unplasticised Polyvinyl Chloride (uPVC), a building material used primarily for window frames and sills when installing double-glazed windows in new buildings. He became interested in the product and asked a friend in the UK to help him look for a manufacturer.
His friend recommended Deceuninck, a family-owned company in Belgium that specialises in uPVC glass window and door systems. The company was founded in 1937 and was listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange (Euronext) in 1985. Sapphire Windows was established in 1989 and became the sole agent and fabricator for Deceuninck uPVC window and door systems for Singapore.
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Given his path to entrepreneurship, he was surprised when Sean said he wanted to join the family business. “I’m happy that he has,” says Jeffrey. He and his wife used to bring Sean and his younger brother Ken when Sapphire Windows participated in interior design exhibitions in the 1990s. While Jeffrey and his wife attended to customers at the booth, Sean and his brother would entertain themselves.
“It was fun for us because we would play and help distribute brochures,” relates Sean. “We were young then, so it was just a game for us.” Sean only decided to join Sapphire Windows after he completed his National Service. Before he went to university, he decided to spend six months at the firm to learn the business from the ground up.
He worked in the factory to understand the manufacturing process and went to the construction site with the workers to do the installation. “It was eye-opening,” says Sean. “I don’t know many people my age who have done such work.” At university, he studied mechanical engineering and manufacturing automation.
Showcase
Sean believes the show gallery is “a great showcase” for the products and their various applications. It is also where many of the customer conversions occur. “Many people don’t understand what a window fabricator does,” says Sean. “Windows are made up of two components: the glass pane and the frame. We fabricate the frames, assemble them together with the glass panels, and install them in the houses. We don’t manufacture the glass.”
Window frames can be made from aluminium, timber, steel, stainless steel or PVC. “Good window systems will provide complete insulation from noise and heat,” says Jeffrey.
An “experiential room” was created within the show gallery to demonstrate the performance of the different window systems and how they perform in the face of pollution or smoke, heavy downpours and different heat levels. Another part of the room demonstrates the strength of the different types of glass, to give customers a better sense of what window systems work best for their homes.
According to Jeffrey, laminated glass is more effective for sound insulation. It is also hard to break, which makes it a safety glass. He adds that uPVC windows with high-quality thermal-grade aluminium frames are the most effective for heat insulation. “Double-glazed windows are ideal for heat and sound insulation.”
Sean adds: “Windows are one of those things people take for granted until they move into their new home. They realise how important it is when they can’t sleep at night due to traffic noise or their comfort is compromised due to the heat.”
