ST Kinetics Information

Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd (ST Kinetics), in Singapore, is a strategic business area of ST Engineering and handles land systems and specialty vehicles.

In 2000, ST Engineering acquired the Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS) through ST Automotive, a subsidiary of ST Engineering, and the new company was named ST Kinetics. Given the initial charter of CIS to support the local defence requirements, the main defence customer of ST Kinetics remains as the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

Besides manufacturing small arms and munitions, some of ST Kinetics key military products include the SAR 21 assault rifle, the Bionix AFV, the Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier and the Terrex APC. These weapons and ammunition are often made to U.S. or NATO specifications for export. The company holds a number of subsidiaries overseas, mainly in the U.S., Canada, China and India.

Recent acquisitions between 2004 and 2009 have seen new construction equipment, specialised bodies and trailers for urban services being brought into ST Kinetics stable of products, which was previously dominated by military weapons and platforms. Together with the other ST Engineering companies, ST Kinetics is part of the Singapore Defence Ecosystem of users, developers and producers in support of the Third Generation SAF.

CIS was originally incorporated on 27 January 1967, when it started out by producing ordnance for the SAF. CIS first product was the 5.56×45mm NATO round; other CIS products include the license-built Colt M16S1 (equivalent to the M16A1), and locally designed weapons such as the Ultimax 100 SAW, the SAR-80 and the SR-88 assault rifles. Several other companies were formed under CIS over the span of the next 2 decades, with the expansion of the defence business, such as Unicorn International (UI) in 1971, Ordnance and Development Engineering (ODE) in 1973, Singapore Test Services (STS) in 1980 and Chartered Chemicals (CCI) in 1982.

Shortly after the formation of CIS, the Defence Minister, Dr Goh Keng Swee, went on to set up several other government-linked defence industries to provide indigenous support for the SAF. One of them was Singapore Automotive Engineering (SAE). SAE was to support automotive-related services for the SAF, and its first immediate task was to service and maintain a fleet of V200 armored vehicles. By 1982, amidst a young, thriving Singapore economy and having built up its capability in automotive servicing and standards, SAE saw the potential in the commercial sector and decided to incorporate SAE Inspection Centre for vehicle inspection and servicing. The following year, Singapore Commuters, a taxi service, was formed.

On 20 August 1991, SAE was publicly listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. In the same year, SAE was renamed Singapore Technologies Automotive (ST Auto). STA Detroit Diesel-Allison was formed to take on the maintenance of the Detroit diesel engines and Allison transmission used in the Bionix as well as to distribute the Detroit Diesel parts in the Asian region.

Singapore Commuters was merged with Singapore Airport Services Ltd (SABS Taxi Ltd) and Singapore Bus Service Taxi Pte Ltd (SBS Taxi Pte Ltd) to form CitiCab in April 1995. By 1996, CIS through its various subsidiaries were producing various ordnance for the SAF and for export overseas. Chartered Ammunition Industries (CAI) was producing small, medium and large caliber ammunition, explosives, pyrotechnics and anti-tank weapons. ODE was producing medium to large caliber weapon systems (mortars, medium caliber cannons, FH88, FH2000). Chartered Firearms Industries (CFI) was producing infantry and crew-served weapons, including the SR88A assault rifle, Ultimax 100, 7.62 mm GPMG, the 40 mm grenade launchers, and the 40/50 Cupola Weapon system. Allied Ordnance of Singapore (AOS) was offering a range of advanced low-level air defence equipment, including the 40 mm L70 air defense gun system, and missile and Optronic fire control systems.

For the automotive business, ST Auto took on the AMX-13 Light Tank upgrading project, and refurbished the M113 APC, Commando V100 and V200 armored vehicles, LARC V amphibious. ST Auto also signed a contract with the SAF to overhaul, maintain and repair its military ground equipment. Singapore Test Services by then was offering specialized tests and inspection services to both military and civilian customers.

In 1997, ST Auto, together with Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd (ST Aerospace), Singapore Technologies Electronics Ltd (ST Electronics), and Singapore Technologies Marine Ltd (ST Marine), were merged to form the present ST Engineering.

In October 1999, ST Engineering acquired CIS at S$78 M. ST Auto and CIS were merged in Feb 2000 to form ST Kinetics. The following year, ST Kinetics reorganised itself into 3 divisions, namely Automotive; Munitions and Weapons; and Services, Trading and Others. A series of flagship products were developed by the early 21st century, including the SAR21 assault rifle, the Primus 155mm self-propelled artillery gun, the Pegasus 155 mm lightweight howitzer, the Bronco All-Terrain Tracked Carrier and the Terrex 8×8 Armoured Personnel Carrier.

ST Kinetics went on to invest in several companies overseas to enhance its engineering capabilities. An example was the acquisition of Silvatech Industries Inc in July 2006, a Canadian company specialising in forestry equipment, and renaming it as Kinetics Drive Solutions (KDS) in August 2006 to focus on the Infinitely Variable Transmissions (IVT) that Silvatech had developed for its forestry equipment.

2003 was the year ST Kinetics decided to venture into the new commercial vehicles business to leverage on the engineering and fabrication capabilities it has acquired through the military vehicle projects. That year, ST Kinetics went into an equal-share joint venture with Beijing Heavy Duty Truck Plant (BHDTP) to form the Beijing Zhonghuan Kinetics Heavy Vehicles Co. Ltd (BZK).

In 2005, ST Kinetics acquired Specialized Vehicles Corporation in U.S. along with its Hackney and Kidron brands, 2 market leaders in the U.S. beverage truck bodies business. In the same year, ST Kinetics signed a 60–40 joint venture with Guiyang City Industrial Investment Holding Corporation (GIIHC) to form Guizhou Jonyang Kinetics Co., Ltd. (GJK) that manufactures excavators, and set up STAR Guangzhou and STAR Hangzhou.

In June 2006, ST Kinetics wholly acquired Leeboy through ST Engineerings U.S. subsidiary, VT Systems. Leeboy is a U.S. industry leader in commercial class asphalt pavers.

In 2012, ST Kinetics reorganised itself into 2 business groups. The Defence Business Group handles all military business and the Commercial Business Group manages the commercial businesses.

On 5 March 2012, ST Kinetics is one of 6 companies that were blacklisted by Indias Ministry of Defence for 10 years. The company was issued a show cause notice before it was blacklisted. On 25 May 2012, ST Kinetics filed a writ petition in the High Court of Delhi against the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Indian Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), challenging the debarment order.

In February 2013, ST Kinetics appointed Tata International as its distributor in Africa, thus expanding its distribution and customer support network for both its LeeBoy and TRXBUILD brands in 13 other countries. In the same year, ST Kinetics established 2 new overseas subsidiaries in Brazil and Myanmar. In July, the company acquired Technicae Projetos e Servicos Automotivos for BRL1.04 million. This acquisition will expand the companys reach into Brazils growing defence business.

Established in November 2013, the wholly owned subsidiary, Kinetics Automotive and Specialty Equipment Co., Ltd (KASE) was set up in Yangon, Myanmar. This Myanmar subsidiary will serve as a platform to introduce and support ST Kinetics automotive and specialty vehicles products and services in Myanmars burgeoning economy, as part of its plan to grow its commercial business in the country.

The M16S1 is the M16A1 rifle made under license by ST Kinetics. It was the standard issue weapon of the Singapore Armed Forces and being replaced by the newer SAR 21 in most branches. It is, however, the standard issue weapon in reserve forces.

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