Let me start by wishing everyone a wonderful and healthy new year.
Year 2020 has not been an easy year as we faced and still facing the pandemic Covid-19 at an unprecedented level. However, with the joint efforts of all staffs within JEL Group of companies playing their respective roles responsibly, we managed to sail it safely and calmly during this extraordinary period. I would like to thank everyone of you for your dedication, patient, and hard work in ensuring the continued operation of our Group of companies and complying with all necessary health and safety measures in curbing the Covid-19.
My deep appreciation extends to our staffs and workers who have been infected by Covid-19 and recovered, and those who are still in the recovering stage. We pray for your quick recovery. Special thanks to our staffs and workers engaged at and supporting the sites, for their relentless contribution and understanding during this difficult period. At the same time, I also salute the family members of our staffs dispatched overseas and workers at various sites for their great support and understanding for our colleagues working under this difficult moment. With our joint hands and hearts, we will all pull through the struggling moments together.
As highlighted during our virtual Town Hall meeting in April 2020, Covid-19 has taught us a lot and has increased the urgency for us to change at all levels for the better. With the collective support from all of you, we have expedited our IT reforms by introducing various tools for meetings and enabling our staff to work from home effectively. With the increased usage of various IT tools, we will also ensure that our IT security is improved and cybersecurity strategies are implemented in advance.
Having said that, we shall constantly revisit the market situation and ensure that we improve our working methods to meet all the requirements of our clients. We will continue to strengthen clients’ relationship, improve our abilities and competitiveness to deliver projects without compromising on safety, quality, and customer satisfaction. We believe this can be achieved through our engineering and project management competencies, as well as efficient utilization of resources across JEL Group of companies.
Our Core Values will continue to drive our organization. We must uphold to work towards building a lean, flexible, and agile organization. There are efforts in sharing knowledge and expertise within JEL Group of companies, but there is still a gap where more urgent initiatives and cooperation at all levels within the organization are required for us to achieve a complete JEL Group of companies integration. Diversification in our engineering capabilities, human resources development, and HSE initiatives will also be further rolled out within our organization.
Despite Covid-19, we have not compromised in supporting corporate social responsibilities in the communities in which we operate. In the second half of year 2020, we had a few rounds of Meals-on-Wheels event to the elderly folks, and gifts (contributed by our staffs) to the beneficiaries of Metta Day Activity Centre in Singapore. Kudos to everyone who put the events together!
This pandemic will continue to affect our business and life in 2021. Even with the roll-out of vaccines, we should not be complacent as vaccine alone will not be the panacea to end the Covid-19. I urge all of you to remain alert and stay vigilant for the year ahead. The post Covid-19 world, though it may be better, will be very different. The fast-changing world will not slow down after this pandemic, it is just like a no return bullet once the trigger is pulled. Therefore, we must adjust ourselves, adapt to new conditions and reality, stay lean, flexible, and agile!
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of JEL Group of companies, a Golden Jubilee Anniversary and celebration for JEL Group of companies. We have come a long way till who we are in the market today. However, we can only be better, improve, and be the best engineering and construction service provider in this region, to stand out and survive in this difficult and challenging environment. Let us embrace the spirit of our tagline “Rise to the Challenge”, adopt the new norms and technologies, and march for another era of 50 years, making us a century company in this region.
Wishing you and your family a safe, healthy, and happy new year!
Thank you and stay safe.
Masao Akamatsu
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer
January 2021
