12 March 2008
Having found much success in running a hotel chain in NZ, siblings are
back with new business to clean up buildings from the inside out.
ARRIVING in New
Zealand nearly 15
years ago was a breath of fresh air in
every sense for
brothers Keith and
Jeffrey Tang.
They had left behind
a messy family tussle
in Singapore.
Their uncles had just
taken control of the
then Dynasty Hotel
family business from
their father, Mr Tang
Wee Cheng.
Shrugging off the
family squabble, the
Tang brothers and
their father took
their hefty cash
proceeds and headed
for greener - though
unfamiliar - pastures
elsewhere.
An opportunity had
cropped up to
develop three hotels
in New Zealand.
Backed by their
father, the brothers
seized the moment,
investing about $50
million to build a
hotel chain under the
Heritage brand. The
chain now boasts
more than 1,500
rooms in 10 hotels
across New Zealand.
The funds came from their father's sale of his
47.06 per cent stake in the family company
that owned the hotel and a substantial stake
in listed retailer C.K. Tang.
The value of the family's fully owned hotel
portfolio in New Zealand has grown to more
than $150 million.
Breathing better
NOW, Keith, 46, and Jeffrey, 43, have started
a new business back here in Singapore,
inspired by their great love for New Zealand's
clean and green environment.
They offer services to clean some of the
unseen grimy dark corners of office
complexes and other buildings.
Their services include the cleaning of ducts,
energy-saving solutions and indoor air purification
systems that kill germs.
These services can cost anything from $1,000 to several hundred thousands of
dollars.
The advantages of maintaining a clean workplace environment, they say, include
reduced medical leave and increased productivity levels from workers.
'Many air-conditioning ducts have not been cleaned since they were built. We
believe that everyone deserves to breathe better,' says Jeffrey, the managing
director of IEQ Global, which bills itself as an 'indoor environmental specialist'.
'Our interest stems from our keenness to understand how New Zealand is so
clean,' he says.
Back when the brothers were getting the Heritage hotel chain off the ground,
they used to spend half their time in Auckland.
But now, they are based in Singapore as they launch the IEQ business in the
Republic.
Jeffrey is asthmatic and is sure to have his inhaler with him when he is outdoors
in Singapore. But that was not the case in New Zealand, where it was just not
needed.
'The air outside in New Zealand is cleaner than the air inside, as opposed to
places such as Singapore.'
During consultations at buildings, IEQ has found some scary things in office ducts
such as dead rodents and even nests with live birds, says executive director W.P.
Ong.
At one office building the firm surveyed, a 1977 copy of The Straits Times was
found in one of the ducts. This shows that the ducts had not been cleaned for 30
years, says Jeffrey at an interview held at the company's office in Jalan Kilang.
'It's startling that people do not understand what they are breathing in,' he says.
'Some buildings are quite sickly but obviously, it is something that people don't
want to talk about.'
Almost every building represents a potential customer, Mr Ong says. So far, the
company's customers include hotels, schools, military installations and
petrochemical companies.
The market will continue to grow in line with efforts by the Government and the
private sector to protect Singapore's environment and its people, the brothers
say. But first, IEQ needs to create greater awareness of its business.
Apart from giving free consultations to raise the company's profile, it also participates in roadshows, trade shows and talks.
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