Hillview Industrial Estate

Hillview Avenue is better known today as one of the premier condominium belts in Singapore.
There are at least 25 condominium developments already completed with more on the way.
Yet, prior to 1993, the entire area was full of factories and bustling with lorries and workers.
There were as many factories then as there are condominiums now.

The Hillview Industrial Estate was a light industries zone which bloomed during the post independence days. The Economic Development Board, then headed by Mr Hon Sui Sin, had earmarked Hillview and encouraged companies to set up there. Many were attracted by the incentives and thus we had Cycle and Carriage, Metal Containers, Camel Paint, Lam Soon Oil, Cerebos, Yakult, Singapore Ceramics, Zuellig Animal Feedmill and many others setting up shop along that shady stretch.

However, the history of Hillview as an industrial zone goes further back to the post WWII days.
A British investment company called the Colonial Development Corporation bought 53 acres of land from the colonial government with the intention to set up pre-fabricated factories to be rented out or sold.
Thus, the Colonial Industrial Estate at Bukit Timah was born. It was named ".. at Bukit Timah" as they were also developing another estate at Redhill.

The Bukit Timah site was chosen as it already had a few major companies operating in the same area. These were Ford Motor Company, National Carbon (later renamed Union Carbide) and Hume Industries.
While these three were located out along Bukit Timah Road, the first factory within Hillview Avenue itself was the Malayan Textile Mills. This was followed soon by the Central Oil Refinery, the Hong Kong Rope Company, Davar & Co producing ceramic tiles, Siglap Development Co producing edible oil and Kiwi Polish Company.

The Kiwi Polish Company in 1953

The Hong Kong Rope Manufacturing Co.
Built at the junction of Hillview Road/Hillview Ave.
The roundabout (bottom right) is still in existence today.
Upper Bukit Timah Road is seen at the top.
Castrol Singapore was later built over the same plot.

The original intention was to create 2 acre plots with 'ready-to-use' factory buildings. However, some factories took bigger plots. The Malayan Textile Mill  took 9 acres, The Hongkong Rope Co took 8 acres.
Most of the other factories were built on the original 2 acres mukims.
It is interesting to note that todays' condominiums are mostly built on the same 2 acre plots.

How big is 2 acres? It's just over 8000 square metres.
If you are living in Hillview now, or can visualise the condos, 2 acres is, for example, The Lanai (being built), Hillvista, Chantilly Rise, Century Mansion, Meralodge. These were all built on the original 2 acre factory plots.

Hillview Heights occupies the ex-Union Carbide site.
Hillington Green was built on the former Malayan Guttas Co. and International Spinning Mills' land. Glendale Park/Hillview Park occupies what was once the HongKong Rope company's land, later used by Castrol Singapore.
Hillvista rose from the old Central Oil Refinery (later TACAM House Ind Building).
Chantilly Rise is where the Kiwi Polish Company was.
Hillbrooks occupies what was once Camel Paint and Metal Containers.

Factories around P.E.Estate (1)

The Hillview/ Upper Bukit Timah Road district had a few prominent factories right from the early days.
Most famous of which would be the Ford Motors Factory on the eastern slope of Bukit Batok.
The Old Ford Motors Factory goes down in Singapore history as the place where Lt-Gen Arthur Percival surrendered Singapore to the Japanese during World War II.

Industrial unrest at Ford Motors in the 1960s

After World War II and into the 1950s, the area around the Ford factory became known as the "Colonial Industrial Estate at Bukit Timah". Gradually, more factories were built up in the surrounding area. Joining the already established companies like Hume Pty Ltd and Ford Motors were Union Carbide, Gammon Malaya Ltd, Amoy Canning, Singapore Magnolia Co, Malayan Guttas, Malayan Textiles, Hong Kong Rope Co. and Kiwi Polish (M) Ltd.

Hume Pipes Pty Ltd, later renamed Hume Industries Ltd

Hume factory along Upper Bukit Timah.  Far right Union Carbide

After Singapore's Independence in 1965, the area was aggressively promoted as a light industrial area and factories were encouraged to set up in the new Hillview Industrial Estate. The government pushed for industrialisation with the urgent need to create more jobs for the population. Hillview Avenue was extended to join up with Jurong Road at the other end.

Companies setting up included Castrol, Singapore Ceramics Ltd, International Spinning Mills, Cerebos, Yakult, Lam Soon Oil, Camel Paints, Metal Containers Ltd, Central Oil Refinery and Snow White Laundry amongst others.
Flatted factories were also set up within the bigger warehouse complexes like Lam Soon Industrial Building, Kelwaram House, and Hillview House.
Cycle & Carriage Industries Ltd set up Singapore's 2nd car assembly plant at Hillview together with a centralized Service Centre for Mercedes Benz in an adjoining plot of land.

In 1993, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) rezoned the Hillview area from an Industrial Zone to a Residential Zone under the Singapore Master Plan. Companies in the area had to relocate or redevelop their land into residential properties.

Today, except for the Ford Motors Factory, which was conserved as a heritage site, and some warehouses along Hillview Ave, the rest of the factories have been replaced by condominium developments.

Lam Soon Industrial Building (left) amidst the condominiums at Hillview Avenue.

The remaining warehouses will have to move out by 2014 as gazetted under the URA Master Plan.
The last of these warehouse complexes are the Lam Soon Industrial Building, Kelwaram Hillview and Hillview House. It might interest you to know that McDonalds had their warehouse at Hillview House before moving to their own premises at Pandan Loop.

In a future blog, I will talk about Cycle and Carriage at Hillview as I once worked there.