History of LKH Group of Companies

1958 - Humble Beginning 

Lim Kim Hai Electric Co began quietly and humbly when the late Mr. Lim Kim Hai opened a small store located at No. 22 Kelantan Road (off Sungei Road second-hand market) in the late 1940s. A migrant from Fujian Province in China, Mr. Lim arrived in Singapore with little more than hopes and dreams. He found his niche and soon established a reputation for honesty, integrity, reliability, and diligence for himself in the repairing and retailing of electrical products.  Displaying a keen sense of business, innovation, and interpersonal relationships, he went on to win countless new partners and customers. 

With his small but growing business on track, he soon moved into new premises at No. 264 Jalan Besar in 1958, establishing Lim Kim Hai Electric Co as a sole proprietorship and specialising as a stockist and supplier of electrical equipment and accessories.  The business grew in leaps and bounds, and he soon expanded by acquiring the neighbouring unit of No. 262 Jalan Besar. Little did he foresee that the legacy of excellence in an enterprise that began in these humble premises was to one day culminate in a multi-million dollar, a multinational company that is one of the leaders in its industry.

Keeping ahead of new developments 

In 1972, Lim Kim Hai Electric expanded the business into Malaysia by setting up Lim Kim Hai Electric (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd in Petaling Jaya, the new industrial town in Selangor. In 1973, Lim Kim Hai Electric began a new and intensive phase of networking and securing distribution rights for electrical products from international suppliers, being the authorized distributor and partner for a number of internationally renowned suppliers such as 3M (USA), ABB (Switzerland), Brady (USA), EATON - CEAG (USA), EATON - Crouse Hinds (USA), Epson (Japan), Fuji Electric (Japan), Omron (Japan), Panduit (USA), Philips Lighting (Netherlands), and Schneider Electric (France). 

*Last updated in May 2022

In line with the government’s increased effort to promote industrial automation, Precicon Automation (S) Pte Ltd was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lim Kim Hai Electric in 1985 to focus on the distribution of the Omron range of automation components and system solutions to local industries.

In 1997, Distribution & Control Pte Ltd was set up in response to customers’ increasing need for a “one-stop” supplier of panel/switching control packages. This move was strongly in line with the company’s belief in achieving success by closely tracking the development and direction of the switchboards and panels market in which it operates.

In 2002, Lim Kim Hai Electric Co (S) Pte Ltd continued its award-winning spree, becoming listed amongst Singapore’s best: the top fifty, most enterprising, privately held companies in Singapore for the Year 2002. 

 

Leveraging the power of E-commerce

In 2000, the Lim Kim Hai Group embarked on a new venture by having the intention to build an e-catalog. This digital catalog would provide customers and LKH salespeople with easy access to technical product datasheets.

The goal has twofold: to reach new customers and to earn new money. 

It was first started with IBM Websphere, a set of Java-based tools from IBM that allows them to create and manage sophisticated business websites. During that time, data maintenance of new and existing products was the main challenge faced. 

As consumers are becoming more tech-savvy, this changes the way how they interact with businesses. In response to this, businesses have developed new ways of reaching and selling to their customers. 

In 2017, LKH Group understood the importance and has begun to expand its business into E-Commerce, ElectGo - an online B2B industrial marketplace for Electrical, Control, Lighting, and Safety Products to cater to the needs of online consumers locally and internationally. 

However, due to the lack of human and capital resources, little attention was spent on ElectGo at that time. The user experience on the website was not comprehensive and seamless, and orders had to be taken offline. 

 

In 2020, the pandemic has changed the world in countless ways, and one of the most significant changes has been in the realm of consumer behavior. Businesses have had to rapidly adapt to the new reality, hence, this shift has forced LKH Group to invest to develop a full-fledged eCommerce platform to provide a holistic and seamless experience. 

In 2021, going digitalization was the primary focus for LKH Group and resulted in the formation of ElectGo Pte Ltd.