Tien Wah Press The roots of Tien Wah Press (TWP) go back to 1935, when its founder Wong Lin Kwong purchased a small letterpress printing shop in Upper Cross Street from a friend for 3,000 Malayan dollars. Having survived World War II, the management of the company was taken over by Wong’s eldest son, Tik Yun, who is credited with having built the company into a major business concern. Very soon, it moved into new premises in Cecil Street, and by 1956, expansion required a further move, this time to Leng Kee Road. In 1960, a factory was started in Kuala Lumpur. Further expansion necessitated another move to Bukit Timah Road in the 1970s. In 1996, the company moved into its present premises at Pandan Crescent, which is twice the size of the Bukit Timah plant.
TWP soon became one of the two largest printers in Singapore. The company took the lead in introducing four- colour work, producing cartons, labels and commercial brochures. From there, it ventured into producing bound books, and earned the distinction of being one of only two printers in the world to have produced pop- up books in 1978. The company continued to specialize in pop- up books, board books and books with accessories. In the mid- 1960s, it entered into a partnership with Rothmans of Pall Mall, and enlarged its alliance in 1970 to include the Dai Nippon Printing Group and Mitsubishi Corporation in order to take on the increasing competition. Rothmans sold its stake in 1973.
In the early 1980s, when the move of many toy manufacturers out of Singapore presaged a decline in the market for packaging, TWP shifted its strategic focus to book production for the international publishing market. A historical milestone emerged for the company when it made its first inroads into overseas markets. By the 1990s, TWP was an international business, equipped for book production with major international clients and a reputation for quality. This global reach has resulted in its being a leading exporter of books with international offices opened in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Europe.
As it continued to carve a niche in the children’s novelty book market, a new facility was established in 1984 in the industrial district of Tampoi in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The addition of another wing to the Malaysian plant in 2004 bore testimony to the market’s fast- growing demand for innovative children’s books.
In 2003, the Dai Nippon Printing Group, which had bought the Wong family’s equity in 1991, assumed full ownership of TWP, buying out Mitsubishi’s 15 per cent share. Today, the company is a leading exporter of books, and is well- known for its educational books for adults and children. Its two plants in Singapore and Malaysia make up about a million square feet of factory space, with a workforce of over 2,000 producing a full range of books and book innovations. The company celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2005.