It was 10-year-old Jovis Tan’s first factory tour when he visited Thong Siek Global (TSG) – known for its DoDo fishballs and other seafood products – in Senoko with some family members on Sept 5.
During the two-hour visit, he saw how fishballs, fish cakes and crabsticks were made using high-tech automation. He also got to sample freshly made products during and after the tour.
The Primary 4 pupil from Jing Shan Primary School said: “It was amazing, wonderful and delicious. I like eating fishballs, so the best part is sampling the food.”
He is looking forward to more factory tours. “After today, I’ll take any factory tour,” he said.
TSG started hosting tours in 2023. Today, it gets two or three inquiries for visits weekly, with 10 tours scheduled in September alone. Visitors pay $18 to $40, depending on add-on activities, and receive a goodie bag worth $15 of its products.
Mr Erik Lee, TSG’s brand manager, who conducts the two-hour tours, said demand for visits has been increasing, with more interest among community groups and overseas tourists. Due to space constraints, it can accept only up to 40 people for each tour.
“The greatest reward is the positive feedback from participants,” he said. “This gives us a sense of accomplishment, knowing that everyone went home learning something new.”
Singaporeans are signing up for a myriad of behind-the-scenes tours offered by companies here.
A tour offering a peek into the National Library Board’s (NLB) Library Supply Centre (LSC) in Changi was met with overwhelming response. All 200 slots were taken up within the week of release on the NLB website and libraries’ social media pages in mid-August.
The tours were organised for the first time as part of NLB’s 30th anniversary celebration and its month-long Love Our Libraries and Archives (Lola) 2025 festivities in September. Tour participants found out more about the libraries’ operations, including the processing and cataloguing of library materials.
NLB said it is delighted with the overwhelming response, which exceeded its expectations.
“We will take into account the strong interest in visiting LSC in our planning for future editions of Lola,” said an NLB spokesperson.
Mr Ganesh Sivaraj, 43, joined the tour on Sept 5.
“Now I have a better understanding of the back-end process and the people who make it easy for us to read and borrow books in the library,” said the manufacturing executive. “Going on these tours provides users with better insights and appreciation of the organisation and the people who make it happen.”
Mr Ivan Oh, 45, attended the same LSC tour with his wife and two children on Sept 5. During the June holidays, they visited the Wolbachia-Aedes mosquito factory in Ang Mo Kio, as well as the Kim Chuan Depot.
“We didn’t know about the philosophy, processes and people behind the scenes until the tours, which have been educational and insightful,” said the solutions architect.
PacificLight Power, that has been hosting free visits to its power plant on Jurong Island for more than 10 years, had 600 visitors in 2024, compared with fewer than 100 in the first year. To date, it has welcomed more than 3,000 visitors to see its power system and plant operations.
Ms Clare Savereux, PacificLight Power’s deputy general manager for regulations and corporate communications, said: “The tours deepen public understanding of power generation, sustainability practices through our innovative solutions, and Singapore’s energy transition – while engaging the community, inspiring future energy professionals and forging trust with our business partners and communities.”
Since 2022, non-profit heritage group My Community has worked with more than 30 companies to run about 140 sessions for over 4,000 participants under its Open My Factory tours.
Each participant is charged around $20 for the tours, which takes them to workplaces like the Singapore Post’s mail processing centre and Tower Transit Singapore’s (TTS) Bulim Bus Depot.
My Community’s executive director Kwek Li Yong said: “Through conversations with the men and women who work there, visitors see the skill, dedication and pride that go into tasks many of us take for granted. We want people to leave with a deeper appreciation that when everything ‘just works’, it’s because a whole community of hard-working individuals makes it happen.”
TTS began hosting guided tours at Bulim Bus Depot in 2023, in collaboration with My Community. It also runs ad-hoc and complimentary tours independently for some schools and community groups.
The tours provide a glimpse into areas not usually open to the public, including engineering maintenance bays and workshops, bus wash and refuel stations, bus operations control centre, staff lounges, and operations dispatch counter.
Visitors get to interact with the vehicle technicians and operations staff who ensure buses are safe and ready to serve commuters daily.
Mr Glenn Lim, the company’s communications and customer experience director, said interest in its tours has grown steadily in recent years as more people seek unique and educational experiences, with demand especially high during school holidays.
While there are challenges – like coordinating around staff schedules, maintaining safety in an active depot and managing access to restricted areas – the rewards are significant, he said.
“The positive feedback from participants not only makes our staff feel valued, but also helps Tower Transit build stronger connections with the community,” he added.
Since 1987, Yakult Singapore has welcomed more than 500,000 visitors to its production facility in Senoko. The tour is free for selected groups. Open tour and private group visitors are requested to purchase the Yakult gold family pack at a special price of $6.70 to secure their slots.
Tours are conducted twice daily on weekdays and three times a day during school holidays. The factory tour is closed on all weekends and public holidays.
Mr Masaaki Sunami, managing director at Yakult Singapore, said demand has spiked as more are drawn to the family-friendly and educational tours, or curious about the health benefits and science behind the probiotic drink.
There are also those who love to share the unique experience on social media. In return, the firm gets to promote trust, product transparency and customer engagement, he said.
Over at SingPost, demand has risen since it began offering guided tours as part of its celebrations of 165 years of postal services in 2023.
The tours, mostly run with My Community, let participants see how its staff work alongside automated sorting machines to process millions of letters and parcels daily. The tours have been paused due to SingPost’s upcoming peak season.
A SingPost spokesperson said: “The tours serve as important public engagement activities that raise awareness and provide education. Additionally, hosting tours allows our staff to develop new skills and engage directly with the community, which is highly rewarding.”
Retired musician Trevor Sze, who visited TSG, said there should be more of such tours in Singapore.
“Such trips are very educational,” said the 53-year-old.
“It’s also good for the companies to build people’s trust by letting them know that everything is handled professionally and hygienically.”
