SATS Ltd. announced it has commenced a lease agreement with JTC to build an innovative food hub in Singapore's Jurong Innovation District. The move aligns with SATS' strategy to strengthen its Singapore core while growing international and non-travel businesses. The project will bring together all of SATS' expertise in food production­ culinary, food technology, supply chain, innovation, sustainability, digitalisation, food safety and nutrition to transform current food production processes.

The company will deploy automation and robotics to achieve operational efficiency and hone vital new skills for the future. For example, processes within the hub will be networked with Internet of Things (IoT) technology to provide data that will aid planning, increase asset utilisation and reduce food waste. Large-batch production of meals will be automated to achieve efficiency, and certain manual processes such as meal assembly will potentially be carried out by robotic finger grippers and auto dispensing units for various food components.

The company will also expand the SATS Global Innovation Centre (SGIC) to the hub, enabling it to tap into the location's close connectivity to food tech start-ups, SMEs and institutions of higher learning to develop an open collaboration platform for innovation partnerships. SGIC is a network that includes SATS Innovation Hubs in Singapore and the UK, creating opportunities for cross-border collaborations. SATS Food Hub aims to bring new vitality into Singapore's Jurong Innovation District and its community with an experiential centre in the hub.

Visitors to the hub will learn about food innovations and sustainability through educational tours of the facility. SATS Food Hub is expected to be completed in 2024 and will occupy an area of 20,000 sqm. The five-storey building will have facilities for food manufacturing, production kitchens, innovation lab, warehousing and logistics centre, food court and experiential centre.

It is designed to meet Singapore's Building and Construction Authority Green Mark Platinum certification.