SINGAPORE: British technology firm Dyson announced late Tuesday (Jan 22) night that it will move its corporate head office to Singapore to “reflect the increasing importance of Asia” to its business.
In a press release, the privately owned company known for its bladeless fans and bagless vacuum cleaners said: “An increasing majority of Dyson’s customers and all of our manufacturing operations are now in Asia; this shift has been occurring for some time and will quicken as Dyson brings its electric vehicle to market.
“As a result, an increasing proportion of Dyson’s executive team is going to be based in Singapore; positioning them to make the right decisions for Dyson in a quick and efficient way.”
READ: British technology company Dyson to build electric car in Singapore
Dyson also announced investment plans, including the expansion of the Singapore Technology Centre to double its current size, as well as the Malaysia Design Centre’s fifth phase of development.
Dyson’s digital motors are manufactured in Singapore. (Photo: Dyson)
Much of its product development will remain in southwest England.
It said that there will be construction of new laboratories in the United Kingdom, to cater for the growth of Dyson’s energy storage research and robotics programme.
Malmesbury, the location of its original headquarters, as well as Hullavington, London and Bristol, will “continue to be core creative and engineering parts of Dyson”, it said.
READ: Peek inside Dyson’s high-tech R&D facility in Singapore
The company said the move from Britain was not driven by Brexit or any tax implications. It already manufacturers products in Asia and will build its new electric car in Singapore.
Chief executive Jim Rowan said the group was seeing the biggest demand for its products like air purifiers and hairdryers as well as cleaners in Asia.
“It allows us to make sure we will be putting our best efforts to secure those opportunities, as well as keeping an eye on those investments, especially EV (electric vehicles) and batteries,” he said.
Rowan, who is already based in Singapore, will be joined by other senior executives. Among them is Roland Krueger, who has been president of the Infiniti Motor Company and senior vice-president of Nissan Motor Co since January 2015.
Krueger will join Dyson in April to “oversee all aspects of the automotive project as it approaches launch”, the company revealed.
The move comes as Dyson said its annual profit had broken through the 1 billion pound barrier for the first time, driven by strong demand in China and other Asian countries.
