FOR NANOFILM TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL FOUNDER SHI XU, HISPATH TO SUCCESS IS FORGED FROM A SERIES OF TOUGH DECISIONS.
Stainless-steel mesh smartwatch straps, car engine piston rings, and aspherical camera lens moulds aren’t very similar at first glance. But they are all coated with a wear-resistant carbon film that is as tough as a diamond. This sliver-thin coating is today an essential component in manufacturing, thanks to Shi Xu, founder and executive chairman of Singapore company Nanofilm Technologies International.
Shi, the recipient of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 award, had made it his life’s work to research filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) technology before launching Nanofilm in 1999 with a start-up capital of $300,000. Today, Nanofilm’s patented FCVA method of depositing a diamond-strength film on the surfaces of objects remains the gold standard in the vacuum coating industry, imparting chip-resistant colour and an exceptional smoothness to materials.
This success, he says, was hard won. The 54-year-old is speaking at Nanofilm’s headquarters in Ayer Rajah Industrial Estate, with his wife and company assistant vice-president in corporate and business development, Jin Xiao Qun, by his side. “I’ve encountered many crossroads in my life,” he says. Each juncture would test his mettle as a husband, researcher and businessman.
LEAVING THE IVORY TOWER
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