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Building Futures By Elizabeth Dooley
As Asia’s construction industry continues to adapt to political, economic, and technological changes, one company at the forefront of that evolution is S&Techs. The firm, known formally as the S&T Group of Companies, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary – a milestone that speaks not only to its longevity, but also to its ability to remain agile and client-focused across an ever-changing regional landscape.
In a recent interview for Lighthouse Magazine, S&Techs COO Mike Kavanagh and members of his leadership team shared how the company is shaping its future through talent, technology, and expansion.
Client-driven growth
Established in May 2000, S&Techs began life in Hong Kong as a specialist office fit-out and construction management firm catering to multinational clients. From the outset, the company differentiated itself by providing services that matched the quality and precision clients were accustomed to in cities like London and New York.
“We saw a gap in the market,” says Kavanagh. “Multinational clients in Asia were not always receiving the same standard of fit-out and project delivery they’d expect elsewhere. We knew we could bring that international standard to Hong Kong.”
The success of that model soon led to expansion. In 2003, S&Techs opened its second office in Shenzhen in response to surging demand for expert construction across Southern China. That expansion was also driven by the firm’s ability to service Japanese clients entering the Chinese market – a strength bolstered by Kavanagh’s Japanese business partner and CEO, Nobuo Shigemitsu.
“Those two core streams – Japanese clients in mainland China and multinational clients in Hong Kong – really formed the backbone of our early years,” Kavanagh explains.
Over time, S&Techs extended its reach to other Asian markets, including Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and most recently, Malaysia. “Our philosophy has always been to follow our clients,” Kavanagh adds. “If a global client needed support in a new market, we worked out how to deliver it.”
Even today, in locations where S&techs do not have company registrations, the firm operates via trusted Alliance Partner firms to service their clients’ requirements.
And while S&Techs’ bread and butter remains commercial interiors, the firm has significantly expanded its sectoral footprint.
“In Hong Kong, we realised early on that we couldn’t just rely on the multinational client market,” Kavanagh notes. “We started working with major local institutions such as the the Hong Kong Football Club and local clients in the financial services, education and hospitality sectors, and also diversifying into food & beverage, luxury retail, and most recently, the mission-critical sector.”
Today, S&Techs’ recent push into data centres and mission-critical infrastructure reflects broader trends across Asia. With exponential growth in digital demand, the firm has recently hired a former senior Google employee as Mission-Critical Director, who is now developing a full-scale data centre delivery model in Malaysia and other key markets.
“Mission-critical is a high-growth, high-expectation space,” Kavanagh said. “We’ve made a deliberate investment in that area because we believe it’s key to the future of construction in this region.”
Driving innovation
S&Techs now operates as a group of aligned but distinct companies. In 2024, the firm acquired One Space, a respected interior architecture and design studio in Hong Kong with offices in Singapore and Macau, which has enabled it to expand its design-and-build capabilities. At the same time, the company launched a sister business called Remoc, focused on smart technology, AI, and IoT for construction. S&techs & Remoc’s new office in Shenzhen includes graduates from Hong Kong and mainland Chinese universities.
“Remoc is a great example of what happens when you give young, capable graduates the space to be innovative,” said Kavanagh. “They’re developing systems that improve how we run our sites. This includes everything from health and safety to project close-out, using AI and sensor-based technology.”
For Kavanagh, one of the most urgent priorities facing the construction sector is attracting young talent. “Construction has a perception problem,” he acknowledges. “It’s often seen as old-fashioned or rigid, but in reality, it’s one of the most dynamic industries in the world.”S&Techs’ graduate programme is designed to show that dynamism in action. In both Hong Kong and mainland China, the company runs summer internships, sabbatical placements, and structured graduate rotation schemes. “We work with local universities to bring students in during their degree programmes, give them real on-site experience, and then often hire them when they graduate,” explains Kavanagh.
Interns and graduate hires rotate through various departments – from pre-construction and design, through to estimating, procurement, and on-site project delivery. This exposure is essential not only for professional development but also for personal career discovery.
“One of our interns might come in thinking they want to do quantity surveying,” says Kavanagh, “but after spending time on site, they realise they’re passionate about project management. Another might discover an interest in business development or tendering. We give them the opportunity to try things out.”
It’s an approach that has paid off, with S&Techs and its sister companies now boasting a growing cohort of young professionals across its Asia offices, many of whom entered through the graduate pathway.
The future of construction
With the launch of Remoc and an increased focus on smart site systems, S&Techs is now embracing the fourth industrial revolution. AI is already being used within the firm to streamline tendering, estimation, and design workflows.
“AI is already making a real difference at the front end of our projects,” says Kavanagh. “But there’s so much potential in the delivery phase. On-site robotics, automated QA and prefabrication technologies for hotel rooms or modular office suites are all areas we’re actively exploring.”
“There’s still a long way to go in terms of applying AI to every stage of the construction process,” he adds. “But that’s what makes it so exciting for graduates. There’s room to innovate and shape the next chapter.”
For graduates seeking international experience, S&Techs offers compelling opportunities. The company now operates multiple offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and China, with alliance partnerships under negotiation in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, South Korea, and even the Middle East.
“Our Singapore office is being developed as a Southeast Asian hub,” says Kavanagh. “Just like we used Hong Kong as a launchpad for North Asia, we want to use Singapore to grow our footprint across ASEAN.”
With that growth comes real opportunity. “If you’re a graduate who’s willing to be mobile, you can accelerate your career quickly,” Kavanagh explains. “Our newer offices are high-growth environments. You’ll wear multiple hats, gain diverse experience, and move up the ladder faster than you might in a larger, more hierarchical firm.”
S&Techs is also looking to broaden the services it offers clients, to include furniture supply, IT, and security solutions. “These are all essential elements of modern construction projects,” Kavanagh says. “Sometimes, the cost of furniture and AV systems outweighs the base build itself, and we want to offer clients a complete solution.”
Indeed, this integration creates more graduate roles in the areas of procurement, logistics, and system installation – making the company attractive to a wider talent pool, including those from non-traditional construction backgrounds.
“One of the most rewarding parts of working in construction is that you can see the result of your work,” he said. “You can stand in a space and know you helped create it. That feeling never gets old, and it’s something we want to pass on to the next generation.”
As S&Techs enters its second quarter-century, its ambitions remain bold. With an expanding footprint across Asia and an eye on the Middle East and beyond, the company is doubling down on innovation, partnership, and people.
“Our success has always been about relationships – whether with clients or employees,” says Kavanagh. “That won’t change. What will change is the way we deliver – more tech, more talent, more ideas. That’s the future we’re building.”