The firm, which employs six foreigners among its 25 staff, has seen its per unit cost of labour rise by some 16 per cent since 2010, largely due to higher foreign worker levies and more expensive local workers.
And now that the Government has tightened foreign worker quotas, Mr Loh expects costs to escalate further, as local workers raise their salary expectations as they will be in even higher demand.
PTS is in the process of expanding and hiring more staff, and it is struggling to find locals willing to take on the vacant roles.
He added that it is difficult for PTS to hire more local workers at high salaries as the company cannot pass on the cost to its customers, given the highly competitive market it is in.
'Thankfully I haven't hit my foreign worker quota yet, but I expect I will reach that level soon,' he said.
For now, the company is trying to change the way its does business, so as to squeeze the most value out of its current operations.
One way the company has tried to resolve its labour challenges is by hiring older workers. There are now three at PTS, but this has its limitations, he said.
'They are excellent workers. But they are not as dexterous as younger workers, and so they are limited to certain jobs,' said Mr Loh.
PTS has also been exploring various long-term strategies to overcome its labour constraints, including relocating some operations overseas, forming alliances or joint ventures with foreign partners, and automating some processes.
The firm also recently acquired a licence to produce medical devices. Entry into this high-value market will give it another source of revenue, Mr Loh said.
'Over the past two years, this is what we have been doing to deal with the increasing costs - innovating, finding creative ways to expand our customer base and enter new markets.
'We have also tapped on a number of government schemes to improve productivity. We'll continue to do all these things as we try to survive.'
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