Coffins And Caskets Wholesale Supplier In Singapore
The main difference between coffins and caskets are their shapes. Caskets are four sided, rectangularly shaped and used since ancient times. Coffins on the other hand are in the past reserved only for the wealthiest and are six sided, hexagonal shaped.
In the past, this distinction is made quite clearly. In Singapore, rectangularly shaped caskets are used since ancient times when our forefathers first came to Singapore and brought the wood-making industry along with them. Majority of the people back then were staunch Taoists if not Buddhists and hence four-sided caskets were the norm for funerals. As Singapore progresses and becomes more westernised, six sided, hexagonal coffins gained popularity, especially among the Christians and Catholics.
There are no religious affiliations linked to the different coffin shapes but Singaporeans are generally used to seeing the rectangular types of caskets. The older generation in Singapore might still prefer them to the more modernised six sided coffins. In fact, some older folks feel uncomfortable with the hexagonal coffins as they remind them of the coffins used by draculas in Western movies.
Today, the distinction between four sided caskets and six sided coffins is not as marked as before anymore. People are aware that these wooden crates are used to contain the corpse during the wake and the shapes of these crates in no way symbolise any specific religion. With exposure and awareness, people are more open to choose the caskets or coffins based on the practicalities of the situation than on superstitious beliefs. In fact, a new coffin shape has emerged in Asian societies hugely populated with Chinese. Eight-sided coffins have become popular over the years because of the supposed auspicious meaning it symbolises.
What Are Coffins and Caskets Made Of?
Worldwide, coffins can be made of various materials depending on the method of final disposition of the body – burial or cremation. In some countries, coffins are on a rented basis before the body gets transferred into the cremator for cremation. In Singapore, this is not the case. In Singapore, the coffin chosen gets cremated with the cadaver and we strictly do not reuse coffins.
In some countries, coffins are made of steel, fiberglass, wood and even recycled kraft material. In Singapore, traditionally the caskets are made of real solid wood – teak, mahogany, etc. Singapore used to have one company that manufactures coffin locally. However, with changing times and rising costs, the business model simply became unsustainable. For one, the space needed to manufacture coffins is not small and this cost can be significant in land-scarce Singapore. In the past, coffins used to be hand-made and that took a lot of time, rendering the entire process unproductive as well. With advancement, the old methods of locally producing coffins were disposed of. Singapore then started importing coffins overseas.
With cremations slowly superseding burials in land-scarce Singapore, Singaporeans are also more open to coffins being made of lower-grade wood. Nowadays, it is not common to find coffins made of solid wood anymore. Coffins and caskets these days are made from medium density fibreboard (MDF) wood. MDF is a man-made wood product that is manufactured by breaking down wood into fibres and then combining these fibres with heat and pressure to form thick panels. The panels formed are as hard or harder than actual wood. They also appear nicer as they are smooth and free of blemishes. MDF wood coffins serves the same purpose as solid wood coffins at a much lower price.
Where Are Coffins And Caskets From?
Singapore does not produce its own caskets but in the past, Singapore had a manufacturing facility making its own coffins! In fact, my very old paternal grandfather made the archaic, bulky coffin from scratch using just raw materials using his bare hands! Back then, the coffins were made of solid wood and were mostly used for burial. Due to the rising cost of labour and rising rent, Singapore has stopped making its own coffins but instead changed to importing coffins from its neighbouring countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. Some companies even import coffins from China as it is supposedly lower-priced. We have since changed from making our own coffins for the Singaporean community to being a wholesale importer of coffins. There are many other funeral companies and homes in Singapore who are so-called third parties and they take their supplies from us. Some of these companies even sub-contract the entire funeral out to us as they might not have their own full-time staff, inventories needed for funerals, vehicles like hearses and embalming care facilities. In fact, in Singapore even if you own a land, you would not be able to simply import coffins and store them due to the sensitive nature of coffins. Usually such lands designated for funeral or related activities' uses would be leased out by the government.
Why choose Harmony Funeral Care?
At Harmony Funeral Care, we aim to preserve over 60 years of tradition of serving bereaved families. We take pride in providing the best support that one can find in grief and offer:
- Dedicated And Experienced Staff To Guide You
- Competitive Funeral Packages To Ensure Affordability For All
- Free Video Montage On Funeral Day
- Transparent Pricing With No Hidden Costs
Call us now at +65 9489 2424 for a non-obligatory consultation!
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A humble service done in remembrance of Mr Tee Hock Chwee, founder of Hock Hin Undertaker established since 1963
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