York Lo: Kwoon Kwen Metal Ware (冠群金屬製品廠) Left: Kwoon Kwen ad in 1955 (HK Pun U District Association); Right: Kwoon Kwen founder Li Yan (HK Pun U District Association, 1959) Kwoon Kwen Metal Ware, a leading manufacturer of luggage locks and other metal products, was founded in 1948 (although as a firm it was not incorporated until 1965) by Li […]
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York Lo: Kwong Sang Engineering (廣生機器廠) Left: Kwong Sang Engineering founder Ng Kai-lau (HK Pun U District Association, 1955); Right: Family of Kwong Sang founder Ng Kai-lau welcoming his fifth son Chung-yau (triangle) back from studies in the US in 1961. (KSDN, 1961-7-7) Kwong Sang Engineering was one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of ship machinery in Hong Kong […]
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York Lo: Pioneer: 60 years of Supplying Construction Materials in Hong Kong Left: Ad for Pioneer Concrete in 1962 with picture of its production site in Hunghom (top) and construction site on Caernavon Road in Kowloon (bottom). (Wah Kiu Yat Po 1962-2-1); Right: Pioneer Concrete co-founder and longtime chief Sir Tristan Antico Hong Kong residents often refer to the city […]
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HF: An SCMP article from September 2006 said “The city’s four dominant asphalt manufacturers are Pioneer Asphalts (Hong Kong), Anderson Asphalt, Asphalt Surfaces (International) and Tarmac Asphalt Hong Kong, and they produce about 1 million tonnes of asphalt a year… The four companies comprise the Asphalt and Macadam Association of Hong Kong.” Anderson Asphalt Ltd Anderson Asphalt Limited, a wholly owned […]
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Mary Anne Le Bas has sent an SCMP article, Six home-grown Hong Kong trades at risk of dying out, published on 21st June 2015. The fifth of these is a product that has been around for around 200 years. The company was founded by current manager Yuen Yee Lum’s great-great-grandfather in Guangzhou, in 1835. Mr Yuen believes his is the last company making […]
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IDJ sent the English version of what the piece calls Rat Boxes. Mak Ho Yin has kindly translated it. 「香港電燈公司和煤氣公司與老鼠箱關係密切，因為老鼠箱是掛在電燈柱上的。由於華人極為抗拒（滅鼠人員）進入私人住宅，政府於是鼓勵華人在殺死家中的老鼠後，將鼠屍放在就近的老鼠箱內，由衛生部門職員每日收集清理。老鼠箱掛在電燈柱一景，還衍生了一句香港獨有的俗語「電燈柱掛老鼠箱」，以形容夫妻二人中丈夫瘦削兼且二人身高矮懸殊。」 Ho Yin continues: This paragraph raised my curiosity on the topic of rat bins so apart from translating it I also did a quick check about its history. I have no memory of seeing them hanging at lamp-posts, and I […]
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York Lo: Lin’s (Kwong Ming) Enterprises (連氏光明) and Kwong Ming Knitting Factory Picture and obituary of family patriarch Lin Yan-yee (WKYP, 1978-6-19); Right: Lin Siu-man (WKYP, 1982-9-1) The Lin family came from Chaoyang in Chiuchow and has been a notable player in the knitwear, garment, handbag and shoe industry in HK for over half a century through their Lin’s (Kwong […]
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York Lo: Mixing Concrete and Construction Equipment with Cantonese Opera and Wing Chun: the Wan family of Wai Hing and Modern For over six decades, the family of Wan Wai-yin has been supporting the construction industry in HK and beyond by supplying building materials and equipment such as gravel, concrete, timber, scaffolding and elevation platforms through various Wai Hing and […]
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Mary Anne Le Bas has sent an SCMP article, Six home-grown Hong Kong trades at risk of dying out, published on 21st June 2015. The third of these is about the Yuet Tung China Works which has been producing hand-painted porcelain since 1928. The article begins: Tso Chi-hung is the manager of Yuet Tung China Works, the last company in Hong […]
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York Lo: Peter Leung (梁振邦): Contractor, Developer and Philanthropist Left: Peter Leung giving a talk about the HK construction industry at a Rotary Club of Kowloon East luncheon in 1977 (KSEN, 1977-8-31); Right: Picture of the Peter Building in Central at the time of its completion in 1967 (WKYP, 1967-7-17) Peter Building (振邦大廈) at 58-62 Queen’s Road Central is a […]
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