York Lo: Yung Tack Cheong Hardware Manufactory (翁德祥金屬製品廠) Ad for Yung Tack Cheong Hardware Manufactory in 1941 (A Century of Commerce) Kerosene lamps was a major industrial sector in Hong Kong and earlier in the group we have profiled some of its key players such as Union Metal Works, World-Light Manufactory, Lea Hin and Glory Metal Works. Yung Tack Cheong […]
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HF: Universal Dockyard Ltd is situated at 44 Ko Fai Road which is the extreme NW corner of the Yau Tong reclamation. (It appears to have been also known as Tai Yuen Shipyards though I can find nothing about this company. Can anyone supply any information about it?) I have found out almost nothing about the company. Judging by these […]
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York Lo: Mak Ming Kee Tooth Brush Manufactory (麥明記機製牙刷廠） Left: Ad for Mak Ming Kee Tooth Brush Manufactory in 1941 with picture of its factory in To Kwa Wan (A Century of Commerce); Right: Mak Ming Kee founder Mak Wing-cheung (A Century of Commerce, 1941) From the 1920s to 1960s, Mak Ming Kee was a leading brand of toothbrushes in […]
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HF: This was the first major cotton spinning company in Hong Kong and was formed in 1898 by Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co Ltd. A Public Works Department’s Annual Report from that year states:”During the year the most notable buildings in course of erection from an industrial point of view were the Cotton Mills at Causeway Bay and…” Considerable detail […]
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Eleanor Wong has written A History of the Wong Family Textile Business, a detailed account of her family’s business history in Shanghai, then in Hong Kong and finally Indonesia. She was assisted in this project by her editor, Carey Vail. Part Two: Life in Hong Kong continues the story with the arrival of TY Wong in Hong Kong from Shanghai, early in 1949. […]
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York Lo: Tatt Sing Sanyo (達誠三洋電器) Tat Sheng Trading’s ad for the entire range of Sanyo products ranging from fans, cookers and transistor radios in 1958 (WKYP, 1958-6-5) Earlier on the website, we have covered several Japanese brands such as Sony, Minolta and Ricoh which entered the HK market through partnerships with local firms such as Chung Yuen Electrical, Goddard […]
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HF: Any further information about this company or others involved in producing alcohol in HK, especially Chinese ones, would be welcomed. (see links below) While walking down Clear Water Bay Road on 21st Feb 2015 I glanced down a rather rough side road, saw a small, industrial looking building and decided to investigate. At the start of the road was a […]
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York Lo: Rainbow Latex and Seven Sea Chemicals Rainbow and Seven Sea are two key firms in the history of the latex industry in Hong Kong started by two branches of the Wu family from Shanghai. Starting out as a squatter factory, the firms survived multiple fires over the years and family disputes and became the first and leading manufacturer […]
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James Chan: The Borneo Company Ltd had a very interesting history. In 1856 it apparently opened an office in Hong Kong and it would be interesting to know more about the company’s operations here. Rudi Butt’s fascinating Hong Kong’s First blog (linked below) contains this: This summary of the company comes from wikipedia: The Borneo Company Ltd formed in 1856, is […]
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York Lo: Majestic (美琪) and Union (鑑臣): Makers of Soaps, Perfumes and Essential Oils Left: Ad for Majestic soap in Hong Kong in 1950 (KSDN, 1950-10-3); Right: Headline coverage of the murder of C.D. Lee in 1958. The pictures in the top section from left to right are Liu Han-ming, Joseph Pei and C.D. Lee. The pictures in the bottom […]
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