York Lo: Sunbeam Manufacturing (日昇製造廠): from torchlights to kitchenware Left: old Sunbeam factory; Right: Sunbeam Centre today Founded in 1929 (this is based on the company’s own description although several external sources cite 1931 as the inception date), Sunbeam is one of the oldest industrial enterprises in Hong Kong and one of the few that continues to thrive to this […]
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York Lo: Asia International Electronics Ltd (亞洲無線電工廠) Asia International Electronics booth at the 1971 HK Products Expo (HK Memory) In the 1970s, Asia International Electronics Ltd (hereafter refer to as “AIE”) was one of the leading Chinese owned electronics firms in HK, being one of two Chinese-owned firms (the other being Atlas) amongst the top 10 radio manufacturers in HK […]
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HF: For more information about the Hongkong Milling Company and AH Rennie please refer to our related articles shown at the end of this article. AH Rennie was born at Hamilton, Ontario on 17 November 1857, he was educated at the Hamilton Collegiate Institute and Upper Canada College at Toronto. He then worked as a junior clerk in the wholesale […]
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York Lo: Big and Tall from Nanking Rd to Nathan Rd: Jefferson Young (楊撫生) of Crane (鶴鳴), Chancellor (大人), Da Da (大大) and the rise and fall of his retail empire The 1986 closure and liquidation sale of Da Da department store (which means “Big Big” in Chinese), one of the most prominent casualties of the confidence crisis at […]
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The first article on this company was written by Amelia Allsop of the Hong Kong Heritage Project Archive and posted on Nov 9, 2013. Jan 13 2014 a new image sent by IDJ: There is also a connection in the following to the article “Shanghai Spinners: Pioneers of Hong Kong’s industrialization, 1947-1955” written by Carles Brasó Broggi and posted on 9 […]
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York Lo: David L.F. Sung (孫麟方) and Hong Kong Flour Mills (香港麵粉廠) Left: The Hong Kong Flour Mills in Kwun Tong which operated from 1978 to 1995; Right: Golden Statue brand wheat flour made by HK Flour Mills (Ipoh World) In the history of the flour industry in Asia, the Sung/Sun family of Anhui can probably be considered as the […]
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York Lo: Hong Kong Jade Industry and some of its pioneers The trading and manufacturing of jade is one of the oldest businesses in HK but the industry did not form its group until June 1965 when the US government imposed an embargo on HK jadeite goods and in response, J.D. McGregor, then Deputy Director of Commerce and Industry suggested […]
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Tymon Mellor: Hong Kong was built from stone and bricks, all held together with a cement mortar. All these materials were locally made using the natural resources Hong Kong could provide. The New Territories are rich in clay, which over the years has been used for pottery and brick manufacturing. The use of air dried bricks for house building was common, and fired bricks have […]
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York Lo: The Faded Glory of Bang Bang Fashions (繽繽) Left: Print ad of Bang Bang; Jimmy Yip at the Bang Bang factory as featured in the 1977 New York Times article. In the mid-late 1970s, Hong Kong became the largest garment exporter in the world and one of the brightest stars in the HK garment industry at the time […]
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Great China Match Factory in Peng Chau in 1956 (Land Use Survey, HKU Libraries collection Courtesy: York Lo) Two men were admitted to Queen Mary Hospital after being brought over from Ping Chau Island by launch yesterday afternoon. One of them is not likely to live. They were victims of an explosion at the laboratory at the Great China Match […]
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