47 Wyler Textiles Ltd

HF: Carles Brasó Broggi’s, Shanghai Spinners: Pioneers of Hong Kong’s industrialization, 1947-1955, first published in the Indhhk email Newsletter 9 sent out on 9th November 2013 is one of the most visited website articles.

The article mentions Wyler Textiles Limited (伟伦纺织有限公司) a couple of times. There is also a Wyler mage from a 1956 Trade Annual.

I come across the company every so often, the odd mention, usually in connection to other Chinese or Hong Kong textile companies, but nothing substantial and certainly not a general history of the company.

I recently asked Carles if he could add anything about Wyler Textiles to that which he posted in his Shanghai Spinners article.

Carles replied, “Unfortunately, I don’t have too much information about Wyler, I remember the advertisement I took from the Far Eastern Economic Review and other journals at HKU. I also remember a reference to Wyler in an article by Marie Clarie-Bergère (I attach, but it’s in French) and a book by Toru Kubo.

Sur les six filatures de coton établies dans la colonie en 1947-1948, quatre appartiennent à des membres de ce groupe, qui ont utilisé les ressources en équipements et en capital de leurs entreprises shanghaïennes pour financer leurs investissements à Hong Kong. Les 20 millions de dollars de Hong Kong investis par la compagnie Wyler [Weilun] Textiles Ltd viennent pour l’essentiel de la filature Shenxin n° 9. Les principaux gestionnaires de Wyler sont Wu Kunsheng, directeur de la Shenxin n° 9, et son fils, Wu Zhongyi. De leur côté, Wang Yuncheng, Rong Hongyuan et ses frères Hongsan et Hongjing se sont servis des bénéfices et du capital de la filature Shenxin n° 1 pour fonder la Compagnie Nanyang Cotton Mills Ltd (en coopération avec L. Kaddoorie (1)

If you can point us in the direction of further information about this once major HK concern I would be delighted to hear from you:

Hugh Farmer indhhk at gmail dot com

In Hong Kong, Wu Kunsheng (with the support of one of the sons of Zongjing, Hongyuan) and other shareholders such as C. S. Loh (Liu Jusen) founded and built a spinning factory in To Kwa Wan.(2)

The largest of the four companies, Wyler Textiles Ltd. [the others being South China Textile Co, Hong Kong Cotton Mills and Nanyang Cotton Mills] is closely connected with China’s largest privately-owned mills. Wylers are planning a factory to occupy a site of 225,000 square ft. on the waterfront near the Hong- Kong and Whampoa dockyard. Their industrial equipment will include much that has never been used in the East. The plant will operate 25,000 spindles and will produce about 70 bales per 24-hour day. About 1,200 workers will be employed in an ultra-modern building.The company plans to go into production as soon as the first 2,000 spindles arrive about the beginning of the year. [1948?] They will install these in a warehouse until the factory is completed and will spend the first part of next year training millworkers.(3)

Sources:

1. Les capitalistes shanghaïens et la période de transition entre le régime Guomindang et le communisme (1948-1952) Marie-Claire Bergère 1989?
2. Shanghai Spinners: Pioneers of Hong Kong’s industrialization, 1947-1955
3. The West Australian, 16th December 1947

See:

1. Les capitalistes shanghaïens et la période de transition entre le régime Guomindang et le communisme (1948-1952)
   Marie-Claire Bergère, 1989

This Q+A was first posted on 15th May 2018.

Related Indhhk articles:

1. Carles Brasó Broggi book published – the Chinese textile industry and links post WW2 to Hong Kong