Roberto Leone’s electronics maker NiRoTech is bringing manufacturing back to Hong Kong—the smart way
As electronics manufacturers go, NiRoTech is tiny. That’s why the company—which was set up in 2013 and employs about 40 people producing electronic products under contract to customers’ specifications—knows it has to be smart.
“In Asia, in our industry, there are tons of companies who are bigger than us, more established than us”, says founder and managing director Roberto Leone. “Working in this industry for many years, we set up NiRoTech knowing our added value is to differentiate from our competitors.”
Silver linings
Originally from Italy, Leone worked for more than a decade as a purchasing director for big companies in Europe, mostly within General Electric. He then moved to Asia—based in Shanghai and Hong Kong—to boost his employer’s purchasing capabilities, and specific sourcing capabilities throughout the APAC region. When the situation presented itself for Leone to take over the company, he already had a portfolio of customers who trusted his knowledge. As a result, he started NiRoTech along with his co-founder Nicole Yip, who he first met when he was living in Italy and she was working for one of his suppliers.
The company focuses on access and safety control devices for the home, such as intelligent video door intercom systems. It has three manufacturing facilities, one in mainland China, one in Vietnam, which it added in 2019, and Hong Kong, which came online in 2020.
“We’ve set up a tailormade supply chain. We don’t have one location for making a specific product; we work with the customer to set up production in Hong Kong, mainland China or Vietnam. We can be fast and accurate anywhere we’re producing,” says Leone. “Distributed manufacturing allows us to support our clients’ business growth and reduced the impact of lockdown, taxation and logistics issues during Covid-19.”
Automated success
In Hong Kong, the company’s factory is a smart one, staffed by AI-powered robots, and known as The Owl, named after a traditional symbol of wisdom in European culture. Originally located in Yuen Long, it moved in 2023 to Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMC) in Tseung Kwan O’s InnoPark.
Manufacturing in Hong Kong wasn’t something Leone had thought of before he was approached with the idea. When they were pitched, “I felt brave, approaching the unknown” he recalls. The benefits, though, soon became clear.
“Automation is not only matter for larger companies: smaller companies that have automated any of their processes are seeing a higher success rate than larger organisations.”
“In Hong Kong, I can control costs; I know how much I pay, and I know for the next ten years. But manufacturing in Hong Kong, what I’m selling is not price but quality. I sleep well, because I’m sure my products are reliable for many years. We wanted to be different, and now the payback is great.”
The assistance from Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) has been invaluable, he adds. “NiRoTech was the first company to start production in the Advanced Manufacturing Centre located at InnoPark Tseung Kwan O, and has benefited from HKSTP’s network, including access to talent, state-of-the-art facilities such as the AMC and its adjacent Data Technology Hub (DT Hub), networking and collaboration opportunities, and visibility and reputation.”
In the future, says Leone, the company plans to embrace technology even more tightly.
“For businesses today, data is everything. It shapes decisions, guides operations and helps companies understand customers. Sharing live data, especially with customers far away from us, will allow us to cancel geographical distance.”