From its world-class bicycle manufacturing operations to its cutting-edge materials science research, Covation is putting the pedal to the metal
If you have ever hopped on an outdoor bike, chances are your vehicle was manufactured by Covation, a wheeled business giant that owns cycling brands Huffy, Niner Bikes, Batch Bicycles, VAAST Bikes, Royce Union and Buzz e-Bikes. It comes as no surprise, then, that Covation’s chief financial officer, Aaron Au, is a passionate cyclist.
The stars aligned for Au, who, in his own words, “stumbled into Covation”. After retiring from a career that took him to various cities in mainland China and Vietnam, he was approached for his rich experience across Asia, and eventually took on the role of chief financial officer. “I love bicycles. I am a triathlon participant and cycling is my strength,” he says with excitement. “But my favourite thing about Covation is the company’s innovative spirit.”
When science meets sport
The name Covation is a combination of two words: collaboration and innovation. “Our company culture is encapsulated in this name. Collaboration lies at the heart of our company, and we have a lot of long-term partnerships. For example, we have worked with a major international retail chain for over two decades and supply 80 per cent of their bicycles. We are also the largest bike licensee to a major global theme park,” explains Au. “Moreover, our R&D project with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University has also been ongoing for three years, where we explore the development of a material patent production technology called hydroforming.”
Bicycles are not Covation’s only products. The company is also the parent of Allite, a materials science business that has developed the patented Allite Super Magnesium—a lightweight but very strong and highly resilient metal alloy that is adaptable to forging, extrusion and die-casting technologies. “The name and the values of our company go so well with Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP)’s InnoPark,” says Au.
Overcoming a crash
Just as a bicycle only works when all of its components are in harmony, the interaction between people from all walks of life is the key to success for Au, which is why Covation chose HKSTP’s InnoPark as its home. “The companies here are all incredibly passionate. We go on and on with enthusiasm whenever we talk about our industry and work, and this is exactly what we want. Without communication and clashing into each other, there will be no new ideas,” Au says.
He has recently become acquainted with a battery company on the premises, with whom Covation is working to manufacture e-bikes. “What InnoPark gives us is an ecosystem. It brings people with ambition, passion, ideas and an innovative spirit together. As long as they sit down together in the same room, a spark will be created. The universe came into existence through a lot of clashing. The InnoPark is important for this very reason: it gives us the chance to clash into each other and merge different types of manufacturing with innovation.”
The road to sustainability
With its technology, Covation hopes to reduce humanity’s carbon footprint. “We hope to use lightweight, high-performance metal alloys such as Allite Super Magnesium to decrease human dependency on energy. Magnesium is also recyclable, so when things are broken, we can reuse them,” he says.
Covation is committed to promoting the application of lightweight technology across various industries to reduce the dependence on energy and contribution to global carbon emissions. "We will continue to strive towards a more environmentally friendly world for our next generations," he says. “This is where collaboration comes in; innovation only makes up a small part of it—If everybody innovates a little, we come together to create something big.”