(Hong Kong, 27 August 2024) – NANOshields Technology Limited (“NANOshields”), a subsidiary of King’s Flair International (Holdings) Limited, is pleased to announce the grand opening of its Nano Material Manufacturing Center at the Advanced Manufacturing Centre (“AMC”) in Tseung Kwan O InnoPark. The project received extensive support from the Hong Kong government and professionals across various sectors, with it being a recipient of a HK$15 million funding from the New Industrialisation Funding Scheme (NIFS, previously known as Re-industrialisation Funding Scheme) under the Innovation and Technology Commission. On the day of its opening, the ceremony was attended by many guests, including Professor Sun Dong, JP, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry; Professor Jin-Guang Teng, President of Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Doctor Ming Ge, Commissioner for Industry (Innovation and Technology), as well as other business, academic, and political professionals.
Leveraging the strong research and development (“R&D”) capability of local universities, NANOshields strives to drive global material development. On the one hand, it has established an Innovation and Technology Centre with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to strengthen communication and collaboration between global talents; on the other hand, it has established the “HKUST-KF Joint Laboratory for Sustainable Technologies” to explore frontier research and applications in the areas of sustainable technologies and materials, carbon reduction, and new industrialisation.
With its parent company being a one-stop solution provider with strong design and R&D capabilities in kitchenware and drinkware, NANOshields realised the deficiency of existing filtration technolgoies, and has since primarily focused on the applications of nanotechnology, such as adding nanofiber technology to water filtration products. Since then, NANOshields has further extended its feasibility analysis to the medical and beauty fields.
As NANOshields continued to expand its business scale and product offerings, it also concluded that it would need higher R&D efficiency and production capacity to support its journey. In 2019, NANOshields acquired 4 independent, separately operated nanofiber production lines, setting up the first line in Taipo. In 2021, as Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation repositioned its 3 industrial estates in Taipo, Yuen Long, and Tseung Kwan O into InnoParks, with its AMC in Tseung Kwan O opening its door at the end of 2022, this provided a unique opportunity for NANOshields to regroup its manufacturing capabilities. As a result, NANOshields has installed all 4 production lines at AMC to further drive its nanofiber development.
The Nano Material Manufacturing Center is equipped with world-class facilities such as smart sensors and real-time monitoring systems, capable of collecting, transmitting, and analysing a series of production and environment parameters. Supported by the instant and dynamic reporting, NANOshields can closely monitor product quality and make quick adjustments to its production. Along with other automation and smart logistics services at AMC, NANOshields expects to reduce labour costs by more than 40%, increase its production efficiency by 6 times, and shorten its lag time between different production settings by more than 50%, when compared to a single line of production. The 4 production lines are capable of producing more than 10 tonnes of nanomaterials annually, serving the global market.
Doctor Alex Wong, Founder, Chairman, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of King’s Flair International (Holdings) Limited, said during the ceremony, “As a company rooted in Hong Kong, we are grateful to the local government and other sectors for their strong support on nanofiber development. Hong Kong is home to an abundance of talent and high-level R&D institutes. If we are able to consolidate the power of political support, industrial expertise, academic excellence, and R&D know-how in Hong Kong, Hong Kong is destined for a faster industrial and economic transformation. In fact, we have already seen notable achievements from such collaborations. We look forward to more innovation and all-round support from our leaders, as well as more favourable terms and financial policies for investors, so that we can transform Hong Kong into a high-tech manufacturing hub. That should in turn, provide more opportunities for local students to practice their skills and apply their knowledge across Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, laying a solid foundation for the economic transformation of a better Hong Kong.”
Professor Sun Dong, JP, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry said in his speech, “The Nanoshields’ project highlights the solid support of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in promoting new quality productive forces and new industrialisation, demonstrating the effectiveness and potential of collaboration among Government, industry, academic and research sectors. I sincerely look forward to more similar successful cases in the future. Look ahead, with Hong Kong playing its part in proof-of-concept, pilot production line, and small-batch production, and the Greater Bay Area providing its expertise in large-scale production, we believe Hong Kong will be able to further strengthen its brand name of ‘Developed in Hong Kong’ and ‘Made in Hong Kong’, serving Mainland and overseas markets. Through strengthening collaborations, Hong Kong and other cities in the GBA will jointly build a complete and globally competitive innovation and technology industry chain, that is capable of serving the country’s high-quality development. To further accelerate Hong Kong’s new industrialisation, we will soon launch the $10 billion New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme to provide additional funding support for strategic industries such as life and health technology, artificial intelligence and data science, advanced manufacturing and new energy technologies.”
