Oral History

L. T. Lam, Chairman of Forward Winsome Industries Ltd. (Forward Winsome), first began producing toys and household items in his plastics factory before 1949. A plastics industry veteran, he shared many unique takes on the development of the local industry between the 1940s and the 1960s, focusing on how manufacturers solved potential problems. Tin Ka Ping, Chairman of TinsChemical Corporation Ltd. (TinsChemical), was another industry veteran. Having helped produce and upstream supply materials for other plastic products factories, he was an excellent source of information about the early days of Hong Kong’s plastics industry. Tin Hing Sin, Sam, the eldest son of Tin Ka Ping and a second-generation operator of TinsChemical, analysed how and why the local plastics industry began relocating northwards to China in the 1990s. Chan Wah Cheung, Managing Director of Chit Shing P.V.C. Products Mfy. Ltd. (Chit Shing), was a customer of TinsChemical and gave us a downstream manufacturer’s perspective on the history of Hong Kong’s PVC plastics processing industry.