While the global economy is slowing down alongside the pressured industrial development around the world, China has recorded a GDP growth rate of 6.5%, showing clearly that the demands of industrial and manufacturing markets in the mainland is still positive. In order to seize the immense business opportunities of the mainland markets, it is important for local enterprises to stand out in this intense competition by preserving stability while seeking transformation as well as inheriting skills. The Chairman of Hong Kong Automation Technology Council (Council) under the auspice of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries (Group 32 of FHKI) and Executive Director of Pro-Technic Machinery Ltd. (Pro-Technic) Robert Lai says, “It takes innovation for any enterprise to adapt to market changes, and right now local enterprises are increasingly demanding industrial automation to overcome these changes, that’s why I have a positive outlook on Hong Kong’s development of industrial automation in the next five years. Despite keen competition against the mainland and shortage of talents, Hong Kong has the advantage of developing creative industry; as long as we can design products and services that fit customers’ needs, our competitiveness will enhance.”
Adjust to Adapt
Although the local industrial development is commonly considered to be declining, many local enterprises have successfully turned risks into opportunities with the help of industrial automation; their success has even encouraged them to uplift the industry competitiveness. Pro-Technic is one of the successful examples. Robert Lai says, “A successful enterprise must adjust their business as time passes; my business motto is ‘a small change in five years, and a huge change in ten years’. I also believe that skill training is as crucial as business development, that’s why engineering personnel occupies half of our staff.” In order to cater to market needs, Pro-Technic established automation and applied engineering department in 2008, and set up offices and solution centres in 17 cities in China. Being a distributor and system integrator now, the company has successfully provided turnkey industrial automation solutions to automotive, watch, and various industries.
Contribute by Innovation
The concept of “Industry 4.0” and the change of consuming patterns have derived more customised products, urging manufacturers to change their production procedures to cater to the market needs. That is why Robert Lai leads the Council with a strong vision on innovating operation. “I hope the Council can gather a momentum to enhance the competitiveness and skills of local enterprises as well as facilitate the development of industrial automation among local manufacturers, especially SMEs.” On one hand, he enthusiastically coordinates exchanges and visits to provide the industry with the latest automation technology news and drives smart manufacturing by encouraging cross-industry collaboration. On the other hand, he seeks official reforms to attract more talents into the industry in order to strengthen local enterprises by personnel development and training.
