Winsome Plastic 1953

C Young
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Winsome Plastic 1953

Title: Early Hong Kong Plastics Industry

My father, Norman Sze Kuen YOUNG's owner of  Winsome Plastics Works:  Hong Kong Plastic Industry's joint venture with a European Company 1953 .   submitted by Cecilia Young

Date picture taken
1950s

Comments

There were a handful of pioneers of the Hong Kong Plastic Industry 1940 to early 1950s, my father,Norman Sze Kuen YOUNG together with my mother Annie LAM YOUNG, were suppliers of  Plastic Raw Materials. 

Please add on if anyone can add the pioneers of early Hong Kong Plastic Industries..I remember Star Industries (redA) Mr Leung and Kader Industry Mr Ting

Dear Percy,

So glad you'd noticed the name change and asked about the subject.

As far as I was told (the story well related in my family when I was a teenager)...LAM L.T, a cousin of my mother from the Mainland, was hired by my parents in the mid 50s (as he was my mother's distance relative who got out of the mainland) in the Winsome Plastics Works in Wanchai (founded in may 1954?) overseen by  my Maternal Grandfather LAM Y.T. and my mother's brother LAM H.F.  

As my father, YOUNG Sze Kuen and my mother Annie LAM YOUNG, had a number of business concerns connected with the Plastic Industry ( as they do in those days).My father asked LAM L.T. as a staff, to oversee Winsome Plastics Works with my maternal grandfather LAM Y.T. On 9 Oct 1959 , my mother, Annie LAM YOUNG was given the present site in Chai Wan,  by the government as factory resettlement from winsome Plastics Works in Wanchai. 

Winsome Plastics Works produced orders by a number of American and British firms, one important products*, which should be recorded as a pioneer of plastic dolls manufacturing, was an engineer, named Cheung , an engineer from Guangdong, in the early 50s," invented" a way  to produce, in Hong Kong, the first, plastic dolls with hair planted on the skull.  Winsome Plastics Works also actually got the famous rubber duck order from either a British or American company. They were made into little ducks on wheels as well. THEY PROVIDED THE MOULD AND ORDERED, I played with so many of them when young), that was during my parents' ownership of Winsome Plastics Works .

Later LAM L.T. asked whether he could take over Winsome Plastics Works, I think in the early 70s or thereabouts, my father, as he was getting elderly and my mother not well physically; with my maternal grandfather passing...they said yes to L.T.LAM..on the condition that my parents were given some share of the factory. I was shown so many times of the written note signed by L.T. LAM that a certain number of shares will be given to my parents.. L.T. LAM never did +..

+That became quite a well known case of " word not being honored "amongst the first group ( founders)  of Hong Kong Plastic Association members in Hong Kong. Hence, L.T. LAM was not admitted into the Hong Kong Plastic Association in its first years ...(so  I told)

Much later, possibly in the early 1980s, as the factories' resettled premises in Chai Wan (then L.T. LAM changed to Forward Winsome) was still in my mothers' name. L.T. LAM seeled out my mother to pass on the resettlement ownership (or really passed the governments' grant of resettlement right from my mother Annie LAM YOUNG to Forward Winsome.

The above Winsome Industry and its productivities was what I was told as a teenager, Percy.  Every time I see the present writeups  of "father of the yellow duck" I often recall the story or part of the story being told at home..what was "the truth ?" "Who gae the mould ?"will not be told again as no one in the next generation in our family was interested in that line of business. A shame, as my father ( and mother) were more or less pioneers in the HK Plastic industry together with Kadar's Ting family and Leung family of  "Red A " 

Cecilia YOUNG

Based on Oral History that needed to be verified with written records if any

17 Nov 2025

  • will post more photos of joint ventures with  "Western" concerns in the early HK Plastics Industry.

 

 

Dear Cecilia,

Thank you for your information. I get the true story. I truly understand who the father of the yellow duck is right now.

There are no information on the internet that telling the story of  Winsome and Forward Winsome. I have worked in the toy industry for nearly 30 years and noted that Forward Winsome is an important manufacturer of Hasbro - Play-Dough. I visited Forward Winsome's factory in Lin Chau many years ago.

Anyway, great to know your family members are not interested in the toy industry. All of you get a new direction.

Percy Tam

Dear Percy TAM, Its my honor to answer an intelligent question from you. Since in the 40s 50s, documents are few, we have to rely on oral history (which has its flaws.) It is up to people's integrity. I am sure you have a lot to tell having been in the industry for 30 years..please do ! My very best ... Cecilia (Young)