Few things are “Made in Hong Kong” quite like Philip Leung. From flask manufacturer, to innovator, hotelier, and father: Philip Leung is a reflection of the changing face of Hong Kong’s industrial heart. For the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Hong Kong Loughborough University Alumni, I wanted to profile one of our founding members. I find his story holds a mirror to Hong Kong’s entrepreneurial spirit and teaches lessons I believe we can learn from.
Philip was born into a family of entrepreneurs; the family business was manufacturing vacuum flasks. So, when Philip went to Loughborough (1959-1963), he studied Chemical Engineering, intent on learning the skills that would enhance his family’s success. In a sandwich year course, he was privileged to work at a manufacturing plant in Stoke on Trent, making specialised parts for handling liquid chemicals. Like a sponge, Philip soaked up the experience and knowledge, mindful of the impact his education could have on his family back home in Hong Kong. In fact, it was his stint at a stainless-steel products maker in Coventry after graduation that he got the idea for an innovation that won competitions and enabled his business to diversify their product line. It wasn’t all work, however. Philip made a group of lifelong friends, who forged the Loughborough University Hong Kong Alumni Group, and it is through that friendship all of us have been connected.
On returning home to his family plant, alongside regular meetups with his university alumni friends, Philip set to work on making the most of all of the things he had learned in Loughborough. Through the 1960s, into the 2000s, Philip helmed the business like a captain, sailing the seas of change. He steered a course through the boom years of Hong Kong, expanding manufacturing, securing new contracts with valuable clients like hotels, and innovating on the manufacturing process to create a uniquely positioned product. He worked with his family to innovate the manufacturing process multiple times. The oil, inflation, and political crises of the 70s and 80s were challenges to be overcome and reinforced Philip’s sense of the importance of self-sufficiency. In the 1990s and early 2000s, however, with the rise of finance and the declining importance of Hong Kong’s manufacturing, Philip faced new pressures on the business. It seemed, once more, change was on the horizon.
During the political and economic changes of the 2000s, it became increasingly clear the old business model was under pressure. As industry moved up the Pearl River Delta and out of Hong Kong, Philip was afraid they would lose the “Made in Hong Kong” branding he was so proud of. In 2010, the Hong Kong Administration allowed the almost 1,700 under-utilised blocks of industrial buildings to change land use without paying the usual extra premium. Philip enlisted the help of his alumni friends, and his youngest son, Raymond Leung, to come up with a radical new plan for the business; while they relocated manufacturing, they turned the old factory into CAMLUX HOTEL – the first hotel in Kowloon Bay. The vision was of a hub for alumni and a showcase of the family and business history. Indeed, after opening in 2017, everywhere you go in the hotel, you can’t help but notice hints of the building’s industrial past, including clever, artistic use of vacuum flasks, and the old, “Camel” logo. Philip and Raymond have embraced the expertise of lifelong friends and family, to turn a vision into reality and weather the changes that threatened the family business.
Now, Philip can still proudly say that his business is “Made in Hong Kong”. His story is a vision of community, family, and entrepreneurship that reminds us all that change, though sometimes hard, can bring opportunities to those who are willing to embrace it and learn from experience. On this 60th anniversary of the Loughborough University Hong Kong Alumni, we are faced once more with the winds of change. But, as we reflect on the life of Philip Leung, one of our founding members, let’s face these changes with optimism and faith in our community, our friends, our family, and together, take on the future.
#LboroFamily #LboroHongKong
Reference
Camel Flask: https://www.madebycamel.hk/
Camlux Hotel: https://www.camluxhotel.com/
