HKPC Builds Smart Production Line for Local Food Manufacturer Providing “One-stop” Support to Achieve Intelligent Manufacturing for the Sustainable Development of Food Industry

(Hong Kong, 9 August 2021) The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) is committed to helping traditional industry to upgrade and boost productivity and tackling manufacturers’ pain points with the adoption of advanced technologies. HKPC is delighted to announce the signing of a collaboration agreement today with local food manufacturer CK One Limited (CK One) to commission HKPC for the design and development of a smart production line for CK One’s central kitchen. HKPC offers “one-stop” support for the whole process from feasibility studies, factory layout and production line design, equipment installation and system integration, testing and fine-tuning, to matching government funding and training tech talents.

Hong Kong is known globally as a “Gourmet Paradise”. Food manufacturing is a traditional industry in Hong Kong with most of its production lines still having conventional designs. Given the land shortage and high wage in Hong Kong, an intelligent manufacturing solution that can save space, manpower and ensure product quality is very appealing to the forward-looking CK One adhering to stringent quality control.

Specialised in sous vide and braised food production, CK One expects to increase net profit through intelligent manufacturing. HKPC conducted in-depth evaluation of the company’s business for designing the best-fit option for its smart production line: a U-shape layout to address concern on land constraint, and an optimised equipment and production arrangement to speed up the entire process by minimising the chance of duplicated transfer of materials. It is expected to put into production in Q2 next year.

HKPC offers technical support from soup to nuts on creating the smart production line. Technical highlights include real-time data visualisation for monitoring the production to ensure safety and traceability of food products. Special or abnormal circumstances could be analysed and predicted so as to perform advanced maintenance on equipment which avoids unexpected failures and shutdowns. Digital order management system optimises the production scheduling and delivery arrangements, reducing waste caused by redundant production. All these contribute to a better control of the average daily output of the manufacturer.

Mr Edmond Lai, Chief Digital Officer of HKPC, said, “I look forward to the launch of this new smart production line next year which will become another successful story of our ‘Make Smart Smarter’ initiative. We hope this could assist CK One in increasing productivity and lowering costs in labour, storage and energy consumption. The comprehensive real-time monitoring system can ensure product quality, which is beneficial to both the brand image of local food manufacturers and overall standard of food safety in Hong Kong. This is how I expect intelligent manufacturing to vitalise the local food industry and bolster market confidence in ‘Made in Hong Kong’ food products.”

Mr Lai added, “HKPC hopes more local traditional industries will develop intelligent manufacturing with the adoption of advanced technologies so as to create a sustainable business environment in this smart era, which will play a key role in enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness and economic diversification.”

Mr Arist Wong, Founder of CK One, said, “We have been engaged in traditional food processing for many years. In recent years, we have noticed a change in market demand and consumer behaviours. When we consider expanding our business, we want to seek for smarter production methods to enhance our competitiveness and meet the latest trends of the industry. Therefore, we made a prompt decision when our business was slightly affected during the epidemic to upgrade our factory and deploy smart production line. HKPC has a wealth of expertise and experience in intelligent manufacturing. They proposed to us an array of comprehensive and cost-effective smart solutions, and introduced government funding that meets our needs to realise the project. We expect the smart production line to save plant space, reduce manpower, increase output and reduce overall costs, as well as ensure the end products comply with international food safety standards. These will very much benefit the sustainable development of our company in the long run.”

The CK One project is the first project that has successfully applied for “Reindustrialisation Funding Scheme” launched by the Innovation and Technology Commission of the HKSAR Government with the assistance of HKPC. CK One is eligible to receive a subsidy of up to one-third of the total project expenditure.

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Mr Edmond Lai, Chief Digital Officer of HKPC (left), and Mr Arist Wong, Founder of CK One Limited, signed a cooperation agreement in which HKPC will design a smart production line for the local food manufacturer to optimise production process and productivity. The new smart production line is expected to enter production in 2022.