Bobby Liu of Milton Holdings International outlines the company’s evolution in the plastics and packaging industry and the specialized services it provides to clients in medtech and pharmaceuticals.   What is the story behind the creation of the company and how did you find such a niche in the market? Although I was born in a less affluent area of Hong Kong, I had the opportunity to attend a technology high school, with a curriculum that covered all the different but basic concepts of industrial domains. I treasure my education because it exposed me to numerous aspects of different industries, including plastics. However, upon graduating high school, I did not have the opportunity to then attend university due to my family’s financial background. Thus, I started work in junior roles, with the dream of saving enough capital to someday start my own business. Shortly thereafter, I began working for a U.S company selling plastic during the 1980s, which was a turning point for the sales profits of that company. Sales of plastics soared, with mainland China buying in bulk from Hong Kong due to its proximity. This is where I saw the opportunity to start my own company. My brother and I founded Milton Plastics in 1990 in Hong Kong. We began by buying and selling plastic in bulk, mainly to mainland China. Nevertheless, we continued to grow and opened our second office in Dongguan, China. Over the years, we grew from a basic trading company to one that owned a plastic manufacturing facility and was more involved across the supply chain. In 2007, the decision was made to establish Milton Holdings International Ltd, which serves as the umbrella company for Milton Plastics. The motivation of the restructuring was to incorporate the different branches of the business, such as integrating rubber into our product portfolio under Milton Technologies. The growth of Milton has been exponential, but these different branches needed to be streamlined, partly to provide organizational clarity to our partners and also to raise the professionalism of the company. Today, we have nine offices spread across Hong Kong and mainland China, with around 120 employees. In addition, we have joint ventures with a German company, as the sole distributor of their rubber flooring products in Hong Kong. Furthermore, we have extended our corporation to become a shareholder in our partner’s business in Malaysia.   What are the main services you offer your clients here in Hong Kong? We have transitioned into a company that prioritizes professional serves through specialized domain expertise, distancing ourselves from simply supplying materials. Milton Plastics has specialized in distributing high-performance polymers and engineering plastics for almost three decades. However, innovation is the key to the future. Not only do we support our clients in supplying high-quality materials, but we are going the extra mile to offer consultancy services, enhancing the customer's experience. We are becoming a bridge between business partners, manufacturers, and brand owners. Furthermore, we offer project management and technical support for our customers, taking a holistic approach to each and every project.   Milton Plastics covers many different industries in its portfolio. What is the importance of the healthcare sector for Milton Plastics? We cover several market segments, with the most important being automotive, followed by healthcare as well as other industrial equipment. Each region in China has unique demands for industries, but we are also seeing the demand of medical innovation spanning to all corners of China and Hong Kong. The healthcare and life sciences sector covers a larger spectrum, ranging from medical devices and biotechnology to pharmaceutical packaging and so on. However, we are wary of spreading ourselves too thin, so we focus mainly on supplying and servicing medical devices companies and stakeholders. Our sales strategy in the healthcare sector focuses primarily on medical devices, including equipment in hospitals, laboratory centers, and aftercare equipment and accessories for patients.   What are the main advantages of Hong Kong for the company like yourself that is deeply rooted here? Hong Kong has an exceptionally open mindset, which is essential to remaining an international powerhouse. We are open to new ideas and thrive on the freedom of speech and ideas that we have.

Hong Kong has an exceptionally open mindset, which is essential to remaining an international powerhouse. We are open to new ideas and thrive on the freedom of speech and ideas that we have"