Lam Leung-tim

Lam Leung-tim (30 March 1924 – 10 November 2025) was a Hong Kong-Chinese businessman and pioneer in the Hong Kong toy industry.[1] He is regarded as the inventor of the yellow rubber duck in the Asian region and contributed significantly to the development of Hong Kong's globally successful toy manufacturing industry.[2]

Life and career

It was said to be the first plastic toy produced in Hong Kong and quickly became a symbol of the Hong Kong toy industry.[2][3][4]

In 1955, he founded Forward Products Company Industries. In 1960, he merged it with Winsome Plastic Works to form Forward Winsome Industries Limited.[3]

Under his leadership, the company produced toy lines for American companies such as Mattel, Hasbro, and Hallmark, including predecessors to Barbie, Action Man, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Star Wars, Spider-Man, and Play-Doh.[1][5][6][7][8]

In 1969, production expanded to three new factories in Taiwan, and the headquarters moved the Hong Kong factory from Quarry Bay to Chai Wan.[1] In the 1970s, the company fully committed to OEM business with major clients including Walmart, Playmobil, Disney, McDonald's, Lego, and Hasbro.[1][8]

The success of his products contributed to Hong Kong becoming an important toy manufacturing hub. In 1970, about 1,110 toy factories employed some 40,000 people.[1][9] Lam was among the first Hong Kong entrepreneurs to start factories in Dongguan, China, in 1976, and later opened additional factories in Guangdong. By the late 1980s, the company employed 18,000 people in mainland China, closing its Hong Kong production site in 1989.[5][10][11]

Lam earned the nickname "Father of Transformers in China" through his key role in opening the Chinese market for Hasbro’s products, continuing production in Nanhai until 2024.[10][12][5]

Beginning in 2013, giant floating yellow rubber ducks by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman were displayed in Victoria Harbour to honor Lam's legacy and the Hong Kong toy industry.

In his nineties, Lam founded Funderful Creations in 2014 to produce yellow rubber ducks again.[4]

In 2015, he received the "Industrialist of the Year Award" by the Federation of Hong Kong Industries.[13]

Lam died on 10 November 2025, at the age of 101.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Forward Winsome – a brief history of a major HK toy company". Industrial History HK. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b Sito, Peggy (8 March 2018). "How the rubber duck is Hong Kong's business and spirit of 'can do'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Toy story". Business Times. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b Sito, Peggy (9 March 2018). "At 94, is Hong Kong's rubber duck man the oldest start-up guy?". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Chung, Kimmy (23 November 2018). "Loyalty, cheap labour made Hong Kong's toy king a mainland factory pioneer". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  6. ^ Bland, Ben. "Hongkong struggles to retain crown as world's king of toys". www.ft.com. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Forward Winsome (Producer) | hobbyDB". www.hobbydb.com. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Fowind's OEM Clients, and the OEM Model in the Toy Industry". www.hkmemory.hk. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  9. ^ "Lam Leung Tim, Forward Winsome Industries, SCMP article – The Industrial History of Hong Kong Group". industrialhistoryhk.org. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Hong Kong toy tycoon's success story begins with the yellow rubber duck". South China Morning Post. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  11. ^ Choi, Christy (10 February 2014). "Toy story: how tycoon Lam Leung-tim built his empire". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  12. ^ "CSR - News and Resources". Csr. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  13. ^ a b Mycroft, Connor (16 November 2025). "Hong Kong toy tycoon Lam Leung-tim, creator of iconic rubber duck, dead at 105". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  14. ^ "Lam Leung-tim obituary: inventor of Hong Kong's yellow rubber duck". www.thetimes.com. 19 November 2025. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
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