Hong Kong’s Wah Shing Toys, one of the world’s largest toy manufacturers, has teamed up with Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, a Singaporean developer of fuel-cell products, to lead the charge for eco-friendly toys for global markets.

Both parties met at the 2007 Nuremburg Toys Fair in Germany. A strategic alliance and exclusive manufacturing agreement was signed recently to produce environmentally friendly, fuel-cell-powered toys (a fuel cell being an energy-conversion device designed to replace combustion engines and batteries).

Richard Ellert, Wah Shing’s Managing Director who personally tries to reduce his carbon footprint by driving an energy saving Prius hybrid car, said the partnership with Horizon will be big for the toy industry in Hong Kong as both companies are reaching out to make toys greener.

No batteries required

‘Today’s more popular toys can use in excess of 500 million disposable alkaline batteries per year. It never hurts to go in the direction of doing the right thing and ecofriendly toys are definitely the toys of the future. Fuel-cell technology is not a new thing but what Horizon has done is to take it to the level where everyone can understand and afford it,’’ explained Mr Ellert.
He said Hong Kong companies can no longer survive purely as original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in the fast changing toy landscape. Wah Shing is 90% OEM but is rapidly expanding its R&D team to move up the value chain to original design manufacturing (ODM), a move adopted by the majority of the city’s toy companies to maintain competitive edge.

Taras Wankewycz, the co-founder and vice president of Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, said their company needed to associate with an expert manufacturer to scale up the production of toys that integrate the fuel-cell technology. ‘We chose Wah Shing since the company is in our opinion the most advanced in the production and design of high-tech toys with expertise in robotics, electronics and toy design. Wah Shing is also one of the world’s largest toy producers, with over 60 million toy products delivered to six of the world’s top ten toy brands.’ An added advantage is Wah Shing’s large scale production – it has five manufacturing sites in southern China. This means that the toys are produced at ‘unbeatable cost levels’ and with the highest production and quality standards.

‘This is an essential point as our innovative technology cannot do without quality, starting at the design stage and through every step of manufacturing,’ said Mr Wankewycz.
Indeed, Horizon, a three-year-old company managed by an international team based in Singapore and Shanghai with a trading base in Hong Kong, has brought fuel-cell technology out of the laboratory where it has been for decades and into the marketplace in a viable form. Their best known product is the H-racer miniature hydrogen fuel-cell car which has won a slew of accolades.

2.0 Magazine called it one of the ‘11 Coolest Products on the Planet,’ Businessweek named it ‘One of the Best Product Designs of 2007,’ and Time Magazine ‘One of the Best Inventions of 2006.’

Aiming high

The H-racer is an eco-friendly toy for an increasingly eco-conscious public that does not need disposable or rechargeable batteries to operate. ‘The product is basically a miniature version of a real zero emissions car that runs on power generated from sun and water. It is refuelable, fun to operate and learn about,’ explained Mr Wankewycz. ‘In fact, since introduction, it has amazed scientists, business people, and the general public alike.’
Horizon is coming up with many other fuel-cell products in different industry sectors and working with major companies around the world to launch commercial applications with the technology. ‘The first products are fun and educational, but as we say, we are working on toy cars to real cars and everything in between. We also have customers in the aerospace market, which is very different from toys, but the technology is somewhat the same basic concept,’ added Mr Wankewycz.
Together, both companies aim to be the leading name in eco-friendly manufacturing – a vision very timely in today’s renewable energy based global economy.

Questions

1. Is this an ‘alliance that cannot miss?’ Discuss.

2. Would the venture be better if Wah Shing had acquired Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies or vice versa? Why or why not?