The EBA Champion of Champions
The EBA Champion of Champions the Late Mr Henry Ngai OAM is himself the greatest source of inspiration and we share his story here.
We were honoured to acknowledge Henry Ngai, founder of ABC Tissue as a winner in the Medium to Large business category in 2004 and then in 2013 we were able to crown him the Champion of Champions at the 2013 Ethnic Business Awards – our 25th birthday celebration. His story of determination, enterprise, and sheer hard work is one that we are so happy to share.
Henry Ngai left school at the age of fifteen and started his business exporting waste cardboard from Hong Kong to Thailand in 1973. He then became an importer and wholesaler of tissue paper in Hong Kong, eventually expanding his operations into the manufacture and supply of tissue paper.
In 1982, having made a success in Hong Kong and looking for better educational opportunities for his children, Henry Ngai visited the USA, Canada, France and Australia. During his travels in Australia he was struck by the kindness of Australians and so impressed was he that he decided to migrate to Australia. In 1984, he imported tissues and serviettes from Hong Kong to Australia in order to experiment and investigate the market for opportunities. The result was extremely good – the products were soon sold out and this convinced him to continue his tissue paper business in Australia.
In the year of 1985, he began the business Cheng Kee (Australia) Pty Ltd, and then in 1986 established ABC Tissue products. In the early days of his business in Australia, he used his home as an office and the garage as his warehouse. He was the salesman as well as the storeman. He started with the Napkin Folding machine, then Facial Tissue Machine. Little by little business grew and then he purchased a block of industrial land in Wetherhill Park to enable expansion of his operations.
In 2002 Henry acquired tissue and paper mills from Softex Industries (Costco Holdings) in Brisbane ad this fueled the company’s growth and rapid expansion of their manufacturing and the broadening of their range of products. Today, ABC Tissue has over 320,000 square meters of industrial land in Wetherhill Park, over 310,000 square meters of industrial land in Brisbane, over 60,000 in Melbourne, over 20,000 in Perth, and over 40,000 in New Zealand, all occupied by ABC businesses. Staff numbers have grown to 600. And ABC Tissue Products has over 30 percent market share, with an annual turnover that is 1500 times greater than its start-up figure in 1985. Their products are supplied to all major supermarkets in Australia and “Quilton” toilet tissue has become the number 1 bestselling tissue paper in both Woolworths and Coles.
Henry Ngai attributed his success to persistence, teamwork, and excellent relationships with employees, customers and suppliers. When interviewed Henry said “… we never forget who got us here: thousands of customers, large and small.… you’ll still find our most senior people on the phone taking orders, talking with customers, or checking on the machinery in the warehouse. All our staff are focused on one thing: whatever it takes to keep our customers happy. It’s a personal product, and it deserves a personal approach!”
Philanthropy
The business expanded to include ABC Tissue Vision Express in 2009 which provides free treatments for patients with cataracts and pterygium in Cambodia and China. Mr. Ngai has also made donations to The Australian Red Cross, The Salvation Army, World Vision, St Vincent’s Hospital, Fairfield Hospital and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. In 2017, ABC Tissue made a $2 million donation to St Vincent’s Hospital to help purchase an Australian-first MRI guided-ultrasound machine.
Not surprisingly, Henry Ngai won many community awards and attained enormous recognition and respect from the Australian business community. For his service to business and the community, Henry Ngai was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in Queen’s Birthday Honors list 0f 2017.
Unfortunately, Mr. Henry Ngai, founder of ABC Tissue products, one of the nation’s largest tissue manufacturer passed away in 2018 due to illness. His lasting legacy will be his contributions to the community.