Blueball (H.K.) Ltd.

Making a classy glass world

With a sense of imagination and proper techniques, glass can be used in many more ways than one can possibly think of. Ever since being made in the Middle East far back in the history, glass has become a must-have in almost all aspects of our daily live , and particularly casting its charms on the lifestyle-enhancing front. While Italy has been the top country famous for its extravagant, exquisitely made glass items, an increasing number of Asian manufacturers are making their marks in the industry.

One of the leading Asian glass manufacturers is Blueball (H.K.) Ltd. Once operated in Japan, the company has now morphed into a big business corporation occupying an entire floor in an office building in Tsim Sha Tsui of Hong Kong. Ms Jackie Yang, Managing Director of Blueball, is here to share with MegAsia the secret of her company's success, and what it takes to make her glass works into the finest pieces that everyone will fall in love with.

Going way back to 13 years ago, Ms Jackie Yang and her partner took over the 40-year-old family business in Japan. By that time, they manufactured household items made of glass using local materials and resources, and just sold them to mini-stores as they were not capable of mass-manufacturing then. "As our business continued to grow, we began to ponder on the idea whether it would be more cost-effective for us to source our materials from China," said Jackie, elaborating on her company's early days.

Failing to find the kind of quality glass that was up to their expectations in China by that time, Jackie and her partner decided to set up their own glass factory in Shanghai of China, and then the main headquarters in Hong Kong in 1991. Blueball (H.K.) Limited was born.

Now Blueball has snowballed both in terms of the company scale and its product specialties. "We have been making houseware items made of glass since the very beginning," said Jackie with a proud grin on her face, telling what Blueball excels in. "Anything from vases to kitchen sets to decorative items as long as you can name it. Our business mission is to work our best to satisfy customers' wants , and to overcome all the technical problems arising in the course of our pursuit for perfect items."

With today's glass-making technology, most glass manufacturers can make almost anything under the sun. There are just too many of them on the market. How is Blueball going about differentiating itself from its competitors? "Unlike many other manufacturers who only take OEM orders from customers, we design our own glass items and make them the bestsellers," Jackie said, addressing her company's unrivalled strength in product design and creative innovation. Blueball's talented designers are constantly coming up with great ideas and the creations of lots of popular glassware in the market.

While being able to become something elegant and classy, glass is a highly flexible material to cater for a diverse spectrum of design concepts. According to Jackie, Blueball's in-house designers can always get amazing inspirations by looking at different sculptures, beautiful sceneries, even fabrics. However, technical viability must be synchronized with the design concept to make a terrific product possible. Once a particular idea has been crystalised, the designers will then explore the possibility of turning it into reality. "It is important that we establish right from the start whether it is technically viable for us to go ahead with the newborn ideas - otherwise the end product might not be safe enough or with low level of marketability," said Jackie, emphasising one of the practical business strategies adopted at Blueball.

Apart from being a distinguished maker of handmade glass items in the industry, Blueball is also a manufacturer which prides itself on its high level of professional service. "Over the course of Blueball's development, we have successfully established a reputation for our excellent service. Our level of professionalism is beyond question in a sense that it is reliable, and our products are always delivered to our customers on time," said Jackie.

Blueball also practices a two-step QC (quality control) system, through which all the end products have to go through two stringent inspection stages. The Stage One is where the workers ensure every piece of product is physically safe without any visible and invisible hazards for users, while the Stage Two of the process involves detailed checking to confirm if the colouring of the products and other specifics are right and properly done. Finally, packaging is also something Blueball takes very seriously. It highly boosts the product image and its marketability.

No business would ever become a success without the devotion and hard work of loyal employees, and Jackie surely knows it all too well. "We definitely owe Blueball's success to our dedicated and professional staff, both from our China factory and Hong Kong office here. Recognising that staff is our biggest assets, we treat them with utmost respect and award them with the most generous benefits we can." Jackie is giving high credit to her staff, most of them being self-motivated and eager to learn, while citing them as the important driving force that has contributed to the company's rapid growth.

Armed with its design strength and rich glass-making knowledge, Blueball is currently serving customers from around the world, in particular the high-end department stores in Japan, the US, as well as many European countries. "We stay in close touch with these customers by meeting them at many international trade shows, while the word-of-mouth from our long-time customers is bringing many new businesses to us as well." Jackie was revealing the power of positive publicity when achieving her business objectives.

Blueball's future is almost as glossy as its renowned handmade glassware. The company , due to its high-speed expansion, will "supersize" its scale in the year 2005 by setting up a 20,000 sqm factory in Dongguan of Mainland China. Jackie hopes that the expansion will further equip Blueball to meet the challenges and the emergent business opportunities ahead.

Diversification is also one of the key business directions Blueball is pursuing these days. Blueball plans to become even more dynamic by creating a new range of product lines. "We have recently launched our first-ever jewelry collection which are getting encouraging responses from interested customers. We are also keen on exploring the idea to develop some other fashion accessories." Jackie added. She is absolutely optimistic about Blueball's sparkling future filled with fruitful success.

"While our products are mainly aimed at markets with relatively higher spending power, we are also firm believers that beautiful things should be shared by everyone. We are proud to work in this beautiful industry. Our goal will always remain the same: to produce beautiful, qualtiy glassware that everyone can afford," Jackie concluded.

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