Unima Industrial (H.K.) Ltd.

Putting together a puzzle that goes global

Jigsaw-puzzle is a timeless classic that has been around for an undefined period of time. The game itself is not a new surprise. But people of all ages are still fascinated by the unique fun of putting hundreds of small pieces into a complete picture. To tap this established yet fast-changing market, one must find the way and niche to repackage this old but interesting game into something with a brand-new twist. By going "global", the designers of the Unima Industrial (HK) Ltd believe that they have managed to do just that.

First launched in 2001, the idea of 3D spherical puzzle was touched off by a spark of genius by the company's founder, Mr. Dick Cheung. "The concept of spherical 3D-puzzle came by when Mr. Cheung was looking for a new twist that could redefine such an old game for the toy market. Armed with 20 years of experience in the plastic industry, he decided to launch a full-scale R&D mission into the idea by innovatively using plastic instead of card-board paper as the basic material for ensuring the best quality and durability for the new puzzles," said Roy Yeung, Unima's system engineer.

To find out the best design, more than HK$20 million of R&D budget has been invested before Unima managed to come up with the first spherical puzzle model. The process of R&D was no simple matter to the company, as the design team must ensure the sphere can come out with a tightly-knitted structure as well as high-quality plastic material so that the spherical puzzle could stand on its own. Roy Yeung explained, "The plastic materials as well as the measurement of each piece must be of very high quality and precision, so that the assembled spheres would not collapse once fitted."

To ensure such high quality, Unima's design team even custom-builds their specialised design procedures, by which all the puzzle pieces are crafted with the highest precision. Roy Yeung elaborated the process, "By making use of the 'macros' and the 'steps' functions (embedded instruction sets) of the Adobe Photoshop suite, we can come up with a preliminary design sketch by transferring the desired patterns into a level-surface draft, with no image twist or distortion. Once this step is done, we then divide the sketch into jigsaw pieces, which are later to be transferred to our molding staff for creating production molds."

Other than the overall designs, the shape of each puzzle piece is another important factor for making a perfect set. This requirement is particularly crucial for Unima's 3D-puzzles, as Roy Yeung pointed out, "We spend quite substantial time during our R&D process to find out the best puzzle shape. Most of our final versions are with only slightly more than 10 pieces of puzzles in each set that need to be re-shaped."

Currently, Unima employed more than 2,000 skilled workers at its China plant, with an additional 1,000 new staff to be recruited by the end of the year 2004. At the moment, the company focuses its export sales on the American and European markets, while also doing some sales opportunities in China and Hong Kong.

To meet with the ever-changing market tastes, Roy Yeung boasted that Unima's design team is able to come up with 2 new items per month. The majority of Unima's puzzles are produced on OEM terms with licensed designs provided by the clients. "OEM has always been our main stream of business. In the mean time, the ratio of OEM contracts to our own brands is about 7 to 3."

So what are the best selling items? Roy Yeung said most of the Unima's clients are major department stores in Europe, as well as hobby shops specialised in selling puzzles. "For now, European customers account for more than 75% of our total sales, while Japan comes in second. Our 9-inch diameter 3D globe puzzle series is currently the best seller in these markets. Most of them are globe models, while cartoon characters come up in second place. We in particular deal with clients who hold licenses for publishing specific cartoon characters in their home market. Our total sales value can reach HK$ 9 to 10 million a month. "

Until now, Unima's spherical jigsaw-puzzle series is still covered by the worldwide patent for being the world's first truly spherical puzzles. Roy Yeung believes that the company will continue to lead in the market with its unique competitive edge. He stated, "Our competitors, if any, can imitate some of our designs, but with our patent right which forbids them from using the spherical design, and also our efficiency in launching new products, we think that we shall encounter no significant challenges to our leading position in the near future."

To strive for achieving the one-and-only status in the puzzle world, Unima has been keen on putting its spherical design to the ultimate test - by applying for a place in the Guinness Book of Records. For this very venture, Unima has created a super "giant" spherical puzzle, with 3.75 feet (60 inches) in diameter. This giant version of Unima's spherical puzzle had been put on public display during Kenfair's 13th Hong Kong International Toys and Gifts Show held on October 20-23 2004. It has drawn tremendous attention and acclaim. Its final recognition as a world record will be granted after an official on-site measurement by Guinness staff in Unima's China plant, said Roy Yeung.

Even before being able to claim itself as the holder of a new world record, Unima has already gained a solid recognition from the industry. In the Asian Products Design Competition, held concurrently with Kenfair's Toys and Gifts Show, Unima's 3D puzzle had won the grand prize of the "Buyers' Choice Award" out of the 59 finally-shortlisted entries.

Building on its specialised expertise and unique experience in making plastic 3D spherical jigsaw puzzles, Unima, according to Roy Yeung, is also looking to inject such skills into the development of new plastic 3D puzzles of all kinds. He said, "Strictly speaking, Unima is not the first and only company that turns out 3D puzzles. However, most of the 3D puzzles on the market today, featuring famous buildings like Notre Dome or simply classic cars, are made of card-board paper, and they can't hold up for long. We feel confident that our expertise in the field can work out far more superior products than other competitors."

Besides developing new products, Unima is also looking to develop new markets and new clientele base. The Hong Kong Disneyland, to be launched in 2006., is one of the key targets to be aimed at. Roy Yeung said, "We have been holding license rights to produce puzzles for Disney characters. We are also keen on exploring the possibility of developing specialised gift items, to be sold within the perimeter of the Hong Kong Disneyland."

Back