Provide trainings for talents in personal protection equipment industry

Aiming to promote the long-term development of the industry

HONG KONG, Sept. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sinopharm Tech Holdings Limited ("Sinopharm Tech" and its subsidiaries, together, the "Group", stock code: 8156) is pleased to announce that on 1 September 2020, the Group, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries ("FHKI") and the Vocational Training Council ("VTC") signed a memorandum of understanding to launch the course "Smart Manufacturing Training Programme for Personal Protection Equipment Industry" (the "SMT Programme"). To support the employee development training in advanced technology, the HKSAR Government launched the Reindustrialization and Technology Training Programme ("RTTP") under the Technology Talent Scheme while the SMT Programme will be under the RTTP, and the SMT Programme will provide practitioners in the personal protection equipment industry with both theoretical and practical training.

The SMT Programme will include practical operation know-how on automated mask production lines and mechanical assembly, and the introduction of new technologies to improve production quality under the trend of digital transformation, such as an overview of Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence production monitoring system, remote data collection and analysis of Industrial Internet of Things, etc. In addition, the SMT Programme will also cover Hong Kong "Q-Mark" Scheme and related international standards of testing knowledge and certification.

With the advent of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-2019), there is a strong demand for personal protection equipment such as masks and has led to the emergence of the local personal protection equipment manufacturing industry in Hong Kong. However, the large professional talent gap and insufficient technical support in the industry have become major challenges for the industry. Through training programmes on production, processing, and quality monitoring, the practitioners will be able to put theory into practice to effectively ensure the efficiency and quality of the manufacturing process. The knowledge from the education chain of smart manufacturing of personal protection equipment manufacturing industry continually benefits the practitioners, while this continuous supply of professional talents to the market will help to further Hong Kong's reindustrialization.

As a pioneer in the local personal protective equipment manufacturing industry in Hong Kong, the Group's practical experience and technical resources can be learned from and be used for reference, by industry participants or potential entrants through the courses. This will help accelerate the overall improvement to the management and production excellence of the industry. The Group will become closer to other industry participants and can work and grow together to build the personal protective equipment manufacturing industry. This will also help to increase the Group's participation and prestige in the industry, and enhance the Group's brand value.

Mr. CHAN Ting, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sinopharm Tech, said, "We put quality as our top priority from the very beginning we started the mask manufacturing business. With our recent partnership with world leading melt blown manufacturers; together with the investment in setting up a world-class Testing Laboratory, we are pushing our product quality into another level. Quality staff is the most critical contributing factor to high quality product. With the rapid development of mask manufacturing in Hong Kong, the whole industry is lacking experienced workers and machine technicians. We are very happy to work with VTC and FHKI, to contribute our professional know-how and experiences. We hope more people will understand the potential of the mask manufacturing industry and join Sinopharm or other mask manufacturing companies to fight Covid-19 together."

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About Sinopharm Tech Holdings Limited

Sinopharm Tech Holdings Limited is a company that provides integrated solutions on lottery and "Internet Plus", as well as the manufacturing of personal protective equipment. In 2019, the Group successfully introduced Sinopharm Traditional Chinese Medicine Overseas Holdings Limited (國藥藥材海外控股有限公司), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinopharm Traditional Chinese Medicine Co. Ltd (國藥藥材股份有限公司), as one of the major strategic shareholders.

The Group has been involved in China's welfare lottery and sports lottery industries for more than 20 years, and is committed to bringing different innovative solutions to the industry, from lottery systems to interactive marketing then to the latest anti-counterfeiting solutions. The Group's new personal protective equipment business has also achieved rapid development. The Group has established 8 cleanrooms in Hong Kong and Mainland China, and more than 20 mask production lines have been put into operation since the beginning of 2020. In May 2020, the products of the Group have become the first batch of Hong Kong-made masks to obtain the "Q-Mark" certification.