XN000022-1985-05-07 — Page 22

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TUESDAY, MAY 7, 1985

+MODERN TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT ARE NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE EFFECTIVE AUTOMATION IN THE SHOPFLOOR. NUMERICALLY CONTROLLED MACHINE FITTED WITH MICROPROCESSORS OR COMPUTERS ARE COMMONLY USED NOWADAYS AND THERE IS ALSO AN INCREASING USE OF COMPUTERS IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY TO ASSIST DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE.+

HE FELT THAT WITH THE POLITICAL UNCERTAINTIES NOW BEHIND HONG KONG, LOCAL MANUFACTURERS COULD MOVE AHEAD WITH THE IR INVESTMENT AND RE-INVESTMENT PLANS,

+ INDEED THERE ARE ALREADY ENCOURAGING SIGNS THAT MANUFACTURERS IN GENERAL HAVE BEEN MOVING IN THIS DIRECTION TO EXPAND AND UPDATE THE IR PRODUCTION CAPACITIES AND CAPABILITIES IN RESPONSE TO MARKET DEMANDS.

+RETAINED IMPORTS OF ALL INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY AND MACHINE TOOLS IN 1984 WERE VALUED AT HK$4 740.3 MILLION. THIS WAS 31 PER CENT HIGHER THAN 1983.

+ THE GOVERNMENT FOR ITS PART, IS ALSO PUTTING GREAT EMPHASIS ON THE NEED TO MODERNISE PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES AND FACILITIES THROUGH ITS SUPPORT OF THE HONG KONG PRODUCTIVITY CENTRE, MR YAXLEY SAID.

+OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, GOVERNMENT'S SUBVENTION TO THE CENTRE HAS INCREASED THREEFOLD, FROM $10 MILLION IN 1980-81 TO $31 MILLION IN 1984-85. IN 1985-86 THE ALLOCATION OF PUBLIC FUNDS TO THE CENTRE WILL AMOUNT TO $36.9 MILLION OR 20 PER CENT INCREASE OVER THE LAST YEAR.

+THIS PROVIDES, AMONG OTHER THINGS, FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE MECHANICAL CAPABILITY OF THE MICRO PROCESSOR APPLICATION LABORATORY TO ENABLE IT TO PROMOTE AND DEVELOP THE USE OF INDUSTRI AL AUTOMATION MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT,+

HE NOTED THAT THE GOVERNMENT, ON THE ADVICE OF THE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT BOARD, HAD RECENTLY ASKED THE PRODUCTIVITY CENTRE TO FURTHER INCREASE ITS EFFORTS IN THE FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION.

+DETAILED PROPOSALS ARE NOW BEING DRAWN UP FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION SERVICE AND AN EXPANDED METAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICE.

+TO THIS END, THE TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES OF THE CENTRE WILL BE FURTHER AUGMENTED IN RESPECT OF MECHANICAL DESIGN, ELECTRO- MECHANICAL INTERFACE SUPPORT, COMPUTER SOFTWARE SUPPORT, PRECISION MACHINING, CAD-CAM AND TOOL SURFACE TREATMENT.

STATING THAT IT WAS ENCOURAGING TO SEE THE LARGE NUMBER OF OVERSEAS PARTICIPANTS AT THIS FAIR, MR YAXLEY SAID ALSO THAT THE OCCASION PROVIDED A CONVENIENT VENUE AT WHICH LOCAL MANUFACTURERS COULD SEE AND SAMPLE ADVANCED MACHINE TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.

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