The story
History
In its early days, Chung Nam Group primarily engaged in watch related businesses such as watch strap coating and chain production, operating as a modest small-scale enterprise. During its development, Founder Chong Ching Um recognized the vast business opportunities in the watch industry and began manufacturing watch straps. Their high quality and competitive pricing were well-received by distributors, enabling the business to expand rapidly, with its products even entering the mainland Chinese market. In the 1940s, while selling its own watch straps, Chong Ching Um also began importing Swiss watches for distribution in Southeast Asia. By the 1950s, he had established himself as Hong Kong's largest watch distributor and was known as "the King of Watches"（鍾錶大王）.
In the 1950s, Chung Nam Group shifted its focus to assembling Swiss watches and subsequently secured distribution rights for Swiss watch brands, which solidified its leading position in Hong Kong’s watch industry. In the 1960s, Chung Nam Watch pivoted to export-oriented operations. With the launch of quartz clock products in 1976, the company experienced a surge in overseas orders, cementing its status as Hong Kong’s largest watch merchant at the time. Building on this success, Chung Nam Group then embarked on a path of diversified development rooted in its watch business.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Chung Nam Group expanded its watch component manufacturing capabilities by introducing surface treatment and Metal Injection Molding (MIM) technologies, providing high-value-added decorative and precision parts through watch electroplating processes. However, the core process of this technology involved immersing products to be plated in chemical electroplating solutions, which caused severe environmental pollution, consumed enormous volumes of electricity and water, offered limited plating material options, and yielded suboptimal surface treatment results. In 1991, when the industry was still widely relying on this conventional technology, Chung Nam Group made the bold decision to abandon it and adopt semiconductor Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) technology. PVD is a thin-film preparation technique that deposits materials onto workpieces via physical processes under vacuum conditions. This marked the first-ever application of PVD technology in the surface treatment of decorative watch components.
Throughout the 1990s, Chung Nam Group developed proprietary nanocomposite coating technology, which is capable of modifying the properties of other coatings. Later, to complement its metal processing capabilities, reduce the use of chemical agents, and decrease reliance on electroplating, the Group invested in the development and commercialization of thin-film, powder metallurgy, and metal injection molding (MIM) technologies.
In 1999, Nokia upgraded the plastic casings of its feature phones to titanium alloy. Leveraging its superior performance and user experience, PVD coatings were incorporated into Nokia’s supply chain, ushering in a decade of rapid growth for Chung Nam’s PVD coating business. Subsequently, Chung Nam Group gained entry into the supply chains of multiple top-tier 3C brands, kicking off a second decade of accelerated development.
Chung Nam Group established CN Innovation Group in 2006. Positioned as a platform for advanced materials and precision engineering technologies, the group specializes in the development of magnesium-aluminum alloys, ceramics, glass, stainless steel, touch panels, titanium materials, and high-end watch components. Today, it a key supplier to international mobile phone and 3C brands.
1935-1990
1935 Mr. and Mrs. Chong Ching Um founded Chung Nam Watch Co. Ltd. （中南鍾錶有限公司）
1940–50 Watch components production
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1960–90 Watch assembly and wholesale
1991–2000
1991 Introduced metal injection molding (MIM) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) technologies
1991 Established the first surface treatment processing plant
1991 Established Maxford Technology Limited （萬津科技有限公司）
1998 Established Zoltrix Material International Limited（昶盛（物料應用製品）有限公司)
2000 Set up Chung Nam Industrial Park（中南工業園） for metal parts and surface treatment in Shenzhen, Bantian
2000 Expanded to include communications, computer and consumable electronic products, particularly components of mobile headsets
2001–2006
2001 Established Vitalink Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd（維達力實業（深圳）有限公司))
2004 Built an MIM factory in Nansha, Guangzhou.
2004 Established CN Innovations Limited（中南創發有限公司）, Chung Nam Precision Casing Company Ltd.（中南機誠精密有限公司）, Zoltrix Material (Guangzhou) Limited（昶聯金屬材料應用製品(廣州)有限公司）
2005 CNPC worked with Nokia and Blackberry to produce precision accessories
2005 Established CN Precision Casing (Shenzhen) Co.（中南機誠精密製品（深圳）有限公司)
2005 Developed glass cover panel business
2005 Reformed its watch division and opened a metal manufacturing facility that specializes in forging and stamping in Pinghu, Shenzhen.
2006 Formed CN Innovations Group（中南創發集團）
2006 Established a glass cover panel manufacturing facility in Pinghu, Shenzhen
2006 Established Vitalink’s Fumin Branch（維達力實業（深圳）有限公司 富民分公司）
2007–2016
2007 Established M-Solv Limited to research and develop laser technology and production equipment
2007 Established Vitalink Optical Film Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd（維達力薄膜科技（蘇州）有限公司) for vacuum coating processing
2008 Magnesium injection molding (MIM) technology applied to commercial production
2009 Began glass cover business.
2010 Successfully mass-produced touchscreens
2010 Developed aluminum injection molding technology
2010 CNPC cooperated with high-end mobile brand Vertu, offering high-level mobile accessories
2012 Set up cover glass R&D center in Korea
2014 Set up cover glass R&D center in Pinghu, Shenzhen
2014 Established Vitalink’s Hehua Branch（維達力實業（深圳）有限公司 禾花分公司）
2014 First-class supplier of a top Korean brand
2015 Applied DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating technology for surface treatment of renowned US smartphone companies’ products
2015 Established Vitalink Industry (Chibi) Co., Ltd（維達力工業（赤壁）有限公司）
2016 Developed cover glass production base in Chibi, Hubei Province
2016 Established sales office for coating business in South Korea through Vitalink Korea Co. （維達力韓國有限公司）
2016 Established Winsky Industry Hong Kong Limited (盈天實業香港有限公司) and Winsky Industry Shenzhen Limited（盈天實業（深圳）有限公司）
2017–now
2018 Established Vietnamese base for cover glass business
2018 Introduced metal Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) technology from Germany
2019 Produced touch sensors suitable for use in foldable touchscreens
2019 Established Maxford Industry (Chibi) co., Ltd (萬津實業（赤壁）有限公司)
2020 CNPC cooperated with new energy behicles to produce car interior parts and re-entered the field of Swiss watch case and bracelet accessories
2020 Vitalink Chibi officially commenced production for 3D glass cover
2021 2.5D glass front cover officially commenced production in Vietnam
2021 Bain Capital made a strategic equity investment in Vitalink
2022 CNPC entered a new field of semi-conductor parts
2024 MSolv opens its mainland China Branch in Zhuhai
From Wikipedia’s article on Chung Nam Group of Companies, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3