For Immediate Release
October 8, 2014
Contact: Van Nguyen
248.430.5855
[email protected]
Asian Business Leaders and Businesses Honored at Annual Awards Dinner
Livonia, Mich.,- October 23, 2014-Nearly 200 people filled Laurel Manor in Livonia for APACC's
2014 Salute to Excellence Awards dinner, featuring keynote speaker Cheong Choon Ng, president and
co-founder of Choon's Design LLC.
Wixom-based Choon’s Design makes the popular Rainbow Loom, a plastic tool for creating colorful
bracelets and other items from small rubber bands.
Mr. Ng told APACC members, friends and guests at the October event that he got the idea for Rainbow
Loom in 2010 when he came home from his job as a crash-test engineer with Nissan one day and saw
his daughters, then 12 and 9, twisting ponytail bands into rubber band bracelets.
“I tried to make one myself but my fingers were too big!” he joked. Sensing a potential business
opportunity, Mr. Ng and his wife, Fen Chan, invested their $10,000 life savings to bring Rainbow
Loom to market. “There was no money for a factory so we did the work at home, packing the rubber
bands by hand,” he said.
Initially, Mr. Ng said, he approached big-time retailers like Walmart, Target and Toys R Us, but the
response was a firm “No!” Undeterred, he turned to trade shows, online marketing and low-cost labor
(“My daughters!”) to get Rainbow Loom in the public eye.
He followed up by rolling out a new video and offering classes and demonstrations at independent
stores. “I found out that kids liked it right away, and parents soon discovered that this was a good way
for their children to learn eye-hand coordination and socialization skills.”
Today, Mr. Ng's company has expanded its distribution to over 2,000 specialty stores and major
retailers like Michaels and has continued to gain worldwide popularity, achieving $44 million in sales
in 2013. Such international celebrities as the Duchess of Cambridge, Pope Francis and David Beckham
have been photographed wearing Rainbow Loom bracelets. In addition, the company has won four Toy
Industry of America awards since its product launch in 2011.
Mr. Ng, a Malaysian immigrant of Chinese descent who came to the United States to earn a college
degree in mechanical engineering, was one of six Asian-American Business Professional Honorees at
the awards dinner. Also honored were:
 Mr. Neel Chapatwala, owner and operator, with his father, of 16 McDonald's restaurants in
Southeast Michigan.
 Anil Kumar, M.D., a urologist with his own practice in Rochester Hills where he also owns and
operates the Kumar Surgical Center.
 Mr. Vinay Shahani, Vice President of Marketing for Volkswagen of America.
 Mr. Hau Thai-Tang, Group Vice President of Global Purchasing at Ford Motor Co.
 Mr. Thanh Tran, Founder and President of Kidpreneur, a place for children ages 13 and under to
learn about entrepreneurship and the latest technology.
This year's Asian-Owned Company honorees were:
 Autoline Industries, manufacturer of pedal assemblies, park brake levers, jacks and tool kits and
other chassis assemblies for the automotive industry.
 EWIE Co. Inc., a global leader in on-site commodity management services.
 Grand Aire Inc., a leading provider of on-demand freight and passenger air charter services.
 China Automotive Systems/Henglong USA Corp., the largest supplier of power steering
components and systems in China and its North American subsidiary.
 Midwest Molding Inc., a leading supplier to the automotive, electronics and appliance
industries.
 Technosoft Corp., an IT staffing and services company.
APACC's inaugural Luminary Award was presented to Rolanda Heard, Program Manager, Diversity
Supplier Development at Chrysler Group LLC. She manages more than 682 suppliers and is a powerful
supporter of woman- and minority-owned businesses in the United States and Canada.
Jane Park, general assignment reporter with WXYZ-TV served as emcee, and APACC board directors
Nand Kochhar and Rona M. Lum served as event co-chairs. APACC extends its thanks to title sponsor
American Hydrostatics, event sponsors DTE Energy and General Motors Corp., and media sponsor
Corp! magazine.
For more information about APACC, please visit www.apacc.net or call 248-430-5855.
APACC's mission is to facilitate business relationships among Asian and U.S. based companies and to
promote the economic advancement of Asian Pacific Americans.
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