his factories, but a lifelong
involvement in the chocolate
industry means that John
Chuang (BEng Mechanical
Engineering 1973), known as
knows more than most about chocolate,
including fictional hero Willy Wonka!
moving the family to Indonesia, his father
founded the Silver Queen brand of chocolate
in the 1950s which is probably how he
developed his love for chocolates.
course structure that was offered.
says John. "I chose Liverpool because at the
time I was already involved in my father's
chocolate business and wanted to
understand how factories and plants worked.
The course at Liverpool was unique and
ahead of its day, offering a mechanical
engineering course that incorporated
business studies."
park" as he describes it. He made many
friends in halls, including CH Tan (BEng
Electrical Engineering 1973) who is now
Executive Director of Venture Corporation
in Singapore, who he reconnected with
a few years ago. They now
meet for lunch once a year,
and John attended his
daughter's wedding
last year.
been re-formed in the last
year, but I am pleased to
find out about what is
happening at the place
that played a great part
in where I am today."
take over the chocolate business his father
had built and in 1984 moved to Singapore to
start Petra Foods Limited with his two
younger brothers.
Southeast Asia, the largest cocoa ingredients
processor in Asia and the fourth largest in
the world. In fact, two of Petra's chocolate
brands are now Indonesia's most popular
chocolate confectionery brands. Petra also
brands such as Toblerone
or Mars, which means that
more than 50% of the
chocolate bought in the
country is either made by
Petra or distributed by
the company.
the self-confessed
chocolate lover, all over
wherever I travel," says John. "Despite this,
I can't beat the UK or US average record
for chocolate eating which are both
notoriously high!"
bars with me
wherever I
travel."