The aspiration to bring Vietnamese products to the world of the chairman who failed the university entrance exam 5 times

With the spirit of "Vietnam can do", the chairman who failed the university entrance exam 5 times has conquered the demanding Japanese customers and is continuing to bring Vietnamese products to many other international markets.

“I came to the mechanical engineering industry by fate,” Mr. Hoang Huu Thang, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Engineering and Industry Group (Intech Group) pensively recalled.

Graduated from university in 2009, student Hoang Huu Thang made a living by selling helmets, but after 2 years, he realized that helmet products did not have many opportunities to develop in the future, when public transport projects were developing strongly, and more and more people were buying cars, so he decided to choose another profession to start a business.

“After many days of searching for information on the Internet, I was attracted by the images of products related to conveyor belts, which were being widely used in factories and in the industrial sector. At that time, foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises were pouring into Vietnam, especially Korean and Japanese enterprises, and almost all of their factories needed conveyor belts. Having studied Mechatronics, I boldly learned more about mechanical and technical products, and saw that this industry had many development opportunities in the context of the country promoting industrialization and modernization. I searched for more information about large corporations in the world working in this field, their modern factories fascinated me. So I decided to start a business in the field of mechanics and automation, even though my understanding was limited to book knowledge in school and a short time of searching for information on the Internet, without any practical experience. At that time, I was only looking forward but not yet "Aware of the difficulties and hardships we will face," Mr. Thang said about his fate in the field of mechanics and automation.

Vietnam Technology and Industry Group Joint Stock Company (abbreviated in English as Intech Group) was established at the end of 2011 in a rented house. Hoang Huu Thang set himself the goal of trying his best for 5 years. If he succeeded, he would continue, otherwise he would return to work in an industrial park in a remote province.

There were countless difficulties in the early days of starting a business with no experience, no connections, no customers, no financial resources. The family came from a farming family, both parents were old, and relatives were mainly in the mountainous countryside of Bac Giang, so they could not provide any support.

However, a difficult and arduous childhood, having to cycle 20km to sell vegetables in the freezing cold with his back drenched in sweat, or having to catch shrimps at night..., and especially the long days of being criticized by friends with many emotions because of failing the university entrance exam 5 times, has tempered and trained Hoang Huu Thang to have a will, determination, and the ability to withstand pressure much greater than many others.

After months of posting classified ads on Vat Gia, Rong Bay, Mua Ban… sites, using images from the internet to promote products, Intech got its first order.

The order value was only over 10 million VND, so the customer did not have high requirements for factory standards and production capacity. However, because they worked through an intermediary partner who did not understand the technical aspects, they communicated the wrong "assignment". Even though Intech made the correct technical specifications in the contract, the customer still refused to accept the goods and did not return them because they had paid 50% of the order value in advance. The younger brother who delivered the goods was even detained by the customer. Hoang Huu Thang had to go to the place to explain thoroughly before they sympathized and let the two brothers go.

With 6 million left for the goods, the founder of Intech traveled all the way to Xuan Truong district (Nam Dinh) to demand the payment from the intermediary partner. After waiting for a day without getting the payment, he had to take a motorbike taxi to Nam Dinh city to rest temporarily, but on the way he had an accident and was badly bruised. The next day, he continued to wait for the payment. Luckily, by noon, the partner agreed to pay 3 million VND.

After the first order did not go well, the founder of Intech continued to post classified ads, using sincerity, integrity and openness to work with customers. Heaven does not disappoint those who have a heart, orders began to come in more, mainly small orders for industrial rollers and industrial conveyor belts.

He worked hard day and night to learn drawing, drew product designs himself, then ordered processing from small workshops. Workshops with lathes ordered details related to lathes, workshops with milling machines ordered details related to milling..., electrical equipment and electrical components were ordered from companies selling electrical equipment and components, then collected the details to assemble at his boarding house, tested them, and only delivered the products to customers when they were okay.

After a while, when there are larger orders, we will cooperate with partners with larger factories, ask them to produce, assemble, and later install for us. Intech only focuses on the technical aspect, pre- and post-sales services.

With this approach, even without its own factory and without having to invest too much in machinery and equipment, Intech can still produce products that meet the requirements.

In the early days of establishing the company, Hoang Huu Thang devoted all his energy to work, slept very little, and had almost no time to play. “At that time, I was in love, at 11-12 o'clock at night my lover called to ask what I was doing and saw that I was still assembling conveyor belts, assembling rollers, assembling products... because I had to deliver goods to customers the next morning. At that time, I looked very thin, only about 50-52kg, my face was gaunt and haggard, everyone said I looked old before my time,” the founder of Intech recalled with a laugh.

Due to the company's limited scale and capacity, although they really wanted more revenue, Intech's leaders had to refuse many orders that were too technically difficult or worth up to several billion VND when the company's capital was still limited.

Mr. Thang explained: “I know my capabilities. Refusing is a good solution for both the customer and myself. If I keep accepting, not having enough capacity will directly affect the production line and production plan of the customer, causing damage to both sides. The customer and I do not want that. Later, when resources increase, I can accept more suitable orders according to the company's capacity.”

With the motto of only accepting a job if we are sure we can do it, in the first 5 years of operation, except for the first order, Intech has never had a customer return the goods or refuse to accept them.

Intech’s largest order in the first five years was worth nearly VND8 billion, supplied to a Korean factory in Nghe An. Previously, Intech had supplied a production line worth nearly VND3 billion to this factory in Hai Duong.

“In fact, the VND8 billion order at that time was a bit beyond Intech’s financial capacity. Intech guaranteed the technical and progress aspects, frankly shared the actual situation so that they could facilitate the financial and payment aspects. The customers also understood, so they came together. Orders like that helped the company to bounce back, gradually developing from a company specializing in mechanical engineering to a precision mechanical engineering, automation, and technology corporation, Intech Group later on,” Mr. Thang confided.

Fascinated by the professional, spacious, and clean factories of FDI enterprises, when his capital was more abundant, the "boss" of Intech was determined to build his own factory to be more proactive about product quality and production progress.

At first, it was just an assembly factory. After having more stable customers and more regular work, we started investing in more machinery to be proactive in production. If we didn't have money, we bought used machines to save costs. If we had more money, we bought new machines from China, Japan or Europe.

“When the company’s financial situation improves, it invests in better quality and more sophisticated machines to meet the quality requirements of customers’ difficult products. Intech currently has many Japanese and European machines, some of which are worth more than 10 billion VND because they are all the most advanced machines on the market at the time of purchase. Some foreign customers and partners who come to visit do not believe that this factory is owned by a Vietnamese enterprise, but think that it is owned by a foreign owner or invested by a foreign company,” Intech’s Chairman shared.

To produce parts and components that meet the requirements of demanding customers in terms of both quality and aesthetics, Intech not only invests in modern production lines, but also invests in a strict quality control system at each stage, each department, each employee, with measuring equipment that meets international standards.

Research and development (R&D) activities are seriously invested and implemented. For example, with industrial roller products that have been exported to the Japanese market for about 4 years now, customers have very high requirements for quality and durability. Intech's research center had to test, inspect, and evaluate for years before bringing the documents to market, with clear measurement indicators to prove the quality and production process.

Having used rollers supplied by Intech, Mr. Eisei Hirata, Head of Supply and Planning Department, Tsubakimoto chan Company highly appreciated the products of Vietnamese enterprises: “Our major projects all use Intech rollers. Through 5 million durability tests of Intech products along with other domestic brands, we evaluate Intech roller products as having the highest durability and best quality”.

Intech Group Chairman stated: “To develop sustainably, we should invest heavily in research and development. It is normal to knock it down and start over again, accepting the loss of a lot of resources in terms of finance, human resources, time and mind.”

Intech's research center currently has about 20 employees, including mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, control engineers, software engineers, etc.

Researching and anticipating new technologies to quickly put them into products is a regular activity of the Intech team, through research activities on the Internet, or directly participating in international exhibitions, seminars, and field trips abroad...

Intech's "Make in Vietnam" product line, in addition to industrial rollers and industrial conveyors, also includes a series of products related to machine parts, machine components, automatic sorting systems, smart warehouses, AGV self-propelled robots, etc., all of which have affirmed their quality in the market.

“Vietnamese people keep looking to buy products from China and other countries, while Intech is supplying those same products to foreign countries, even to demanding markets. Early last year, the media talked about the most modern factory in Southeast Asia of ABB Group inaugurated in Bac Ninh. All the production lines and automation systems in that factory were 100% provided by Intech, from consulting, design, processing and installation, “turnkey”. Many people who do not know think that ABB brought machinery and equipment from Europe,” Mr. Thang confided.

Currently, Intech is continuing to push higher-tech products with higher intellectual content abroad.

Recently, a Japanese partner ordered an automatic parcel sorting system. Intech is in the process of manufacturing it and is expected to ship the goods from Vietnam to Japan in early 2024 and send a team of experts to install it for the customer.

“We are also working with some European partners, however, for now, Japan will still be the key market. Of course, if other international partners come, we will also serve and meet their requirements as best as possible. It is expected that Japan, the US, and Europe will be the three key markets of Intech in the next 5 years,” Mr. Thang added.

To penetrate the Japanese market, the Intech team had to go through many hardships, there were times when they felt tired, thought they were exhausted, and had to give up. The slogan “Vietnam can do” became the motivation to regenerate energy, determined to do it.

The desire to bring Vietnamese products to the world was formed in the mind of the Chairman of Intech from the times of going to international exhibitions and visiting factories abroad. Next, the words "Vietnam cannot produce a screw", or the comments of partners "Vietnam is just an underdeveloped country" touched the national spirit of Vietnamese businessmen, making him increasingly want to soon bring "Make in Vietnam" products to the international market, join the Vietnamese business community to participate in the global supply chain, thereby gradually changing the thinking about Vietnamese people, changing the perception of Vietnam by international friends.

“The spirit of an entrepreneur is to dare to commit, dare to think, dare to do, and if you have great, noble ideals, you will receive consensus from the community and society,” businessman Hoang Huu Thang emphasized.

Conquering customers and international markets is not an easy task. Besides the great desire and ambition to affirm the Vietnamese brand and intelligence, Mr. Thang noted that Vietnamese enterprises need to pay more attention to some specific issues, such as the trend of developing a green economy and a circular economy.

“In the very near future, if we do not meet green standards in the supply process, from greening businesses, greening factories, greening production, greening products, etc., we will not be able to supply goods to demanding markets, large markets such as Europe, the US, Japan, etc. Although major partners are not required to meet these standards right now, they will prioritize cooperation opportunities with businesses that meet the standards first. Vietnamese businesses and entrepreneurs must pay attention to preparation, otherwise they will be greatly affected,” Mr. Thang recommended, and said that in 2024, Intech plans to build a new factory, which will be a green factory.

At present, Chairman Hoang Huu Thang affirmed that Intech Group is a purely Vietnamese company, 100% owned by Vietnamese people, with no foreign elements. However, he also left open the future direction: “Many foreign partners have expressed interest in investing. We will consider choosing the right partner to have a breakthrough, accelerate better, and participate more deeply in the global supply chain.”

Article: Dawn

Design: Nguyen Cuc

Vietnamnet.vn