“Mr BIN” And Vietnamese Guiness Record
“Slow process” is the most prequent spoken-out phrase in constructing field in recent year. So, to construct on time and on quality is not easy. However, the Guiness record on fastest building construction in quality assurance in Vietnam has belonged to Techconvina contractor under young general director – Mr Nguyen Duong Hung.
The first building process record
Project which creates the record is the production factory building project of Thien Su Group in Dai An industrial zone of Hai Duong province. This is 100% FDI project which is divided in to 2 periods with capital upto USD 30 million. The first period, the total area is 30.000m2 with more than 20 work items. This construction needs at least 8 months as estimated with normal process to be finished. However, due to strict requirement on process and quality, Techconvina contractor sets the target to finish period 1 in 168 days (more than 5 months). The project starts in the beginning of May. The potential risk is slow process due to unfavorable weather. So, to fasten the process, at high time, company has mobilized 1000 workers continually work at site. As a result, after only 100 deployment days, the projects has finished period 1 earlier than plan, and 3 months earlier against averager process. The record which Techconvina has created in rainy reason is also the first Vietnamese constructing record in Guiness.
Mr Vuong Quoc Bao, project director of Thien Su liability limited company said: “the first time we knew the name Techconvina because this company gave the good designed detail which fitted our requirement, so we dicide to choose Techconvina as our contractor. When we were at site, attitude and the spirit of worker were serious, hardworking, enthusiasm, which contributed to the success. In near future, we will expand production scale and Techconvina will still be our partner”.
After that event, world of investors begin to pay attention to Techconvian, especially to the young General Director Duong Nguyen Hung who confidently committed to deploy the project in the shortest time against scale and work quantity which no contractors dare. From now on, many FDI investors are not hesitated to trust on 100% Vietnam capital business.
From the “xixth person” to “Mr Bin” and ideas
1975 generation, when the country unified, grew up in the renewal progress, they are expected much to contribute to the country’s development.
In the 1992-1993s, the movement of the youth start-up was so virbrant. At the rural areas, when the VAC model bloomed and gained success, in big city, private business model also began and became movement in many fields. At this time, Nguyen Duong Hung go to college because he wanted to choose his own career. At National Economics University, and Labor Faculty (human resources faculty now) is his choice to make his dream come true. At university, he has many business ideas to try. When he was second year student, he started with pizza shop at home. At that time, there was only one pizza shop Elitle Italia where he learnt to make cookies. At his time, cookies making fee of USD 5 per hour is not small for a student, but for him that was an effective investment. He mobilized his friends’ younger sisters and brothers, because they have time and they so eager to make and to earn.
The “xixth person” cooky shop is the idea of a clever native boy named Friday live with Robinson Cruisoe in isolated island in the story Robinson Cruisoe. More deeply, that is a wish to raise Vietnam to become the xixth dragon of Asia. This shop was known not only in world of students but also outside. With the reasonable price, and good quality as in big shop, the “xixth person” cooky shop conquested many people including foreign people. After-service team is always ready to bring cookies to each small lanes in Hanoi capital.
At that time, entertainment life was not popular, Duong Nguyen Hung thought to create one entertainment place for student. So beside the “xixth” person cooky shop, he created Rock Station Club. The “station” was regarded to be the first rock café for student in Hanoi, it invited the Wall, the White Eage, the Life to play free on charge. In principle, the cost for station club was not much but the turnover was acceptable. The station club attracted more and more people, so after payment service was converted in to pre- payment service. National and international press such as Washington Post, New York Time considered this club as good business idea for student.
However, the sixth person bakery and the station lasted only 3 years, they became good memory of Duong Nguyen Hung. When he graduated, and his friends’ brothers and sisters went to university, every one left with every one’s dreams. Only Duong Nguyen Hung expected to make his dream come true, he wanted to go every where to learn and to seek opportunity.
Find opportunity in crisis
Duong Nguyen Hung decided to go to Russia at the time Asian economics crisis expanded to Russia (1997- 1998) and he clearly felt the crisis fluence every breath of life. Inflation increased rapidly, goods could not raise as fast as money depreciation. For example, 600 rups could exchange for USD 1000, but now 3000 rups could exchange the same amount of USD. Unemployment, low income, and many entertainment activities strongly decreased, but the demand of essential goods increased. This crisis was good opportunity for Vietnamese. They concentrated on food, health, and property fields and they were successful. For instance, Pham Nhat Vuong take chance of instant noodle processing factory, then this factory became Technocom with the top instant noodle manufacturing assembly to supply for Uropean countries.
In Russia, Duong Nguyen Hung was a patendor holding financial consultant for some friends. At the time of crisis and money value depreciation, one of his friends wanted to buy Hanoi restaurant in Matxcova, but he advised that would be the way to lose money. For his idea, the whole of money should be use in buying gold and the result was to keep capital intact.
After one year and a half in Russia, he realized that what was good for take, what was to avoid. Coming back to Vietnam, he started to seek opportunity in new field – constructing field.
Choose foreign investment channel and delay administration
At the beginning years of 21st century, foreign capital in to Vietnam strongly increased as in some key works describe as “booming”, “reach highes level”, and “gradually increase”. This showed that froreign investment potential into Vietnam would continue to rise, and dramatically increase in long period, especially in constructin field. Duong Nguyen Hung also realized that trend, but it took him one year with his capital to find the solution. One business cannot operate in so many fields, this is true for construction company. So the importance is to find out the strengths in market segmentation. At the end, he choose market segmentation of FDI. The first reason is the foreign investment scale into Vietnam is non-stop increasing, with many projects each year up to many billions USD per year. So, the investment projects have abundant financial source. The second reason is fast circulating capital and direct relation between customers and contractor. As a trend, on 20th January 2005, Vietnam Investment Promotin Technics and Construction Joint Stock Company was established. It operating fields are mainly on investment promotion and construction service supply for FDI project. After that establishment, there are some subsidiaries such as Techconvina Smart Home, Techconvina Factory Care, bid trading Techconvina, Techconvina affiliate in Ho Chi Minh city.
Mr Hung said this is not easy field especially for a young construction company. To attract the attention of foreign coutries is not easy but not difficult. The first concern must be capacity and service, but beside strict quality requirement and process is good financial flow. However, to make good impression to investors, he reminded his staff to take all chance to have direct meeting with customers. Through package service structure and especially after- service – “private doctor for factory”, customers can feel they can coorperate with this company in long term. That is not competitive relation but the perfect and sustainable relation. This revealed in sub-companies after the mother company establishment. This is synschronous and thorough.
This is once again confirmed at strength of delay administration (supervise, take care of delayed projects). May be, experience of this young director most clearly revealed and flexibly applied in 2008 economics crisis which also affected to Vietnam. Many investor has to postpone their projects at oversea include Vietnam. Understand the customer’s concern, he guide his staff not to leave customer, to loose chance, and need to focus on “delay administration” with so many good policies to help customers overcome difficulties. Specicially, he recommended his customers to choose transient method to lengthen the time but low cost. Provide some free service package such as build fence surround the site, protect land and property, … to help customer more assured and created trust. Continue to keep in touch with customer to know when they re-start constructing. As a result, the best choice must be Techconvina. So, in 2009, the number of customer in Techconvina is so bustle.
Not enough 5 year, company has finished more than 30 high building, factory projects. Profit gained in latter year is always higher than that in previous year with the rate from 50% to 100%. At present, Techcovina operates according to the model of mother company and subsidiary, with main address in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city as well as 3 subsidiaries to provide optimal solution and service for customers. The company’s trend is to boost epanding Southern market. The first step of this trend is Annam factory in A area of Annan international liability limited company (VND 60 billion project) in Long An province, Remington (Binh Duong province); New Hope (Dong Thap province). Moreover, Techconvina do not skip any national property fields.
Notion: no one is the employee
In the whole interview, Mr Hung have many phone callings and his frequent sayings are “take advangtage to advertise”, “confident to give ideas” or “actively act”, etc. He agreed that are his experience after so many years doing business and taking part in many international courses in business administration and human resource fields. In every fields, ideas are necessary but not decisive, we need to take advantage of time and chances. At the time he called “silent time” (when he came back to Vietnam) because he had many ideas like anti- poisonous mask, chimney to limit waste but they are not used. If it is at this time, he can confident to sell his ideas but do not dear anyone pays attention.
Moreover, according to his opinion, his business strategy needn’t to be hidden, he show to every one to know, show them the motivation, consolidate their believes. So, in each meeting, strategic problems are ebullently discussed, personal ideas are welcome. This show the personal development speed is very fast, so the busness culture needs to be openned to adapt and incentive staff’s ideas
In Techconvina, he incentive individuals to gather in a business team, on that base, each group will bring in to play. Team’ benefit will proportion with output, wisedom and system building experience. Gradually, there will be freedom of finance and no body is employee. At that time, personal finance and company’s fiance will be combined to bring the most benefit for each memember.
Thu Lê
(Tạp chí Làng Việt)