Vietnam, attractive destination for German businesses

Allister Thomson, General Director, M+W Vietnam Co., Ltd

M+W Group is a global leader in engineering design and construction of high-tech facilities. Our core market focus is in Advanced Technology Facilities, Life Sciences and Chemicals, as well as Data Centers. Our privately owned company has extensive in-house technical resources combining process, architecture, civil and structural engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, technology integration, automation, lean construction and commissioning expertise.

Operational since 1912, we are headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany and have 6,000 technical professionals operating in 30 countries worldwide. We deliver complex projects to the most exacting performance standards and focus on ecological sustainable design, deploying advanced power generation initiatives, as well as innovative water and energy saving technologies.

Being present for 10 years in Vietnam demonstrates our long-term commitment to this growing country. We foresee its strategic importance in the ASEAN region with conditions that offer our business many opportunities. Vietnam is the market point for us to expand our operations and our targets are concentrated in the south as there are more foreign direct investment (FDI) projects here. The country has been booming in manufacturing, life science and advanced technology - areas that we can contribute to. We can confidently say that we understand the local market and the strategic needs of our customers. This has been our gain during the last decade and we look forward to the next period. M+W Group sees our people as the key to our growth. With Vietnamese staff comprising the majority of our team, M+W Group will grow together with Vietnam and leverage great heights for our customers.

Alexander Gotz, Managing Director, Fischer ASIA Co., Ltd

Fischer ASIA is a subsidiary of the German Fischer-Group, a leading manufacturer of metal stamping and shaping parts for the automotive and electronics industry. With over 30 years of experience in metalworking, Fischer has stood the test of time and developed from a local shop to a global system supplier for some of the most well respected companies in their industries.

Fischer ASIA was established in 2008 in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. As a 100 percent German-invested company, we are the Asian production hub of the Fischer Group.

In Asia, we mostly target automotive and motorcycle, electronics, furniture and construction industries.

Eighty percent of the products of our 3.000sq.m production site in Vietnam are exported. We look to sell the rest to local customers. This year, we are targeting a 20 percent increase over 2016. We are very positive about our development in Vietnam and want to stay here for the long term. Our plan is to expand our factory in coming years, and employ more people. Vietnam is an interesting place for manufacturing and going in the right direction to attract more FDI companies, like ourselves. We chose Binh Duong Province as our factory location, given its logistical and administrative conveniences for export. With several free trade agreements (FTAs) on the way, we see many chances for us to invest further and do more business here. I believe that Vietnam is a good ASEAN hub for German businesses, especially for supporting industries.

From my point of view, this could improve even more, if all local companies in supporting industries link up to grow further in upcoming years.

Moritz Schmidt, Managing Director, HELLA Vietnam Co., Ltd

HELLA is a global, family-owned company listed on the stock exchange that employs some 34,000 people in over 125 locations in more than 35 countries. The HELLA Group develops and manufactures lighting and electronic components and systems for the automotive industry. HELLA Group is one of the top 40 automotive parts suppliers in the world, and one of the 100 largest German industrial companies.

HELLA Vietnam’s Design and Development Department of the Electronics Business Division is part of our Global Design and Development network. With all main functions present, it is developing Electronic Control Units for vehicles in the Chinese market. HELLA Vietnam represents the biggest outsourcing location for the Technical Center in China. For the four and a half years we have operated here, we have witnessed Vietnam’s fast economic development and the opening up of its business climate. This has strongly supported our industry’s growth. Our business has been expanding at around 20 percent per year.

When we started, we had just 30 people. Now we have 115 and we would like raise it to 130 or 140 staff in the years to come. In Vietnam, we can find highly qualified people and good engineers at reasonable costs. In the future, our company plans to cooperate with local universities to offer their students more opportunities to intern and work for our company after graduating.

Our focus is not on rapid growth. Sustainable growth is more important. We believe that the promising environment will attract more German companies to Vietnam.

David Roussiere, General Director, Kuehne + Nagel Vietnam Co., Ltd

Today, the Kuehne + Nagel Group has more than 69,000 employees working in more than 1,200 offices in over 100 countries. Our key business activities and market position are built on the company’s world class capabilities in sea freight, airfreight, overland, contract logistics and integrated logistics.

With 24 years of experience in Vietnam, Kuehne + Nagel is a market leader in end-to-end supply chain logistics industry. Operating in four locations with six warehouses, the company offers a comprehensive range of services, from international freight forwarding by sea, air and road to customs brokerage, project transport, warehousing and distribution.

Despite the global economic slowdown, we completed our country’s strategy with a strong focus on solutions for the domestic market, capitalizing on the main forces of Vietnamese trade and industrial developments. This allowed us to make a quantum leap with a view to grow twice faster than market average.

The dynamics of Vietnam’s economy fueled by multiple FTAs, strong development of the domestic demand, have attracted a lot of foreign manufacturing and processing investors, as well as companies in the logistics industry. The infrastructure and qualifications of human resources and administration are improving. Vietnam is now becoming more competitive and attractive than other countries in the region in many aspects, which will further boost the growth of the logistics industry.

Now, the retail sector is expanding fast and domestic consumption accelerating. Hence, the outlook is extremely promising for both domestic and foreign logistics investors that will keep on expanding their operations and seize the opportunity.

We are very optimistic about our business development in Vietnam and plan to engage more deeply within the country while growing our strong position in the global market.