Building Materials Corp. No 1 (FiCO) on the Right Track of Development

Building Materials Corp. No 1 (FiCO) on the Right Track of Development

Located in Ho Chi Minh City, Building Materials Corporation No. 1 (FiCO) is a State-owned enterprise operating under the Ministry of Construction. With outstanding leadership of the Board of Director, the corporation's subsidiaries have seen their business develop progressively. The strong growth of FiCO has actively contributed to the industrialisation and modernisation process of the country over the past years.

To meet development demand of the country in the renewal period, the corporation's Directorate brought out a strategy focusing on producing and diversifying high-quality construction materials and exposing local market potentials.

FiCO has invested thousands of billions of Vietnamese dong in technologies to improve the quality of its products and expand its business to producing and trading fireproof construction materials, carboxylic roofing, white and black cement, Frit-men and tap valves. All FiCO's factories are now using the most advanced modern technologies and equipment. The corporation’s famous brand names such as Thanh Thanh, Vitaly, Thien Thanh and Dong Nai have been present at civil and industrial works on the domestic market. Its products have also reached many countries worldwide. In the first nine months of 2004, FiCO’s total outputs saw an increase of 26 per cent and total export revenues rose by 92 per cent over the same period last year, making it one of the strongest corporations of the Ministry of Construction.

Due to achievements reached over the past years, FiCO started investing in new projects early this year. They include a ceramic tile production line with the capacity of two million square metres of tiles per year, Tay Ninh Cement Factory (1.5 million MT per year) and Viet Duc Brick & Tile Factory with a capacity of producing one million products a year. In particular, the corporation has invested over VND3,000 billion (US$191.1 million) in real estate projects in Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho and the south-eastern region. The corporation has recently focused on applying new technologies and seeking new materials to reduce production costs because of the soaring price of major inputs such as steel and fuels.

According to Nguyen Tran Nam - FiCO's General Director, financial ability, business strategy, prestige and quality of products are prerequisite factors to help one business create a firm foothold at market level while the Board of Director takes the initiative from the Government to invest in A Projects and engage in all fields. "We will invest intensively to buy modern equipment and construction vehicles and promote staff's professional ability and workers' skills to compete with other rivals in large civil and industrial works,"  he said.

FiCO now has 16 member subsidiaries with nearly 10,000 staff and workers. Over the past year, the corporation always ensured average incomes for its employees of around VND1.5 million (US$95.5) per person per month. In 2003, the corporation used VND1.25 billion (US$79,600) from its welfare fund to improve working skills for 600 workers and promote professional ability for 250 staff in fields of politics and socio-economic management. Apart from organising cultural movements, the corporation actively participated in charity activities such as taking care of families of war-disabled soldiers and revolutionary martyrs, serving Vietnamese heroic mothers, contributing to social welfare funds, building schools and houses and supporting people in flood-hit areas.

Growing steadily with high-quality products, which have taken a firm foothold in local markets, the corporation has created jobs for a great number of labourers. FiCO has actively contributed to the socio-economic development of the country and recently received honourable appellations from the State and the Party of Vietnam.

• Van Luong