Rubber Engineering Company Boosts Exports

Rubber Engineering Company Boosts Exports

In recent years, Vietnam's rubber industry has witnessed a boom in exports of rubber latex as well as related products and these products have met both domestic and international markets’ demands. To reach the country's production and export targets, the sector has invested heavily in advanced technologies to increase the products' quality.

The Rubber Engineering Company, an affiliate of Vietnam General Rubber Corporation (Geruco), was set up in 1976 specializing in producing machines and engineering for rubber processing.

Initially, the company produced only several engineering parts for other Geruco affiliates but now all Geruco’s members order and buy the company’s products. Moreover, some other non-Geruco domestic companies also purchase its machines, which accounts for a half of its total turnover.

Currently, customers are very fond of Rubber Engineering Company’s products so the company is targeting to supply to all rubber growers and producers nationwide. The company understands that its products’ high quality and reasonable prices are the most important factors for its success.

Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Bich, the company director, said that prices of her products were 35-40 per cent lower than those of imported ones thanks to local content rate (of its products) reaching up to around 92 per cent. The company's products now can meet the regional ASEAN standard and the company officials are negotiating with importers from Indonesia and South Africa to sell products there.

According to Ms. Bich, the company will try to supply to all domestic customers while surveying international markets in South Africa, India and China to boost exports there in the future. In addition, the company has also focused on trade promotion to other foreign markets, creating new models and increasing quality to satisfy different demands.

The Rubber Engineering Company is developing fast along other Geruco subsidiaries thanks to increasing demands for machines and engineering products in the rubber sector.

In 2004, the company is expected to earn around VN44 billion (US$2.8 million), up from VND27 billion (US$1.73 million) as previously targeted. It had earned around VND33 billion (US$2.1 million) as late September this year.

The Rubber Engineering Company now has 120 staff and its workforce reaches up to 160-180 people during its main rubber harvests. The company is also training more young staff to meet its development plans.

The company is preparing to be equitised in 2006.

• Bich Hanh