Dien Bien Cement JSC: Solid Progress

 

Board Chairman and CEO Nguyen Van Thinh said he could not forget the hard days when he set up the company 20 years ago, when seeing its current success. At that time, he decided to withdraw investment capital from cement plans in Kim Bang district (Ha Nam province), Quai Cang commune, Tuan Giao district (Dien Bien province) and Lien Khe commune, Thuy Nguyen district (Haiphong City) to build a cement production facility in far-off Sam Mun commune, Dien Bien district, Dien Bien province. His audacity and desire to wake the potential in Dien Bien province resulted in the formation of Dien Bien Cement Joint Stock Company.

 

Thinh said, "Investment in Dien Bien has a lot of advantages in the long term. Dien Bien not only has available input sources but also has a vast market. From Dien Bien down to Son La province, up to Lai Chau province or to northern Laos provinces is only 180 km in radius but there are no cement plants. Shipping a ton of cement from the lowlands to these places always adds at least VND1 million to the price. For that reason, building a production facility with reasonable output will be very effective and competitive."

 

Besides, the project received the support of provincial leaders since it had a large production scale. In October 2009, Dien Bien-branded cement was launched onto the market. Powered by European technologies and modern production lines, Dien Bien cement meets TCVN-6260:1997 and TCVN2682:1999 Vietnamese standards certified by the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality (STAMEQ). The cement price is VND500,000 per tonne, thanks to lower transport costs.

With its quality affirmation and commitment, Dien Bien cement is not only present in local markets like Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Son La and Vinh Phuc, but also reaches northern Laos. Not only used by civil construction works, the product was also supplied to six local hydroelectric plants: Nam He, Nam Na 1, Nam Na 2, Nam Na 3, Ta Co (Son La province) and Nam Muc. The company also supplied clinker to Son La hydropower plant. In 2011, the Government assigned the company to supply the full cement demand for the 1,200-MW Nam Nhun hydroelectric plant in Lai Chau province, marking another step in the market domination of Dien Bien cement.

The company always pays attention to fostering the expertise of its employees to effectively run the modern plant. All nearly 500 employees were trained of economic management, electromechanical, engineering and silicate. In 2014, the product of Dien Bien Cement Joint Stock Company is honoured to receive the TOP 100 International Integration Brand, Service and Product Award. The annual award aims to motivate and encourage the business community and entrepreneurs with great contributions to community development, sustainable economic, cultural and social development in the new period in ASEAN countries, particularly Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Dien Bien Cement Joint Stock Company was praised for constant efforts for in branding and labelling. The company’s products always meet registered quality standards, thus gaining the popularity of consumers, particularly in northern Laos. Besides, working conditions are always ensured and workers pay increases year after year. The company’s leaders were voted excellent, daring, creative and benevolent executives.