Plus Vietnam, a member of the Plus Corporation, was one of the first Japanese companies to invest in the Vietnamese market in 1995. After 30 years, the company, operating in the stationery manufacturing sector, has created jobs for about 1,800 Vietnamese workers. Office products such as erasers, adhesive tape, file folders, staplers, and staples produced at two factories in Dong Nai are exported to dozens of international markets, bringing in revenue of over 2,000 billion VND annually.

On the company's 30th anniversary, Mr. Tadahisa Imaizumi shared with VnExpress about the journey and direction of Plus Vietnam, as well as his impressions of the Vietnamese workforce.

Plus was one of the first Japanese companies to invest in the Vietnamese market in the 20th century. Why did the company make this decision?

30 years ago, Japanese companies looking to expand production overseas would have focused on China. However, as a company operating in the stationery industry, Plus's philosophy is to create differentiation and unique characteristics. Therefore, to innovate and reduce competition, we looked for a different, more potential market with more opportunities.

Vietnam has an abundant labor force that is very hard-working. They are highly skilled and also adaptable, willing to learn new production lines. This is the factor that helps us create Japanese-quality products outside of Japan.

Mr. Tadahisa Imaizumi - Chairman of Plus Corporation (Japan). Photo: Thanh Tung

Mr. Tadahisa Imaizumi - Chairman of Plus Corporation (Japan). Photo: Thanh Tung

Besides limiting competition, what attracted the Japanese giant to the Vietnamese market?

In the past, Vietnam's infrastructure was still very limited, and policies for investors and FDI enterprises were not as open as they are now. However, there was one thing that impressed me greatly: the people. Vietnamese personnel are diligent and have a strong learning spirit. This quality contributed to helping us bring the Japanese standard factory model, which has high quality requirements, to Vietnam. The same model might not have been successful if implemented in another country.

What was the biggest challenge in this market?

Over the past three decades, there have been many challenges. The biggest was definitely the Covid-19 pandemic when the factory closed for three months. At that time, customers switched to using other brands, sourcing goods from elsewhere. When we reopened, we lost many old customers, and new orders were also limited. To this day, the impact still lingers.

But every business has its "storms" to overcome. We determined that we had to restore production as quickly as possible and research ways to reduce product costs. The reason is we implemented digital transformation and widespread automation to control quality, reduce errors, and increase productivity. These efforts helped us regain the customers we had lost.

Having overcome these "storms," what has the company achieved?

Initially, we aimed for export-oriented production. But with a population of about 100 million, Vietnam is also a fertile ground for the stationery market. Since 2007, we have deployed additional production lines for the domestic market. Revenue from the Vietnamese market to date is about 150 billion VND per year, accounting for 15% of total revenue.

We currently have two factories in Nhon Trach 3 and Bien Hoa 2 Industrial Parks. The current number of employees has increased nearly 100 times compared to when we first started. Plus products are available in many countries around the world such as Japan, the US, China, South Korea, and North American countries.

Plus Corporation leaders inspect the production line. Photo: Plus

Plus Corporation leaders inspect the production line. Photo: Plus

Vietnam is entering a new development phase with a green transition and application of technology to adapt to general conditions. What is Plus Vietnam doing to keep up with these trends?

This is a general market movement, and it is almost mandatory for businesses to apply it to compete in the new phase. In fact, we have been researching to apply AI and automation to processes and production lines towards the smart factory model.

For example, ERP software has been used to manage operations. Now we have added AI to participate in the monitoring and quality control process. Each production line now has a screen to display real-time production capacity. Based on this, we know how much each line has produced, any errors or incidents that have arisen, and whether it is ahead or behind schedule. AI will help assess all of this and support decision-making. Last November when I visited Vietnam, the factory didn't have these things yet, but after only 6 months, technology is changing the way we produce in a faster and more efficient way.

With the application of technology, what are the company's goals for the next 5 years?

After 30 years of operation, we are heading towards a new era with a faster pace of development. We have set three main goals.

The first is to increase domestic revenue. Currently, revenue from the Vietnamese market only accounts for 15%. We aim to increase this figure to 20-30%. Previously, we mainly produced for the Japanese market with products designed and functioned according to Japanese habits and needs, and we sold them in Vietnam as well. In the future, we will have products specifically for Vietnamese people.

To achieve this, we are promoting AI in production. AI will participate in the process of researching and collecting user data on habits and needs, thereby developing appropriate product development strategies.

The second focus is office furniture production. Vietnam is an open market with a rapid economic growth rate. This leads to a huge demand in the office sector as many businesses need to open offices of various sizes. Therefore, we see great potential in the furniture segment and will promote it in the future. This is also a challenging strategy to diversify our products.

Third is leveraging the combined resources of Plus Corporation Japan. The corporation currently has many production segments in different countries. We will leverage the corporation's various brands to expand orders and develop into new markets.

Plus Vietnam Company's scholarship awarding ceremony for students of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Plus

Plus Vietnam Company's scholarship awarding ceremony for students of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Plus

In summary, after 30 years of operation, what factors can help an FDI enterprise operate sustainably in Vietnam?

This is my personal perspective. The key is the working environment. Businesses operating in another country need to strive to create a working environment that can fully utilize the potential of the human resources and promote innovation in labor. As Japanese, we always have a positive view of Vietnamese people and do not have difficulty communicating. They always understand our requirements and apply creative ways to solve problems.

Identifying the importance of human resources is the key to sustainable operation. That is why for over 12 years, we have had a scholarship fund specifically for the young Vietnamese generation. Since the beginning of this year, we have also partnered with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City to award additional scholarships to train high-quality personnel.

Hoai Phuong