The person who brings Vietnamese bamboo to the world market

After 10 years of starting a business, with many failures, but with the determination not to give up, Mr. Dang Quang Trung, Director of Thanh Giong Bamboo Joint Stock Company, has realized the dream of bringing Vietnamese bamboo to the world market.

Mr. Dang Quang Trung (fifth from right), Director of Thanh Giong Bamboo Joint Stock Company and his colleagues.

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Having graduated from Vietnam Maritime University and worked for about 5 years as a marine engine operator, Trung "turned" to the thorny path of entrepreneurship.

With the capital of several hundred million VND accumulated after working time and the experience gained during the labor process in some European countries, Mr. Trung soon realized the trend of using clean, environmentally friendly products, which are renewable and do not cause ecological imbalance. This awareness also coincides with his long-standing concerns when the traditional carpentry village of Kha Lam still mainly uses wood and old methods, which are no longer suitable for the requirements of the times.

The booth displaying pressed bamboo products of Thanh Giong Bamboo Joint Stock Company at Techfest 2024 attracted the attention of many people.

Mr. Trung realized that bamboo resources in Vietnam are quite abundant, natural and available, but need to go through many careful processing stages: rolling, pressing, polishing, steaming, drying... What he appreciates is that bamboo products are less affected by weather factors, do not warp, shrink, shrink and retain their natural beauty after a long time of use. Bamboo products when processed have a special structure, can be used in outdoor projects, meeting aesthetic and durability requirements.

In 2015, Mr. Trung established Thanh Giong Bamboo Company Limited (later renamed Thanh Giong Bamboo Joint Stock Company). Thanh Giong Bamboo Joint Stock Company specializes in manufacturing furniture and household products made from pressed bamboo such as: flooring, kitchen cabinets, wardrobes, beds, stairs, wall panels, ceiling panels, cutting boards, tissue boxes, toothpick boxes, ashtrays, plate trays... The company also produces office products, gift sets and bamboo kitchenware sets.

It took Mr. Trung a few difficult years to find a market for his products before he found a place for his household products made from pressed bamboo in some big cities and provinces such as Hanoi , Quang Ninh, etc.

For Mr. Trung, the decisive turning point was when Tre Thanh Giong was one of 5 startup projects from Hai Phong selected to participate in Techfest Vietnam 2018 in Da Nang . “After participating in the Techfest Hai Phong program, my project of compressed bamboo products and I have increasingly received the attention of many venture capitalists and organizations supporting business startups in and outside the city.

After the competition, the Department of Science and Technology continues to support start-up projects in completing legal procedures; registering intellectual property rights; business promotion activities, product marketing... These are necessary factors, helping to make innovative start-up projects successful," Mr. Trung shared.

Mr. Dang Quang Trung (far left) introduces products made from pressed bamboo to foreign partners.

Never give up on your dreams

In 2019, Mr. Trung planned to build 3 factories, each 500 ^m2 wide, with production functions for each stage of the product; invest in machinery and equipment to improve production capacity and diversify products. But when the COVID-19 epidemic broke out, Tre Thanh Giong faced many difficulties, had to reduce production, and the dream of expanding the market for bamboo products abroad had to be temporarily put on hold. There were times when revenue was not enough to cover purchases, equipment repairs, premises costs, and worker salaries, while there were still many products in the warehouse, Mr. Trung stayed up many nights wondering how to find a solution.

Always believing in "not being discouraged when facing difficulties", "not stopping when failing", Mr. Trung devoted a lot of effort to improving product quality, carefully researching the domestic market to diversify products... Mr. Trung said: Thanks to the development of diverse sales channels (via Facebook, Zalo, Tiktok) and the support of the export sales team, the company has connected, negotiated and reached agreements with a number of international partners. In 2024, Thanh Giong Bamboo Joint Stock Company directly exported many household items made of pressed bamboo to the US market and received processing for domestic units for export. Thanks to that, Thanh Giong Bamboo Joint Stock Company had a revenue of about 10 billion VND.

The company is creating stable jobs for 20 direct workers with an average salary of 9 to 12 million VND/person/month and 10 seasonal workers of Tien Cam Bamboo and Rattan Cooperative (An Hung commune). Sharing about the business orientation in the coming time, Mr. Trung said: It is expected that by 2026, the company's pressed bamboo products will be exported to some European countries (Poland, Sweden) and Israel.

Products made from pressed bamboo of Thanh Giong Bamboo Joint Stock Company were awarded OCOP product certification in 2021.

Mr. Dang Quang Trung is one of three young entrepreneurs of the City Entrepreneurs Association who were recognized and rewarded by the City Youth Union and the Vietnam Youth Union at the City-level Advanced Youth Festival following Uncle Ho's teachings in 2020. In 2021, Mr. Trung won the Luong Dinh Cua Award, and Tre Thanh Giong products continued to be introduced at Techfest Hai Phong in 2022, 2024...

According to Secretary of the Youth Union of An Hung Commune Dang Thi Dai Trang, not only is Trung enthusiastic and passionate about business, he also actively participates in activities and movements launched by the Young Entrepreneurs Association, participates in volunteer programs for the community, and actively contributes to local social security activities. Trung's spirit of "dare to think, dare to do" has become an example of entrepreneurship, a driving force that encourages many young people in An Hung Commune to boldly start a business and conquer their youthful dreams.

GREAT

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/nguoi-mang-tre-viet-ra-thi-truong-the-gioi-520676.html