Gloomy production and business of construction bricks
(Baonghean) -In the general difficulties of the basic construction market, the construction materials industry has fallen into stagnation. At the beginning of the year, at many brick and tile manufacturing enterprises in Nghe An, there were quite a lot of unsold products…
A few years ago, after the Lunar New Year, the construction materials market started to heat up, because of the commencement of construction of many public and residential projects, but recently, in this "golden season" of the construction market, many enterprises in the construction materials industry are in a state of stagnation. Brick production is slow to sell, there is a lot of inventory, while enterprises still have to pay bank loans, pay salaries, pay insurance, and fulfill obligations to the State...
Previously, most enterprises in the Nghe An Tunnel Brick and Tile Production Association often operated at 150-200% of kiln capacity, but currently few units have reached that capacity. The association has 19 member units and a total annual production capacity of nearly 400 million bricks, but in 2012, output decreased significantly. Mr. Nguyen Ba Dien - Director of Nghia Lien Tunnel Brick Factory (Nghia Dan), said: "Due to difficulties in the consumption market, in 2012 the enterprise produced about 9 million products, with a value of more than 10 billion VND. Actually, after Tet is the time to fire the kiln to make bricks, but the enterprise decided to stop production for long-term repairs and also to sell all the products in stock". At Thanh Ngoc Tunnel Brick Factory (Thanh Chuong), which used to do very effective business, in this difficult period it is also facing many challenges; In 2012, the output only reached 11 million products, with a revenue of 13 billion VND. After the Tet holiday, the company set a goal of focusing on consuming products in stock and in February, it will repair machinery and equipment while maintaining production, so the output will be about 1 million pieces. Mr. Phan Van Cuong - Director of Thanh Ngoc Tuynel Brick Factory, said: "This is one of the most difficult periods in the production of bricks and tiles, because at some units, the selling price is only equal to the cost of the product but consumption is still slow."
Brick production at Nghia Loc - Nghia Dan Tunnel Brick Factory
Through research, it is known that even in the famous brick-making land of Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, the situation of tunnel bricks is also happening. Some units' output in 2012 decreased by 1/3 compared to 2011 and in 2013, it is forecasted that they will continue to face difficulties in consumption.
However, in the general gloom of the tunnel brick production sector, there are still effective production and business enterprises and the success factor is knowing how to inherit and promote the brand, at the same time innovating management methods, boldly investing in changing production technology to save costs, reduce prices and improve product quality... At Trung Do Nam Giang brick and tile production unit (Nam Dan), although facing many general difficulties in the product consumption market, customers inside and outside the province still trust the enterprise's products, so consumption is strong. In 2012, the production unit reached 35 million standard products, ensuring stable jobs for more than 200 employees. To serve the needs of customers, from the 6th day of Tet (Lunar calendar), the unit started production and thanks to that, in February this year, the production reached nearly 2.3 million products. Or at Nghia Loc Tunnel Brick Factory (Nghia Dan), thanks to bold in-depth investment and purchasing of modern equipment for production (this is one of the leading enterprises of Nghe An Tunnel Brick Production Association applying mechanization in many production stages), the unit's products are competitive in the market...
It is predicted that in the coming time, the tunnel brick manufacturing industry will face many difficulties and challenges, and if businesses do not have a plan to innovate production and business, it will be difficult to survive in the market. A suitable development direction for this industry in the coming time is to focus on the investment and production of unburnt bricks, because with the support and incentive policies to encourage investment from all levels and sectors, Nghe An and the provinces in the North Central region are potential markets for unburnt brick products.
Article and photos: Hoang Vinh
