An Hung Surprise

However, An Hung Company did not give me the opportunity to further my suspicions, when it set a record for speed in progress: September 2019, investment license granted, April 2021, first shipment exported to the US! That means from the time the project was launched until the first shipment was exported, it took just over a year and a half. A jungle of administrative procedures, a mountain of construction work, and in the middle of the Covid-19 outbreak, to be able to do so in such a short period of time, can only be called a miracle.

Workers work in the cutting workshop.

On an area of ​​nearly 10 hectares of land, along Highway 7, in Cong Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, the largest garment factory in Nghe An has sprung up, magnificent and modern. I was overwhelmed because I had never stepped foot in such a vast factory, up to 3 hectares wide. Can you imagine a house as large as 6 FIFA-standard football fields? In addition to the cutting workshop, this vast house has 114 sewing lines. It is estimated that about 8,000 workers can work in this house!

Parallel to this factory is another, slightly smaller factory, 1.7 hectares wide. This is the warehouse for raw materials and finished products. Between the two factories is a wide, flat, covered road. After work, thousands of workers will follow this road to the cafeteria. The cafeteria is also an octagonal building, 6,000 square meters wide, beautiful and comfortable like a multi-star restaurant.

Sewing line of An Hung Company.

Next to the cafeteria is another giant 2-story building. Surprisingly, this is just a motorbike garage. When the factory has recruited enough tens of thousands of workers, most of whom go to work by motorbike, this "garage" that can hold nearly 8,000 motorbikes is also an essential item. In the immediate future, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic spreading everywhere, the factory's Board of Directors has prepared a plan for workers to eat, stay and work on-site. At that time, this "garage" will be a barracks for more than 2,000 people, with full basic amenities.

Outside the factory gate, another 1,700 square meter building is also being completed. This will be a not-so-small supermarket, serving the tens of thousands of factory workers, as well as the local population. It is known that the company also has plans to build a housing area for workers, on the vacant land next to the factory. Settling down to start a career.

There are two regulating lakes in front and behind the factory. Below the regulating lake, there are several wells, underground water is drilled, filtered and treated to become clean water that can be drunk immediately. Above the two regulating lakes, there are two beautiful and solemn water seats. These are two temples, one to worship gods and one to worship Buddha, meeting the spiritual needs of workers.

Overview of An Hung Company.

As I walked up the marble staircase with luxurious cast bronze handrails of the Company Office building, I knew that there would be nothing, no matter how small, temporary or careless, here. Now, before signing a contract, partners are required to make a comprehensive assessment of the factory. An Hung has passed all the strict criteria of foreign partners.

It is no coincidence that An Hung has just opened and has received large contracts from major partners, until the end of 2022. Next week, the factory will start production for Victoria's Secret. Hearing this name, I was really shocked. Victoria's Secret is a leading American fashion brand in the world. Putting its name on products under this brand, An Hung is really "unable to speak well" anymore!

However, foreign partners will never sign a contract just because the factory is beautiful or modern, they also need another most important condition: people. As if reading my mind, Chairman Dung took me to a luxurious room with a sign for the General Director. Ha - General Director of An Hung is a small, gentle guy and impresses with a bald head. This is the appearance of an expert. Coming to An Hung, Ha not only brings with him the knowledge and extensive experience of an expert, but this talented young General Director also brings back relationships and international partners after decades of working in the world garment industry market.

Warehouse for raw materials and finished products.

From Ha's office, you can directly observe the entire factory area in the back. In the garment industry, the dedication and skill of the workers are also a decisive factor. The number of workers at An Hung is currently only nearly 2,000. According to the roadmap, by the end of 2021, it will increase to 4,500, then gradually increase to 10,000. Most of the current workers have sewn in other factories, including those from the South. They have proficient skills and good work ethic, but when they come here, they sew new products, so labor productivity is only about 70-80%.

The remaining newly recruited workers, after learning the trade, start sewing, and are constantly supervised, so labor productivity is low. However, the current level of production after only 4 or 5 months is also very promising. We believe that after a few years, when the skills are proficient, the labor productivity of the workers will increase. Then they will have higher incomes, and the factory will also benefit more.

From the factory, I looked up to Tu Va peak, the famous mountain of Van Tu region, the highest mountain of Yen Thanh district: "The highest is Tu Va cave/ Second is Nguyet cave, third is Tho cave".

Yen Thanh people are considered the most simple and honest in the province. But for generations, the whole Yen Thanh district has been purely agricultural and purely… poor. The market economy has opened up, but it has not opened up many opportunities for the people, so they have to disperse everywhere.

In the immediate future, An Hung hopes to welcome those who have just returned from the southern provinces due to the pandemic, so that they can continue to work, earn income, and stabilize their lives. In the future, with the second factory starting up in Tho Thanh commune, An Hung will have jobs for more than 20,000 workers. Hopefully, along with other businesses that have opened and are opening, “leaving agriculture but not leaving home” will no longer be a slogan.

Export goods at An Hung Company.

However, to help people, businesses need to stand firm. With the Covid-19 pandemic spreading everywhere, An Hung hopes for nothing more than for factory workers to be vaccinated soon. Although the “3 on-site” plan has been carefully prepared, if the vaccine is not administered soon, the risk will still be looming.

Dung turned to a young, handsome, bright man and introduced: “This is my son. He just graduated from the Academy of Finance. He came here to help Mr. Ha - the General Director, first to practice, get acquainted, and later to take over and replace his father.”

Now I believe! They not only invested money, a lot of money, but also invested their future here.