Making a fortune from the building materials business.

(Baonghean) - Thanks to his determination to overcome difficulties, Mr. Phan Bá Hải in Trung Thành commune (Yên Thành district) has risen to become a successful businessman in the construction materials industry, creating stable jobs for many local workers.

We visited the "estate" of the transportation service owner, a large warehouse where people and vehicles were busily loading cement and steel. Although he was the owner, Phan Bá Hải was still wearing flip-flops and rolled-up trousers, loading goods alongside the workers.

Mr. Hai confided: "Before we got married, my wife and I only had 3 acres of leased rice fields as our 'capital.' We tried various other jobs, like selling groceries, but poverty always clung to us. If we only farmed and did small-scale trading, we couldn't escape poverty, let alone get rich. After many sleepless nights, Mr. Hai realized that people in his village had been buying construction materials through small dealers at very high prices, and transportation was difficult. Why not open a construction material dealership and deliver the materials directly to the construction site?"

Mr. Phan Bá Hải instructs workers on loading and unloading goods.

In 2003, the couple borrowed money to open a cement and steel dealership at their home. Initially lacking funds, Mr. Hai only bought a truck with a carrying capacity of over 3 tons to deliver materials directly to construction sites for customers. As a result, more and more people sought out his dealership. To meet customer demand, Mr. Hai decided to buy three more trucks with a carrying capacity of 5 tons each. Initially, he only supplied materials to neighboring communes such as Nam Thanh, Bac Thanh, and Xuan Thanh, but now he has expanded to the entire Nam Yen Thanh region, including highland communes such as Thinh Thanh, Ly Thanh, Minh Thanh, and Dai Thanh.

Having achieved success as a building materials distributor, but lacking control over his inventory due to reliance on supplies from first and second-tier cement distributors, Mr. Hai realized that expanding to neighboring districts required investment in tractor-trailer trucks. In 2010, using accumulated savings and additional loans, he and his wife decided to purchase a tractor-trailer truck worth 1.9 billion VND, along with two trailers (truck bodies) worth 800 million VND. The tractor-trailer directly went to the Hoang Mai and Duyen Ha cement factories to pick up goods, then distributed them directly to construction sites for customers. Because he obtained goods directly from the source, the retail price of building materials was more competitive than before, thus expanding Mr. Hai's market. Thanks to his reputable business practices, Mr. Hai's business has become increasingly efficient. Annually, he supplies 5,000-6,000 tons of cement and steel to customers in the districts of Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Nghi Loc, Tan Ky, etc. His revenue has steadily increased, and from 2011-2012, Mr. Hai purchased three additional tractor-trailer trucks and ten trucks specifically designed to transport materials directly to construction sites, bringing the total value of his transport vehicles to over 10 billion VND.

To ensure traffic safety and protect goods, Mr. Hai invested over 8 billion VND to build a warehouse system covering over 3,000 m2, including a 1,400 m2 storage area equipped with cranes for loading and unloading cement and steel directly within the warehouse, ensuring safety and reducing the workload for workers. Mr. Hai is also trusted by construction material suppliers to be a level II agent for Hoang Mai, Bim Son, and Nghi Son cement plants, and a level I agent for Duyen Ha cement plant. His construction material supply agency provides employment for over 40 workers, including drivers and loaders, with stable salaries ranging from 5.5 to 6 million VND per month. Mr. Nguyen Van Nam, a worker for the company, said: “Working here, I get paid 6 million VND/month, and I receive a subsidized lunch, which is much higher than farming. Thanks to the stable salary, my family has money to cover expenses, raise our children, and pay for their education…”

According to Mr. Hai, for this business to be sustainable, traffic safety must always be ensured. He shared: "We always comply with the government's policy of carrying the correct load weight, because it's still profitable. Running with the correct load reduces wear and tear, minimizes danger, and prevents accidents. In the near future, we plan to invest in more modern transport vehicles, expand our market, and create jobs for 50-70 local workers."

Van Truong