Going to Nghe An

Tran Van Le: "The King of Fans" in Vietnam's Industrial Fan Industry

Khanh Nhu - Technical support: Hong Toai • September 4, 2025 18:48

From a determined young man from Nghe An to a capable CEO, Tran Van Le has written a challenging yet brilliantly successful entrepreneurial journey. In him, one sees a combination of a desire for change, a daring spirit, and a heart always deeply concerned for his homeland and country. He is the portrait of an entrepreneur who not only builds brands but also instills confidence and inspiration in today's young generation.

Content:Khanh Nhu /Technique:Hong Toai• September 4, 2025

From a determined young man from Nghe An to a capable CEO, Tran Van Le has written a challenging yet brilliantly successful entrepreneurial journey. In him, one sees a combination of a desire for change, a daring spirit, and a heart always deeply concerned for his homeland and country. He is the portrait of an entrepreneur who not only builds brands but also instills confidence and inspiration in today's young generation.

Born in the impoverished rural area of ​​Thanh Chuong, Nghe An – a place where the land is barren, rocky, and fertile, where people toil year-round under the sun and wind, working the land from dawn till dusk – Tran Van Le grew up in hardship and deprivation. Not having enough food to eat or warm clothes to wear was commonplace. As the fourth of five children in a poor family of teachers, he deeply understood the cost of poverty and realized that education was the only way to change his destiny.

From a young age, Tran Van Le was accustomed to going to school in the mornings and following his mother and siblings to the fields in the afternoons to plow and cultivate. Yet, amidst the hustle and bustle, the boy's eyes still shone with a yearning for success. No matter how hard things were, Le always excelled in his class, because he knew that without academic excellence, his future would be tied to the barren fields of his remote village.

After graduating from high school, while his peers eagerly entered university, Tran Van Le put aside his dreams to enlist in the army. His time in the military forged in him an iron will, discipline, and perseverance – qualities that would later become powerful weapons, helping him face life's challenges.

After leaving the army, Tran Van Le started life with nothing. He did all kinds of jobs to make a living, from loading and unloading goods, working as a construction laborer, to selling small items… But no matter how frugal he was, his family's life remained trapped in poverty. Then one day, he looked at his wife and said something that changed his life: "I have to go to university. Only by studying English can I help my family escape this hardship." In 1991, Tran Van Le boldly enrolled in the Business Administration program at the National Economics University. His time in university not only provided him with knowledge but also opened up a new horizon of thinking.

To make ends meet and pay for his studies, he took a job as a laborer for a boss who specialized in trading used machinery and electrical equipment. The loading and unloading work not only provided him with a small income but also helped him gain a deeper understanding of machinery, technology, and the market. “Back then, people imported batches of used goods and resold them for profit. Many people became rich from that,” he recounted. But instead of accepting a life of work, Tran Van Le asked himself: “Why not repair and refurbish them to sell them at a higher price?”

That question kept nagging at him, leading him to decide to quit his job and open a small shop specializing in buying used pumps, fans, motors, etc. In the early days, he personally searched for, disassembled, and maintained each broken item before reselling them.

It was during those days that he discovered a huge market demand for industrial ventilation fans. And so, he decided not to stop at just selling used goods anymore. He wanted to go further, to manufacture new fans to sell on the market…

That's how Tran Van Le laid the first bricks on his journey to creating a "Made in Vietnam" industrial fan brand.

In 2000, with unwavering determination and ambition, he founded Phuong Linh Mechanical and Electrical Manufacturing and Trading Company Limited. Initially, Phuong Linh was just a small workshop with only 10 workers, but it was from these humble beginnings that a great journey began – a journey of willpower, challenges, and dreams of reaching for the future.

Everyone knows that starting a business is never an easy road. But for Tran Van Le, hardship wasn't a barrier, but a stepping stone to his progress. And one of the toughest challenges came in 2005, when he received his first order from a tea production company in Son La.

But the joy was short-lived. Soon after, the shipment was returned four times in a row. 28 fans lay piled up haphazardly in the small workshop, capital was depleted, workers were distraught, and debt piled up.

There were moments when it seemed like giving up. But failure isn't the end – it's a test for those who dare to break through. Tran Van Le decided to go to the tea company's production facility, meticulously measuring every dimension, identifying the errors, and starting over – for the fifth time. And then, all his efforts paid off. After adjustments, the fans operated perfectly. The tea company not only paid for the new order but also partially covered the costs of previous failures. From that first order, word spread. Phuong Linh continued to grow stronger, steadily conquering the domestic market, and then expanding internationally.

In 2012, when the Vietnamese economy was facing many difficulties and many businesses were cautiously cutting costs, he dared to take a risk – investing heavily in high technology. He equipped his production lines with state-of-the-art equipment from Switzerland and Japan, with a single goal: "To produce products of international quality at domestic prices."

From those small industrial fans of the past, a powerful wind has risen, blowing away all obstacles to propel the Phuong Linh brand to greater heights than ever before.

For nearly 30 years, Tran Van Le – the brilliant captain – has steered Phuong Linh through countless challenges to become a leading enterprise in the production of industrial fans and industrial dust filtration systems in Vietnam. This has not been an easy journey. This field demands rigorous technical expertise, continuous innovation, and extremely fierce competition. But with his courage, vision, and daring spirit, he has affirmed the position of a "Made in Vietnam" product right in its own backyard.

Currently, Phuong Linh's manufacturing plant is located in Quang Minh Industrial Park – Me Linh, Hanoi, spanning an area of ​​16,000 m². It is one of the most modern factories in Vietnam's electromechanical industry, equipped with advanced machinery and equipment entirely imported from European countries.

With fully automated technology, every product from Phuong Linh achieves absolute precision, saves raw materials, and optimizes performance. In particular, the industrial fan blades are dynamically balanced on both sides using a new generation digitally controlled balancing machine, meeting the international vibration standard ISO:10816-1.

Today, Phuong Linh industrial fans are present throughout the country, appearing in numerous key national projects such as the Phap Van - Tu Hiep urban area, Honda, Nagakawa, etc. Not only conquering the domestic market, Phuong Linh has expanded its reach, exporting to Japan, South Korea, and China – markets known for their stringent product quality standards. The key to this success lies in Tran Van Le's profound business philosophy: "Consider customers as benefactors."

Thanks to this motto, the Phuong Linh brand has not only dominated the domestic market but has also affirmed its position as the "King of Vietnamese Industrial Fans," with a series of prestigious awards and titles.

And October 15, 2024 marked a historic turning point when Phuong Linh officially transformed from a Limited Liability Company to a Joint Stock Company. This was not only a legal change, but also a powerful boost, elevating the Phuong Linh brand to a new level – stronger, more stable, and ready to conquer the next peaks.

Amidst the image of a busy businessman preoccupied with business strategies and profit figures, Tran Van Le emerges with a different persona – a constant learner, a man always passionate about knowledge. He once shared that each book throughout his entrepreneurial years was like a companion, helping him not only to gain a deeper understanding of the world but also to develop his creative thinking.

Despite his many successes, for Tran Van Le, knowledge is never enough. Besides his engineering and bachelor's degrees, he also holds more than 20 training certificates ranging from management to technical skills. And notably, in 2024, he was honored to receive his PhD from the United States and India, clearly demonstrating the thirst for knowledge and lifelong learning mindset of a son of Nghe An province. But for him, learning is not just about getting rich, but also about understanding the world better, and about being able to help others, especially the younger generation.

Therefore, when the Fourth Industrial Revolution is mentioned, his eyes light up with hope. He doesn't see it as a challenge, but as an opportunity. "The issue isn't whether we're afraid of it, but what businesses need to do to take advantage of it," he asserted.

And he didn't just talk, he acted.

Phuong Linh Group has implemented internal training courses to enhance management skills and expertise for its staff, with CEO Tran Van Le himself providing direct instruction. Not stopping at internal company activities, he also inspires the younger generation, teaching at universities, sharing his experience with young entrepreneurs, and advising those starting their own businesses. He is not only a successful businessman but also a mentor and a companion for the next generation.

But no matter how far he travels, in his heart, his homeland will always be the place to return to. Having left his hometown to build his career, Tran Van Le has never forgotten his roots. He always believes that his success today is due to the encouragement and support of his family, relatives, and his homeland – the place that nurtured his dreams. And so, he acts to give back. From charitable programs, scholarship funds, to houses of compassion and scholarships – he not only contributes materially but also spreads the spirit of overcoming difficulties and the will to succeed, of which he himself is a living example.

Looking back on his journey from a poor young man with nothing to a successful businessman, Tran Van Le's story is not just his personal journey, but also an inspiration for generations. It's a story of perseverance, ambition, unwavering will, and an insatiable thirst for learning. The achievements he has today are the culmination of his hard work, intellect, and a heart full of passion and enthusiasm. And surely, the wind from Phuong Linh's fans will blow even stronger, propelling Vietnamese brands higher and further on the world map.