Tran Van Le: "Fan King" of Vietnam's industry
From a determined young man from Nghe An to a brave CEO, Tran Van Le has written a difficult but also successful entrepreneurial journey. In him, people see the combination of the desire for change, the spirit of daring to think and do, and a heart that always aches for the homeland and country. The portrait of an entrepreneur who not only knows how to build a brand, but also sows confidence and inspiration for today's young generation.
Content:Khanh Nhu /Technique:Hong Toai• September 4, 2025
From a determined young man from Nghe An to a brave CEO, Tran Van Le has written a difficult but also successful entrepreneurial journey. In him, people see the combination of the desire for change, the spirit of daring to think and do, and a heart that always aches for the homeland and country. The portrait of an entrepreneur who not only knows how to build a brand, but also sows confidence and inspiration for today's young generation.
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Born in the poor countryside of Thanh Chuong, Nghe An – where the land is barren, with more rocks than alluvium, where people spend all year round under the sun and wind, working hard in the fields and the sky – Tran Van Le grew up in poverty and hardship. Not having enough food or clothes to wear was a daily occurrence. As the fourth child in a poor family of five teachers, he deeply understood the price of poverty and understood that education was the only way to change his fate.
Since childhood, Tran Van Le has been accustomed to going to school in the morning and plowing the fields with his mother and siblings in the afternoon. However, amidst all the worries, the boy's eyes still shone with the desire to reach far. No matter how hard it was, Le was always at the top of his class, because he knew that if he did not study well, his future would only be tied to the barren fields in the remote countryside.
After graduating from high school, when his peers were eagerly entering the university gates, Tran Van Le put aside his dream to join the army. The months of military service forged his iron will, discipline and perseverance - qualities that later became powerful "weapons" to help him face all the storms of life.
After being discharged from the army, Tran Van Le entered life with nothing. He did all kinds of jobs to make a living, from porter, construction worker, petty trader... But no matter how frugal he was, his family's life was still stuck 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 my family be less miserable." In 1991, Tran Van Le boldly enrolled in Business Administration at the National Economics University. The days sitting in the lecture hall not only gave him knowledge but also opened up a new horizon of thinking.
To cover his living expenses and his studies, he worked for a boss who specialized in trading old machinery and electromechanical equipment. The loading and transporting not only gave him a small amount of money but also helped him gain a deeper understanding of machinery, technology and the market. “At that time, people imported batches of old goods and then resold them for profit. Many people got rich from that,” he said. But instead of accepting to work for hire forever, Tran Van Le asked himself: “Why not repair and refurbish them to sell at a higher price?”
That question kept urging him, leading him to the decision to quit his job, open a small shop, specializing in buying old pumps, fans, motors... In the early days, he personally searched, disassembled, maintained each broken item and then resold it.
It was during those days that he discovered a huge market demand for industrial ventilation fans. And so, he decided not to stop at trading in used goods anymore. He wanted to go further, to produce new fans to sell to the market…
That is how Tran Van Le laid the first bricks on the journey to create the industrial fan brand "Made in Vietnam".
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In 2000, with all his determination and aspiration, he founded Phuong Linh Mechanical and Electrical Production and Trading Company Limited. On the first day, Phuong Linh was just a small workshop with only 10 workers, but from those first steps, a great journey began - a journey of will, challenges and far-reaching dreams.
Everyone knows that starting a business is never an easy road. But for Tran Van Le, hardships are not barriers, but stepping stones for him to move forward. 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. Not long after, four consecutive shipments were returned. 28 fans were left lying around the small workshop, capital was exhausted, workers were confused, and debts were piling up.
There were moments when he thought he had to give up. But failure is not the end – it is a test for those who dare to break through. Tran Van Le decided to go to the tea company’s factory, meticulously measure every dimension, find the errors and start over from the beginning – for the fifth time. And then, all the efforts were rewarded. The fans after adjustment worked perfectly. The tea company not only paid for the new order, but also supported part of the costs for the previous failures. From that first order, good news spread far and wide. Phuong Linh continued to grow, steadily conquering the domestic market, then reaching out to the world.
In 2012, when the Vietnamese economy faced many difficulties and many businesses were cautiously cutting costs, he dared to "take a risk" - investing heavily in high technology. He equipped the most modern production lines from Switzerland and Japan, with a single goal: "Producing products of international quality at domestic prices".
From those small industrial fans, a big wind has arisen, blowing away all barriers to bring the Phuong Linh brand further than ever.
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With nearly 30 years of perseverance and breakthroughs, Tran Van Le - the talented captain has steered Phuong Linh through many storms to become the leading enterprise in the field of manufacturing industrial fans and industrial dust filtration systems in Vietnam. This is not an easy journey. This field requires strict technical skills, constant innovation and extremely fierce competition. But with courage, vision and the spirit of daring to think and dare to do, he has affirmed the position of a "Made in Vietnam" product right in his home country.
Currently, Phuong Linh's factory is located in Quang Minh Industrial Park - Me Linh, Hanoi, covering an area of 16,000 m². This is one of the most modern factories in the Vietnamese electromechanical industry, invested in advanced machinery and equipment systems, imported entirely from European countries.
With fully automated technology, each Phuong Linh product achieves absolute precision, saves materials and optimizes performance. In particular, industrial fan blades are dynamically balanced on both sides, using a new generation of digitally controlled balancing machines, meeting international vibration standards ISO:10816-1.
Nowadays, Phuong Linh industrial fans are present in all regions of the country, appearing in a series of key national projects such as Phap Van - Tu Hiep urban area, Honda, Nagakawa... Not only conquering the domestic market, Phuong Linh has also expanded, exporting to Japan, Korea, China - markets famous for their strictness in product quality. Making that success is Tran Van Le's profound business philosophy: "Seeing customers as your benefactors".
Thanks to this motto, Phuong Linh brand not only dominates the domestic market, but also affirms its position as "King of Vietnamese industrial fans", with a series of prestigious awards and titles.
And October 15, 2024 marks a historic turning point when Phuong Linh officially transformed from a Limited Liability Company to a Joint Stock Corporation. This is not only a legal change, but also a strong push, bringing the Phuong Linh brand to new heights - stronger, more stable and ready to conquer the next peaks.
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Amidst the image of a businessman busy with business strategies and profit figures, Tran Van Le appears with a different appearance - a person who never stops learning, a person who is always passionate about knowledge. He once shared that each book during his startup years was like a companion, helping him not only understand the world more deeply but also develop creative thinking.
Despite his many successes, for Tran Van Le, knowledge is never enough. In addition to his engineering and bachelor's degrees, he also holds more than 20 training certificates from management to engineering. And especially, in 2024, he was honored to receive a PhD in the US and India, clearly demonstrating the studious spirit and lifelong learning mindset of a son of Nghe An. But for him, studying is not only to get rich, but also to understand more about the world, to be able to help others, especially the younger generation.
That is why, when talking about the Industrial Revolution 4.0, his eyes shine with hope. He does not see it as a challenge, but as an opportunity. “The problem is not whether we are afraid of it, but what businesses must do to take advantage of it,” he affirmed.
And he didn't just talk, he walked.
Phuong Linh Group has implemented internal training courses to improve management and professional skills for its staff, taught directly by General Director Tran Van Le. Not only within the company, he also inspires the younger generation, participates in teaching at universities, shares experiences with young entrepreneurs, and advises startups. He is not only a successful businessman, but also a teacher and companion for the next generation.
But no matter how far he goes, in his heart, his homeland is always the place to return. Although he left his hometown to start a 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 hometown - the place that nurtured his dream. And so, he acts to repay. From charity programs, education and talent encouragement funds, to charity houses, and scholarships - he not only contributes materially, but also spreads the spirit of overcoming difficulties and the will to rise up, of which he himself is a living proof.
Looking back on the journey from a poor young man with nothing to a successful businessman, Tran Van Le's story is not only his personal journey, but also an inspiration for many generations. It is a story of perseverance, aspiration, iron will and a spirit of constant learning. The achievements he has achieved today are the crystallization of his hands, mind and a heart full of passion and enthusiasm. And certainly, the wind from Phuong Linh's fans will blow even stronger, bringing Vietnamese brands to fly high and far on the world map.
