ABB affirms Vietnamese operation commitments

Huynh Phong Phu

What is your view on the current landscape of manufacturing and supporting industry development here in Vietnam?

The Vietnamese supporting industry is experiencing an unprecedented opportunity for development where a multitude of conditions have simultaneously converged. First is the strong presence of global manufacturing giants like Samsung, LG, and Unilever, who are the key players in the global production supply system. Second, Vietnamese-based producers and assemblers have been significantly expanded and adhere to world-class regulations and standards.

These two factors have facilitated development of the chain of suppliers and supporting businesses, leading to constantly-burgeoning requirements for quality and labour productivity that are the very factors underpinning both qualitative and quantitative development of the local supporting industries in recent years.

How do you evaluate the trend of using robots to meet fast-tracked requirements for automation of local manufacturing industries here?

ABB has recently commissioned thousands of ­automative robots helping to bolster production ­efficiency and product quality for our customers currently ­operating in the fields of electronics, animal feed, food and beverage, ­fertiliser and ­chemical, automotive, metal ­fabrication, and brick ­manufacturing. ABB will be opening our second robotics centre later this year in Ho Chi Minh City to enable faster response nationwide to support our customers to meet the manufacturing goals of today and tomorrow.

In addition, as manufacturers are increasingly demanding about labour efficiency and product quality, coupled with lower production costs to enhance competitiveness, automating the whole production system with the use of robots has become imperative. The process will become less dependent on humans, minimising abrupt technical breakdown and ensuring stable product quality, while enhancing labour efficiency as well as system stability.

Usage simplicity has been ABB’s top priority since our foundation. In every phase of production from design to programming and operation, our company has always been geared towards simplification. Surely, our robots have the interface that is the easiest for use. Users will spend the least time being trained in how to use the robots properly.

What are ABB Vietnam’s current and future plans to support the local community in the current digital age?

Pushing up education, particularly the training of generations of capable engineers, is always on top of ABB’s agenda. ABB Vietnam has donated several latest technologies to a number of local leading universities, and our technologies have brought hands-on experience about actual production processes to students.

In addition, ABB Vietnam has also come up with diverse support ­programmes to help nurture young talents. For instance, the ABB Graduate Engineer Programme is designed to professionally develop brilliant minds and nurture future leaders in the field of engineering by giving young graduates exposure to the diverse elements of working in the innovative and technological world of ABB.

Also, to elevate customer experience of quality when working with us, we in the coming years will operate two ABB Robotics Technical and Service centres in Vietnam. The first centre, also the first of its kind in Vietnam, opened last December at Yen Phong Industrial Park in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

In the near future, these centres will serve as training facilities to help lecturers and students of engineering universities gain hands-on experience of advanced robotics.

What is ABB Vietnam’s plan for taking part in the upcoming Vietnam Manufacturing Expo 2019?

We will bring to the event a fully-automated production demo where robots are controlled and supervised in a seamless manner through ABB AbilityTM remote connected functions. Being delivered via ABB’s MyRobo, which is a single, intuitive interface, ABB AbilityTM connected services make actionable data available anywhere and anytime to enhance robot uptime and optimise performance.

This will give customers a better understanding about concepts such as future factories or smart factories, where production will be secured in all facets from quality and efficiency to production costs, stability, and ­security.