Amway boosts economy with second factory

What is the purpose of your second Vietnam visit ?

I am in Vietnam to celebrate our five years of operations with our staff and distributors. I am here to also meet with the government officials who created the environment for us to set up our business operations five years ago.

We just announced our further investment in the marketplace. We will break ground for the second factory by the end of 2013, and put it online by 2015. The new facility will cover almost 55,000 square metres at Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park II in the southern province of Binh Duong, adjacent to Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai province, where the first plant is located. The facility’s capacity is estimated at $200 million worth of products per year. In the first stage, the new plant will focus on producing nutrition supplement products under Amway’s Nutrilite brand.

What are your assessments of the Vietnamese market?

Since starting our business in Vietnam in 2008, we’ve seen a growing demand for our quality products year by year.

Moreover, Amway believes the Vietnamese market contains much potential for long-term investments here. This has inspired us to build the second factory to meet up higher local needs and scale up the business in the future.

We’ve seen strong growth globally as we’ve seen here in Vietnam. A five-year operation is a very short time for a business, and it’s just our initial step in Vietnam. Within five years, Amway Vietnam has moved from the 38th position to rank the 12th among all Amway markets in the world in terms of revenue. We’re projecting Amway Vietnam will become one of our top 10 markets in the next three years. Amway’s revenue in Vietnam has risen more than 20 per cent annually in the recent years, and it was about $70 million last year.

We see Vietnam as a dynamic market with lots of energy and optimism. We hope Amway to be an integral part of Vietnam. We’re committed to building an honourable and ethical business in this country. Our investment decision is based on what we’ve seen in here, the entrepreneurial spirit of the people, its population size and its geographic position.

Our new $20 million investment is just for the first stage and more investments would be coming in for the second stage. The capacity of the new plant would allow us to export products to regional markets.

You have more than 450 products all over the world. Do you produce all, or some of them are produced by your contractors?

We produce most of the products ourselves globally. From the beginning, we have decided that we wanted to develop our own products so that we can stand behind their quality in the marketplace.

What facilities has Amway set up in Vietnam?

Amway Vietnam has a manufacturing facility with more than 8,000 square metres currently located in  Amata Industrial Park in southern Dong Nai province. This facility follows stringent manufacturing practices that are the hallmark of Amway products sold by distributors the world over.

Apart from the manufacturing plant, Amway Vietnam has also established eight branches in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Haiphong, Can Tho, Danang, Nghe An, Dong Nai and Ca Mau, two shops and two training centres in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and more than 40 pick-up points throughout the country.

Amway is also known for its charity work. How did that happen in Vietnam?

At the heart of our global commitment is the Amway One by One Campaign for Children, which aims at helping disadvantaged children from around the world.

Since starting its business in 2008, Amway Vietnam has been engaged in partnership with local organisations such as Operation Smile Vietnam, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs,  Hands of Hope, Tuoi Tre newspaper, contributing VND8.4 billion, equivalent to around $420,000 to help more than 4,000 underprivileged children across the country by giving these children the resources and inspiration they need to live, learn, achieve and play.

On the occasion of our 5th anniversary, Amway Vietnam announced two community projects under its One by One Campaign for Children, through the partnership with Tuoi Tre newspaper, to award scholarships to poor students with outstanding academic performance across the country, and with Operation Smile to provide free surgeries to cleft lip children, with the total contribution of VND6 billion (equivalent to $290,000).

KEY MILESTONES OF AMWAY VIETNAM

- April 2008: Officially launched 

- August 2009: Received ISO 9001:2008 Certificate for Quality Management System

- July 2011: Received GMP certification for manufacturing and distribution of cosmetic and personal care products, based on ASEAN Guidelines for Cosmetics GMP

- October 2012:  Received  ISO14001:2004 Certificate for Environment Management, and OHSAS 18001:2007 Certificate for Occupational Health and Safety, making Amway Vietnam the first direct selling company in Vietnam certified to these international standards

- March 2013: Received the Golden Dragon Award as “The Most Trusted Brand”, granted by Vietnam Economic Times magazine and the Ministry of Planning and Investment