FECON develops upon a decade of firm foundations

Research and development, human resource training and the nurturing of key partners
are major parts of FECON's strategic growth

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Can you give us a brief run-down on Fecon’s major achievements in the last decade?

FECON has grown into a strong group of companies specialising in foundation engineering and soil improvement in Vietnam. The group encompasses six members, three factories and a large professional team of engineers, construction site managers and workers.

The company possesses cutting-edge soil improvement technologies such as by vacuum preloading, by sand compaction pile, and soil improvement by high pressure grouting. It also possesses high-tech methods fordrilling, production and execution of PC/PHC spun piles, helical piles, bored piles in complex geological conditions and other modern foundation design, survey and testing technologies.

Time and again FECON has  succeeded in being selected as the contractor for national key projects such as the Nghi Son petrochemical refinery complex, Nghi Son 1 thermal power plant , Thai Binh 1 and 2 thermal power plants, Long Phu 1 thermal power plant, Nhon Trach 2 thermal power plant, Ho Chi Minh - Long Thanh - Dau Giay motorway, Danang - Quang Ngai motorway, and other prominent FDI projects such as Samsung Electronics in Thai Nguyen province, LG Electronics in Haiphong city and the Formosa steel complex in Ha Tinh province.

FECON is the first private enterprise in Vietnam to have founded a research institute. What are the key factors behind the company’s success and what will spur the firm’s development in the future?

One of the key factors in our initial success was our choice for specific scope of business, which is specialising in foundation technology and underground work. This is the mandatory stage of any construction project but there were domestic firms in this field. Therefore, through our proven track record we have gained a strong foothold in the market despite being a relative newcomer. 

In addition, we don’t just offer a single product or service as most other firms do, but instead offer a comprehensive solution package for soil improvement and foundations, from investigating, testing, designing and production, to construction, monitoring and maintenance during project execution. This approach has not only helped FECON increase revenue but also helped investors save significant costs.

One of the most important missions of the Institute of Foundation and Underground Engineering is research and development. This enables us to make the right investment decisions in terms of manufacturing technology and innovative construction methods, achieving both economic and technical efficiency, while at the same time satisfying safety, quality control, rapid construction, low costs and the environmentally friendly provision of our services.

Alongside international integration, we have learned that to survive, enterprises must constantly research, develop and apply new technologies. But to master and effectively apply these technologies, we need high quality human resources. Therefore, FECON not only invests in research and modern methods, but also focuses on building a team of highly-skilled engineers with good management capacity.

We always keep in mind that our success is based on the quality of our team. Every employee is an important link in the chain of our overall success. The only lasting connection between these links is FECON’s corporate culture.

FECON has also predicated its success on our relationship with our clients and partners as part of our ethos.

The company has so far established a broad network of clients and partners from key state-owned economic groups including Petrolimex and Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), to relatively intimate foreign partners such as Shimizu, Hazama, Zenitaka, TOA, Mitsui Sumitomo and  Obayashi from Japan. We have also worked with SK and Doosan from Korea, and TREVI from Italy. Our technology partners include local geotechnical-foundation associations from Vietnam, Southeast Asia and the world, such as the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) as well as universities specialising in technical works in Vietnam.

In addition, to ensure strong financial capability, we always receive prompt support from financial partners including major local banks such as Vietcombank, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and VietinBank.

On our birthday this June, we have embraced the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) as foreign strategic partner to join our strategic partner network. 

What is FECON’s strategic outlook for the coming period?

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the company’s foundation. However, it is within a context where the country and world economy are still encountering many difficulties and challenges. Nevertheless, with our enviable achievements scored in previous years, FECON believes it will continue to sustain the growth momentum of previous years, and will comprehensively put more effort on all aspects to allow the company not only to become a top enterprise in Vietnam in foundations and underground works, but to also concentrate resources, take advantage of the opportunities we have, increase our professionalism and step-by-step work towards becoming one of the country’s leading firms in the field by 2020.

Based on the potentials offered by synergy, we have co-operated with strategic partners to provide technical services for construction work from design to construction, while simultaneously planning to participate in major infrastructure projects in the coming time. We have become strategic shareholders in the Transport Engineering Design Inc. (TEDI), Civil Engineering Construction Corporation 1 (Cienco 1), and have signed strategic co-operation agreements with Cotec Construction JSC, Trevi infrastructure group (Italy), Japan’s JFE steel group and Raito Kogyo Underground and Foundation Group.

Beside strategic co-operation with partners in construction, we will also spur co-operation to improve our financial capability by signing strategic investment co-operation agreements with DBJ, BIDV, Vietcombank and VietinBank.

Most recently, on June 13 FECON signed a deal with DBJ who will become the company’s foreign strategic partner through spending VND195 billion ($9.3 million) on buying FECON’s convertible shares over a three-year period.

With these strategic moves, we believe we are in a position to lever new opportunities, especially in key industrial and transport infrastructure projects from now until 2020, providing fantastic results for the parties involved, including FECON.