Industrial equipment market: playing field for big bugs

10:06' 28/07/2007 (GMT+7)

Most specialised vehicles at coal mines use Bridgestone tyres. VietNamNet Bridge – Big names like Bridgestone, a provider of specialised tires, and Flygt, a provider of submersible pumps, mixer and fluid handling technology, are strongly ‘attacking’ the industrial equipment market of Vietnam. This market seems to be the playing field for big firms. According to the Ministry of Industry, the coal-bed in the Red River Delta may have deposits up to 200 billion tonnes and it is 10 billion tonnes for coal mines in the northern province of Quang Ninh. Along with coal, iron ore reserves in Vietnam are forecast to be 1.2 billion tonnes, including around 600 million tonnes at the Thach Khe Iron Mine and around 100 million tonnes at the Quy Sa Iron Mine. In addition, the cement market is booming with a series of new factories and many others that are raising their capacity while many others are being built. As a result, the market for industrial equipment has become a fertile land for providers of specialised mining equipment, like specialised tyre providers such as Japan’s Bridgestone and France’s Michelin, submersible pump providers such as Sweden’s Flygt and Japan’s Ebara, since local producers are unable to manufacture those products. This fact can be clearly seen at coal mines in Quang Ninh and stone exploiting sites of cement plants like Hoang Thach, But Son, Bim Son, Tam Diep and Hoang Mai. There, all specialised vehicles use Bridgestone tyres. With high-quality and reasonable prices, Bridgestone tyres don’t have rivals in Vietnam. Not only holding large market shares in coal mining and cement production industries, Bridgestone has also provided tyres for container trucks at seaports and entered industrial zones, which are mushrooming in Vietnam. Sharing this cake with Bridgestone is France’s Michelin and some smaller firms such as Yokohama and Toyo of Japan, DRF of India, Kumhoo and Hankook of the Republic of Korea. Besides tyres, another product that is provided for the mining industry is submersible pumps of Flygt. The major rival of Flygt in Vietnam is Ebara of Japan and some smaller ones such as Tsuzumi from Japan, Grundfos from Denmark and Ksb from Germany. Though Vietnam has some producers of high-capacity pumps their products can only be used for irrigation activities, not for mining operations. Kieu Duc Hung, an official of the Ha Tu Coal Joint Stock Company, said that only Flygt pumps, which are made from special materials, worked well in the environment of mines. Bridgestone and Flygt, despite competition from other firms, are leading providers of specialised tyres and submersible pumps in Vietnam thanks to their professional distributors. “With the booming of the industrial equipment market, smaller providers will seek ways to increase their market shares and this is an opportunity for Vietnamese clients. However, we will only choose providers that meet standards on quality and after-sales services,” said Nguyen Quang Sy, Deputy Director of the Hoang Thach Cement Company. (Source: TBKTVN, Viet Nam Net)