Shipbuilding industry a magnet for global firms

At last week’s ninth annual international exhibition on shipbuilding, shipping, and offshore technology-Vietship 2018-nearly 100 companies from Vietnam, and those as far as the Netherlands, Finland, and Russia attended to seek machine-selling opportunities in the local market.

Finland’s Helkama has been supplying cable for maritime and shipping industries in Vietnam through its partner Van Der Leun Vietnam for years. The firm saw better business performance thanks to an increase in orders.

“Now we have four or five direct clients in Vietnam. We hope to expand our business here when favourable conditions come around. Vietnam has huge growth potential, as its industries are still in their early phases. It could be our second-largest market in Asia, especially when the shipping market recovers,” Kari Virtanen, general manager of Helkama, said.

Daikai Engineering Pte Ltd., the sales agent of Japan’s Daihatsu, is also hunting for more orders. Daikai provides the sale of diesel engines and marine equipment, as well as rendering after-sale services to customers in the Asia Pacific market such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, and India, and in the Middle East. In 2011, it established a representative office in Vietnam.

“Our key clients are Vietnamese state-owned shipping giant Vinalines and Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) with its shipyards. We are expecting more sales following the return of the shipping market,” said Ta Quoc Thang, sales manager of Daikai.

“In comparison with other regional markets, our sales in Vietnam are much lower, as we have yet to receive orders from international shipyards in Vietnam, with the exception of the Republic of Korea-backed Pha Rung Shipyard. Vietnam also has no ship repair workshops that can accommodate large vessels,” Thang added.

Other famous equipment suppliers in the local shipping and shipbuilding industries are DP Consulting Co., Ltd, and Norway’s Saint-Gobain Vietnam Co., Ltd.

For over 15 years now, DP Consulting has been the exclusive distributor of many famous international suppliers of shipbuilding equipment, including MTU Friedrichshafen-a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Power Systems-Sweden’s Volvo Penta, and the Netherlands’ Hitec Power Protection. Like Daikai and Helkama, its clients are Vietnamese shipyards and army-run shipbuilding firms.

In the same move, Saint-Gobain established its Vietnamese branch in 2009, supplying pipes, fittings, valves, and actuators to Damen Shipyards and others. It is also waiting for recovery of the shipping industry to start a greater business expansion in the country.

Although the shipping market still experiences some difficulties, many business opportunities for international suppliers remain. 

At present, most machines, equipment, and spare parts for the shipbuilding industry are imported, while local demands are growing rapidly as local shipping and shipbuilding firms make ambitious plans for the future.

“We are planning to cooperate with international shipyards to help build ships for their clients. We will need a steady supply of spare parts in the future. International groups have tended to bring more products to Vietnam. They offer better sales services than domestic rivals. Thus, companies like us prefer international suppliers to domestic ones," said Le Thi Thu Huong, head of Dai Duong Shipyard’s business department.

In related developments, Vinalines will be restructuring its fleet, focusing on long-term contracts and key substantial volume commodities such as coal, ore, steel, cement, and clinker. The firm plans to build more modern ships and vessels to meet market demands.