100 CEOs of contemporary Asia 2011

Message to young people: We have experienced war and suffered serious damage. Now we are rebuilding Vietnam to become a nation like Japan. The Vietnamese can learn enormous things from the Japanese economy. I hope you maintain the tradition and outstanding skills of Japanese manufacturing. 

I grew up in a household of five siblings and an extended family and our economic situation was severe, so I used to sell food in a market to help my family. In the market, I always questioned the situation with all plastic bottled water being imported. At that time, the main issue for domestic mineral water makers was that they used glass bottles, which were not easily distributed, and empty bottles had to be returned to the store. Since that time, I had been thinking that I would like to increase the market share of mineral water made in Vietnam. However, Vietnam at that time was in a war and controls on private companies were severe. As I also had a family matter, I did not start a company at that time. Seventeen years later, I finally took action. Around that time, the quality of life was improving and the government’s policy for company management was getting relaxed. What is more, as it was the time to pave the way for international trade, I think it was a chance to start my own business. However, although we made our products, challenges arose when trying to sell them. The quality of products labeled “Made in Vietnam” was questioned and we were advised to remove these labels. But my creed did not allow me to follow this questionable business practice. For the first two years, we kept ending up in the red. However, domestically produced mineral water started gaining popularity more than before. Also, the increase of companies cooperating with the production of caps, bottles and labels resulted in lower production costs, which enabled us to compete with imported products. Now, we are the sole Vietnamese company that holds the Safe Quality Food certification of the Food Marketing Institute in the United States. If a company develops, it is possible to make a social contribution. Also, to further improve our employees’ lives, we have to keep increasing our market share and sales. 

Company profile Name: Saigon Pure Water Co. Headquarters: Vietnam Founded: 1992 Number of employees: 256 

Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/info/100-next-era-ceos/contents/100.html