Few people know that the familiar slogan “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods” in production and consumption in our country during the past two decades appeared first in the early 20th century by patriotic bourgeois, businessmen,  Bach Thai Buoi. At that time, the river transport service was the exclusive domain of the Chinese and the French, and for the Vietnamese, it was a “no-go zone”. But with courage and determination not to be inferior to foreign businessmen, Bach Thai Buoi leased three French ships, calling for the support of his own compatriots to ride his ship. Buoi ship became a famous brand and successfully competed with major shipping companies at that time.

Think about the elevator industry. If in the past (in the period 1990 – 2005), Vietnamese brand elevators only had about a dozen units and all were manufacturers, with a design team, production infrastructure and created elevator product associated with its own brand. This makes it easy for customers to learn, check information and not get confused between brands.

In the early stages of the elevator industry, most domestic elevator companies acted as distribution agents for a famous imported elevator company in the world with the goal of meeting and serving the needs of high-class buildings, high-rise buildings often require high-speed and high-quality elevators. Domestic branded products are often supplied to townhouses and small projects with more modest investment costs.

Because all companies develop independently similar to famous elevator companies in the world, the products offered to the market have the unique characteristics of each production unit. We can easily recognize names such as Tu Dong (TDE), Thien Nam (TNE), Thang Viet (VietLift), Asia, … just by looking at a few details such as call button, display , or ceiling sample.

This is a methodical way to build a true elevator brand. The responsibility and name of the company will be attached to the products themselves designed, manufactured, constructed and operated. Therefore, these units often comply with standards and regulations that have been issued by state management agencies.

With two completely separate segments, imported products from major brands in the world focus on the high-end and high-rise building segments, and domestic products manufactured by domestic companies focus on the high-end segment. In the popular segment and family housing, the Vietnamese elevator market has created many brands and products for customers to choose from depending on the characteristics of construction projects.

However, in recent years, the demand for elevators is increasing and becoming more and more popular for townhouses. Along with the development of many elevator equipment and components suppliers in China, it has made it easier for Vietnamese enterprises to manufacture elevators, creating more choices. Domestic mechanical processing units also appear more and are ready to fulfill orders, creating a variety of elevator products.

In fact, many domestic elevator companies are offering products with details associated with brands from German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, etc. Due to the psychology of customers, these businesses often “try” to list many details and components imported from industrialized countries instead of associated with their own products or brands that production.

This led to the Vietnamese elevator brand gradually disappearing and mostly being replaced by the brands of foreign equipment brands. Sometimes “foreign” but the real origin can come from any outsourcing company both at home and abroad.

Back to businessman Bach Thai Buoi, in 1919, he launched Binh Chuan ship – the first ship completely designed and built by Vietnamese people, serving the Hai Phong – Saigon waterway in the admiration of the colonial government. This is considered the pride of the Vietnamese nationalist bourgeoisie in this period, bringing the name of businessman Bach Thai Buoi to a new height with the title “Lord of the Bac Ky River”. The slogan “Vietnamese people take the Vietnam train” also contributes to tightening solidarity, compatriotism, arousing patriotism in the industry and trade circles and urban people. This also initiated a business trend to serve the people and made many other Vietnamese bourgeois to learn and follow.

If the spirit of “Vietnamese people use Vietnam goods” is aroused like 100 years ago, instead of only finding out where each elevator component is imported from, customers are more interested in responsibility, with the prestige of the supplier, the design, and the operating characteristics of the elevator system, the opportunity for Vietnamese brand elevator companies to build and develop will be more sustainable.

Mr. Tran Vinh Phuoc, Deputy General Director of TNE inspects the production process at the factory in Long An

Editor’s Note: The views of the author remain the same.