After working for more than 20 years as the Deputy General Director of Coteccons Construction Joint Stock Company, Mr. Phan Huy Vinh left his position in 2019 to become the "captain" of Viteccons. He considers this transition as a journey towards building his own dream in the construction industry.

Mr. Phan Huy Vinh _ General Director of Viteccons

Revenue growth of 60% did not meet the company's expectations.

As the former CEO of a billion-dollar company, did you encounter any difficulties when transitioning to leading a smaller company?

Mr. Phan Huy Vinh: In a large company, the infrastructure is stable, and the leader can manage from a fixed position. However, when I returned to Viteccons, which had been established for 10 years, resources were still limited, and I had to rebuild the entire system from scratch, spending many nights at construction sites with my colleagues...

It was a challenge, but also the main reason why I chose Viteccons. In a large company, the infrastructure is stable, making it difficult to have an opportunity to make a breakthrough and establish one's mark. At my previous company, in an environment where everything always followed a pattern, combined with internal differences, I could lose my creative enthusiasm. The harder the working environment, the more challenging it is for people to find ways to improve. Fortunately, at Viteccons, I found my way.

When we joined forces to build Viteccons, we chose a heart-shaped logo and the slogan "Build by Heart." Our goal was that through sincere and wholehearted work for investors, we would leave a lasting impression in the hearts of our customers.

Did you have a big plan for Viteccons when you came on board, and how is it progressing?

Mr. Phan Huy Vinh: Regarding Viteccons in mid-2019, I had prepared a big plan for the company to make an immediate breakthrough. Among them was a plan to establish representative offices abroad to create a network to receive construction jobs from FDI. Unfortunately, with the arrival of the Covid-19 epidemic, all plans had to be put on hold. In 2020, even though revenue grew by 60% compared to 2019, it still fell short of the company's expectations.

The Covid-19 epidemic is a risk but also an opportunity for Viteccons to strengthen its forces: restructuring the entire organization; attracting personnel from large corporations; setting up the whole operating system; expanding the network of business development and project management; increasing capital; and working with banks on finance. From the end of 2020 until now, Viteccons has experienced strong growth and has established itself as a leading brand in the market.

The project "Go! Mall Thai Binh" is developed by Central Retail Group

After more than a year and a half of running Viteccons, what achievements are you satisfied with, and what points make you still concerned?

Mr. Phan Huy Vinh: What I am most satisfied with so far is that I have perfected the operating system for the company. The number of personnel has increased from 80 managers to over 300, and the quality of personnel is relatively good. My colleagues and I have joined hands to build a synchronous operating system for all projects. If the company used to execute only about 5-6 projects at a time, now it can deploy more than 15 projects simultaneously.

Although I work hard to affirm Viteccons' position in the market, my view is not to grow at all costs. Instead, we must be very careful to build trust with customers. Therefore, I always strive to execute projects in the best possible way. Thanks to this approach, Viteccons has approached and worked with large domestic and foreign projects, especially large investors such as Novaland, Kita Group, investors from Asian countries to Europe-America. The name Viteccons is becoming more widely recognized in the construction industry. Viteccons' financial potential and equipment are sufficient to ensure the implementation of all projects the company undertakes, and the project scale is getting bigger and bigger. Previously, projects under 200 billion VND now average 300 - 500 billion VND. At the same time, more and more investors invite Viteccons to participate in bidding and construction. With the current development momentum, I believe that in 2021, Viteccons will achieve three times the revenue of 2020.

However, Viteccons is currently one of the top two construction companies in Vietnam. What we want is to rise to the top of the industry and aim to build a sustainable company, avoiding the common pitfalls of many companies in the market.

2021 is a breakthrough year Over 26 years of working with the construction industry, what do you think helps a construction company develop sustainably?

CEO Phan Huy Vinh: From my own experience, I realize that Vietnamese construction companies have a short lifespan, and almost none of them have maintained their performance and high rankings for more than a few years. While looking abroad, large construction companies have a lifespan of several hundred years.

For sustainable development, in my opinion, the first thing to do is to focus on building human resources. This is a special service industry, and each project is a battlefield. Personnel are scattered everywhere, with a wide coverage, and if you do not keep your faith, you will not inspire and maintain internal stability. The company can hardly keep its form, and it is also vulnerable to losing its position during leadership changes when the next generation of leaders cannot maintain the company culture and inspire subordinates like the previous generation.

Next, it is necessary to build a transparent company system, as compact as possible, with clear policies and regimes, creating a unique and traditional character for the company. If you observe large foreign companies with hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue and projects around the world, you will see that their unique features are still maintained in each of their projects. Vietnamese construction companies need to do the same for sustainable development. Of course, this cannot be done overnight. Even as a company grows to a certain extent, if management begins to think more about benefits than maintaining the idiosyncrasies that make up the company's name, the organization will have problems.

Viteccons is at the stage of forming and developing its company culture. The goal of revenue growth is important, but I think it's much more important to build resources before accelerating. It's like before participating in a sport, we need to warm up.

Perspective image of the project "Sailun's Vietnam tire factory"

So, can it be said that Viteccons has finished its momentum and is now entering the breakthrough phase?

Mr. Phan Huy Vinh: Yes, we define 2021 as a breakthrough year. The construction market is like a spring that has been compressed for a long time, and now it is released, Viteccons needs to seize this opportunity. If before, investors only wanted to work with the top companies, now that has changed. When some leading companies lose their form, top 2 companies like Viteccons have the opportunity to break through and create a new business approach by matching them in terms of qualifications, techniques, and capabilities.

At this time, the company's growth is a bit "hot," so the company's leadership regularly follows the scene, instructs, and imparts experience to the brothers. Viteccons also pays great attention to employee training, so that they can understand the direction, strategy, and goals of the leadership.

How do you envision the Viteccons ship that you pilot in the next 5 years?

Mr. Phan Huy Vinh: The brothers who come here all agree to contribute to building the company up. When joining hands to build Viteccons, we chose the heart-shaped logo and the slogan "Built by Heart" with the desire to work sincerely and wholeheartedly for the investor and leave imprints in the hearts of customers.

The ultimate goal of construction workers is to have pride when recalling the projects they do. Viteccons' goal is to participate in projects that leave a mark. That not only brings pride but also gives confidence when stepping out into the market, creating trust for customers. Viteccons has designed and executed a number of modest but significant projects, such as commercial towers in Phu My Hung with outstanding architecture, and factories meeting US LEED standards.

With what has been achieved, hopefully, within the next 5 years, we will bring Viteccons to the top of the construction industry. We also set out to build a new generation of replacement leaders in the next 10 years: construction industry leaders must have their own characteristics, seniority, maturity, roll on the construction site, and be able to adapt. It can be said that whether the company can go as far as my dream depends on the will of the current leadership and the continued construction of an operating system that is suitable for change in the company over the years to maintain sustainable development.

Theo (Youth Newspaper)

Mr. Phan Huy Vinh used to be a leader and senior manager at leading construction corporations in Vietnam such as Deputy General Director (Coteccons), Member of the Board of Directors (Ricons), General Director (Phu Hung Gia - money) of Ricons Company…). With over 26 years of management experience, his personal brand is associated with impressive works and is trusted by many domestic and foreign investors. Officially running Viteccons from July 2019, CEO Phan Huy Vinh has brought breakthroughs to the company, with the ambition to bring Viteccons to the top of the construction industry. Currently, the company has added many senior personnel and restructured the Executive Board to include advisors and experts from the UK, Korea, Taiwan...

200% growth in 2021

Viteccons is currently working closely with several large domestic and foreign investors, including Nova Group, Hung Loc Phat, Hoang Ha Paper Joint Stock Company, Kita Group, and Central Retail (Thailand). A notable partner is the SaiLun Group from China, known for their strict standards on construction quality. Viteccons has successfully cooperated with SaiLun Group on various industrial factory projects, such as Saigon 3 Jean, Phuong Nam fireproof panel factory, and the Sailun tire factory in Vietnam.

In addition to being a construction contractor, Viteccons also implements many projects in the form of Design & Build (D&B).