Injection press maker Arburg GmbH + Co. KG has opened two offices in Vietnam to serve a market the company said is fast-growing but currently with few “high-end” customers.
Arburg, based in Lossburg, Germany, said July 10 it reached agreement with Malaysian firm Edstachem (M) Sdn Bhd to have its two Vietnamese offices, in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, provide sales and service.
“Our aim is to educate people in Vietnam to have more high-tech machines,” said David Chan, Arburg’s Singapore-based managing director for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, in a telephone interview. “There are some global players going in. That is one of the main reasons we have started the office.”
The company has sold about 15 of its presses in Vietnam into audio and packaging markets, but it said the market mainly is dominated by Chinese and Taiwanese brands.
Chan said Arburg hopes to sell about 10 presses a year there, and thinks that while the market may not be as prosperous as Malaysia or Singapore, if it transitions into manufacturing more precision products, it could give neighbors Thailand and Indonesia “a run for their money.”
Arburg’s partner, Edstachem, has been active in Vietnam for 10 years, selling things like raw materials for beer, and wants to branch into plastics, he said.
