The Factory Z117 is a defence-security unit under the General Department of Defence Industry (GDDI) and tasked with manufacturing weapons and military equipment and taking part in production and business for the sake of socio-economic development. The country’s industrialisation and modernisation and the Military build-up in the new situation are imposing more demanding requirements on the Factory’s task. In addition to advantages, in recent years, the Factory has been confronted with a lot of difficulties and challenges. Its resources for production have not been synchronous. Most of its equipment and production lines have been obsolete. The Factory’s mechanical products have faced the increasingly fierce competition. There has been an increase in the price of materials, and sources of a number of imported materials have not been stable, thereby directly negatively impacting on the Factory’s production and business efficiency and its labourers’ income and employment. Against that backdrop, the Factory’s Party Committee and Board of Directors have focused their leadership on streamlining the organisational structure, changing the management system, designing a new production and business strategy, improving the production capacity, developing new markets, and building a brand name to meet the requirements set by integration and development.

Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich, Minister of National Defence visiting the Factory

Grasping and executing the 11^th Politburo’s Resolution 06-NQ/TW, dated July 16^th, 2011 on “building and developing defence industry towards 2020 and beyond” and the Resolution 762-NQ/ĐU, dated July 6^th, 2018 on “leadership over production and export of defence products towards 2020 and beyond” by the GDDI’s Party Committee, the Factory has concentrated on developing its human resources and rearranging its workforce in a compact, strong manner and in accordance with its model of operation. On the one hand, the Board of Directors has placed emphasis on adjusting divisions and committees’ function and task, developing new markets and products, and streamlining several workshops. On the other hand, it has formulated plans for developing high-quality human resources with comprehensive ability and standard qualifications for each position. Importance has been attached to building a contingent of young engineers and technicians as the core force in various domains of expertise. In the process, the Factory has frequently cooperated with educational institutions both inside and outside the Military in recruiting engineers and technicians, while actively organising refresher courses to create a balance of workforce and improve its staff members’ skills. To be specific, the Factory has diversified forms of training and retraining while great value has been attached to training its staff via production, receiving and transferring new technologies, and sending its cadres and top experts abroad to learn from other ones’ experiences. Up to now, the Factory has succeeded in building its human resources with the proper structure and high quality. All technical cadres of the Factory have a bachelor’s degree or postgraduate degree. This force has been promoting its core role in the Factory’s development.

In addition, the Factory has made more investments in renewing technologies and modernising equipment to lay a technical foundation for its defence and economic production in the new situation. Following the strategy to “gain a head start by taking a shortcut,” the Factory has actively mobilised resources and implemented many projects to improve its facilities, modernise its equipment, and adopt modern technologies according to the European criteria. Consideration has been given to completing plans for dual-purpose defence and economic production zones in accordance with the model of smart management under the GDDI’s programme and achieving a breakthrough in die casting technology, lathing, cutting, and whittling technologies, and surface settlement technology together with high-class electroplating and powder coating lines. With its resolve and synchronous measures, over the years, the Factory has completed many important projects with the high quality, such as the Project I, the Project on “upgrading technical facilities to increase defence and economic production capacity,” and the Project on “enhancing die casting capacity for defence and economic production.” In addition to acquiring modern production lines from other countries, all-level leaders and commanders have placed emphasis on promoting the role of engineers and technical cadres in rationalising the production process and improving technological procedures and devices. As a result, the Factory has made impressive progress in its production and business capacity. Since 2010, it has manufactured and handed over 33 types of products, many of its hi-tech products have been highly appreciated by the Ministry of National Defence and units.

In spite of the limited targets of national defence products and the fierce competition, the Factory has adhered to higher echelons’ guidelines and direction, while actively diversifying its products and developing new markets. With its advantages in personnel and technical equipment, the Factory has designed a strategy to manufacture dual-purpose products, such as accessory, car and motorcycle assembling device, household appliance for export, medal, logo, and metal gift. However, researches have revealed that the domestic market of the Factory’s dual-purpose products would be saturated. Thus, while well implementing measures to stimulate its traditional customers’ demands for mechanical goods and household appliances, the Factory has undertaken researches on new products, taken part in international trade fairs and exhibitions, promoted its products and capacity to seek new partners, customers and export markets. Thanks to its proper market development strategy, many of the Factory’s products have dominated the domestic market and they have been exported to other countries in the region and the world. Currently, the Factory’s main markets include Europe, America, and Japan. The Factory’s die-cast products without machining aluminum, zinc, and bronze alloys and stainless steel as well as its mechanical products on CNC machining equipment (lathers, milling machines, 3D, 5D and laser carving machines) manufactured by the robotic welding line and powder coating system have always been welcomed and highly appreciated by customers. Every month, the Factory manufactures about 15 or 20 types of export products for giants in supporting industry, mechanical industry, and household appliance manufacturing industry, such as Honda, Piaggio, IKEA, ADEO, Jaguar, and Nagoya, with the annual revenue of hundreds of billions of VND. Acknowledging its achievements, the Ministry of Industry and Trade gave it the title  of “Reliable Export Enterprise,” while the GDDI presented it with a certificate of merit for its outstanding accomplishments in the emulation movement entitled “military enterprises’ integration and development” in the period of 2017-2020.

To improve its competitiveness in an open market, the Factory has focused on raising its professionalism in business and production management, command and operation as well as in corporate administration. By actively adopting various measures, the Factory has developed and synchronously supplemented regulations on its affiliates’ administration, organisation, and operation. Its has comprehensively renewed business and production management and operation, while closely combining the focalised, uniformed operation by the Board of Directors with its offices and units’ autonomy and self-reliance and assigning the responsibility to all-level leaders and commanders for the results of business and production. The Factory has directed its offices and workshops to stringently maintain labour discipline and especially the safety regulations and resolutely deal with the signs of oversimplification and irresponsibility for work.

It is worth noting that the Factory has stepped up a reform in corporate administration, saved its costs, proactively formulated plans on funding and materials for production, promoted researches and technical initiatives, and applied new technologies to design and manufacture so as to create a breakthrough in increasing its productivity and product quality and value. As the Factory has always considered the quality of its products as the prime goal and the basis for creating its prestige and brand name, it has attached special importance to inspecting and supervising technologies, heightening the role of product owners in production, and closely managing the quality of its products in all steps, from inputs, production lines, and launch of products. As a result, the Factory has been given the ISO 9001:2015 quality management certificate and reached the IWAY and 5S standards. The quality of the Factory’s economic and defence products has been increasingly raised and they have been given many rewards.

A part from those measures, due regard has been paid to implementing policies on salary, reward, and social security and improving the working conditions of labourers so that they could keep their mind on their work. Since 2010, the Factory has spent over 30 billion VND on its staff members’ meals, vacations, and medical examination as well as on building the tenement and infirmary for its labourers.

Bringing into play its recorded achievements and experiences, in the upcoming time, the Factory will concentrate on improving its corporate administration and making more investments in its workshops and modern production lines so as to further raise its productivity, product quality, and business efficiency and successfully fulfil its task of defence and economic production for the sake of integration and development.

Sr. Col. DANG HONG SON, Director of the Factory