VietNamNet Bridge – Tran Ngoc Phuc—the founder of the small to medium-sized Japan-based enterprise Metran that specialises in High Frequency Oscillation (HFO) - says his greatest happiness comes from returning home and contributing to Vietnam.

Tran Ngoc Phuc - founder of Metran

Metran was one of only three businesses visited by the Japanese Emperor in 2012, an immense honour for any Japanese company but especially significant for the respirator producer founded and run by a Vietnamese national.

A renowned enterprise in Japan

Tran Ngoc Phuc does not match the stereotypical image of a successful entrepreneur. Metran’s 66-year-old founder dresses casually, talks deliberately, and prefers to label himself “a researcher”.

Phuc, born in Hue, began studying Japan’s advanced industrial chemistry in 1968. He graduated from a Japanese university in 1974 and worked at a medical equipment research company for ten years. Phuc set up Metran with friends in Saitama prefecture’s Kawaguchi City, about an hour’s train ride from Tokyo.

The company’s first product, the "Hummingbird" High Frequency Oscillation (HFO) artificial ventilator, won first prize in a contest launched by the US National Institute of Health. Phuc and his colleagues dedicated themselves to capitalising on this initial success.

The company’s HFO ventilators diffuse oxygen ten thousand times faster than normal respirators. The equipment is very useful for treating infants with underdeveloped lung function.

Metran has supplied more than 1,400 HFOs to 90% of the medical stations in Japan. More than 200 HFOS have been exported to 12 nations, including Vietnam.

HCM City’s Tu Du Hospital says Metran’s HFO respirators saved the lives of 120 infants in 2011, some weighing as little as one kilogram.

Phuc and Metran’s many plaudits include the Japanese Economic, Trade and Industry Minister’s fourth Innovation Award.

Phuc said welcoming the Japanese Emperor on his July 2012 visit is a personal career highlight, citing the one-hour imperial factory tour as an unforgettable day in the company’s history.

The key to success

Phuc said he had defined career goals from the very beginning. Profits were the initial priority. But seeing premature babies he knew he could help shifted his focus to service.

Japanese Emperor visits Metran in Japan

Phuc memorised his parents’ maxim “a useful trade is a mine of gold”. His lifelong research into respirators allows Metran to concentrate on invention and innovation while experienced Japanese partners take charge of marketing and sales strategies.

Phuc still speaks with a Hue accent despite his years in Japan. He recalled the difficulties of entering Japanese medicine as a foreigner. He said his father’s teaching “don’t give up” inspired his persistence. Phuc believes every Vietnamese citizen has his or her own tactics to reap success. With diligence and hard work, a Vietnamese person can achieve great things, even in as challenging an environment as Japan. Phuc does not consider himself a special person.

Improving “Made in Vietnam” trademarks

Phuc is adamant Vietnamese people are very creative and only require a favourable environment to cultivate their talents. He said Metran’s Japanese operations will narrow to research once manufacturing activities are transferred to Vietnam as planned. He hopes young Vietnamese workers will respond to his message of employee-employer partnerships rather than relations resting solely on salaries.

Phuc said Vietnam’s younger generations must reflect on and work towards national ambitions.

At 66, Phuc is looking to transfer some of his responsibilities to his two Vietnamese-Japanese sons. He admitted he could never stop working entirely and wants to spend the rest of his life on research and inspiring Vietnamese youth. His dream is to promote products made in Vietnam to a quality at least equal to those made in Japan.

Phuc’s own HFO ventilators prove the Made-in-Vietnam dream can be made a reality.

Source: VOV