The number of stalls introducing Vietnam-made products at HVACR Vietnam 2023, the 15th international exhibition about HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) technology, refrigeration system and smart building, was modest.

The stall that left the biggest impression on visitors was VAF, a Vietnamese brand.

Asked if the company exported its products abroad, Nguyen Ngoc Quang, VAF’s Project Director said: “Yes, of course. Our products have been exported to the US market for a long time. We have also exported to other markets recently, including Taiwan, a market which is very difficult to approach where there are a lot of competitors."

Vietnamese-branded products meet international standards

Fifteen years ago, the founders of VAF, who were among the very few people bringing air filter products into the Vietnamese market, spent time to take an in-depth approach to this industry.

Before setting up a factory to manufacture products, four specialists were sent to the US to attend a training course on air filtration and manufacturing technology at Blue Heaven Technologies.

And then VAF, located in Thu Dau Mot City of Binh Duong province, came out with an aim to become a Vietnamese brand specializing in making air filters, and clean-room equipment with international standards.

From the very beginning, the managers of the company decided that the company would not make low-cost products and compete with rivals in prices. The company will only manufacture high-end products and compete with strong rivals in quality, capacity and technologies.

VAF continually upgraded the technologies and production process and bought modern equipment. All the important equipment use the most advanced technologies, such as Electronic Commutated (EC) fan.

Moreover, leaders of the company are willing to pay for in-depth training for workers in order to improve competitiveness and create high value for products.

VAF now has two factories, one in Thai Nguyen that mostly serves clients of Samsung, and the other in Binh Duong which has an output of over 500,000 products a year. The locally made content comprises 30-90 percent. Its product range is quite diverse, from coarse filters (V-RA, V-Di, V-Wash) to fine filters (VM I, VM II, V-PAK, V-DURA) and Hepa filters (Ultracel I, Ultracel II, Ultracel V)

There are not many enterprises like VAF: all VAF products can meet international standards (EN 1822-5:2009, EN 779: 2012, ISO 16890:2016). Its products are used by many foreign companies that run production and business activities in Vietnam, including Intel, Samsung, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co, Unilever, P&G, Tenamyd and Medochemie.

VAF began going abroad in 2020 with Hepa H14 99.999 @ 0.3 micromet EN 1822 provided to AirClean Systems in the US. The emails sent to VAF from customers all contain the word excellent, according to Quang.

The US-China trade war gave a great opportunity to VAF to penetrate the US market. The VAF brand is now officially protected in the US and the company has become an official member of NAFA (National Air Filtration Association), which, as noted by experts, gave "wings to the Vietnamese tiger", i.e. helping it more easily acquire choosy clients. 

VAF has also been seeking opportunities in other markets. In the US, VAF products are used for surgery rooms, specialized rooms in pharmacies, and room and electronic sectors. In Taiwan, they are used for thermal power plants.

Competing in technology, not price

To prove its product quality, VAF products are inspected by an independent certification institution in Taiwan. The inspection cost in accordance with ISO and EN standards for every air filtration is about $2,000. VAF itself has its own testing system that examines finished products at its factory.

Besides manufacturing air filtration products for industrial use, VAF is planning to make machines and equipment for civil use as well.

Stressing that VAF competes with major companies with technological quality, one of the solutions VAF is pursuing is joining international professional associations. This allows the company to quickly update new technologies and apply technologies to its products.

Binh Minh