Vietnam's mechanical manufacturing industry is increasingly lagging behind the development milestones and needs of the country. Domestic mechanical enterprises are currently facing many challenges, their competitiveness is weaker than that of mechanical enterprises in other countries in the region and in the world.
Recognizing the opportunities and challenges of Vietnam's mechanical industry, the article proposes a few recommendations to help Vietnamese mechanics overcome challenges, take advantage of opportunities and develop sustainably in the context of the modern world. Industrial Revolution 4.0.
Development situation of Vietnam's mechanical industry
Mechanical engineering is one of the industries with a long history in our country. Initially, it was expressed in the form of crafts to create production tools, weapons, etc. to serve the construction, development and preservation of the country.
Under the French colonial period, although this profession was strongly developed, it could not yet become an industry in the true sense of the mechanical industry. It was not until 1958, when Tran Hung Dao Mechanical Factory was built, that the foundation of the mechanical industry was rekindled.
Since then, this industry has developed quite comprehensively, has specialized in a number of fields, has a certain level of technology, and plays the role of the "backbone" industry of the country. social production, providing equipment, machine tools, moving machines... for all economic sectors, meeting people's daily needs, making an important contribution to the development of the land economy country.
Identify the important and fundamental role of the mechanical industry in socio-economic development. On October 17, 2003, the Politburo issued Conclusion 25-KL/TW on the development strategy of Vietnam's mechanical industry with specific views and guidelines: "Mechanical engineering is a fundamental industry. foundation, has a particularly important role in socio-economic development" and "must build the mechanical engineering industry to be competitive enough to rise up in the market mechanism and international economic integration".
Institutionalizing the guidelines and guidelines of the Party, the Government has promulgated the Strategy for the development of Vietnam's mechanical engineering industry until 2010, with a vision to 2002, prioritizing mechanisms and policies to develop a number of majors and industries. key mechanical products.
The Prime Minister promulgates Decision No. 10/2009/QD-TTg dated January 16, 2009 on the mechanism to support the development of key mechanical product production and the list of key mechanical products, the list of key mechanical products and the list of key mechanical products. investment project on production of key mechanical products, period 2009-2015; Decision No. 1791/QD-TTg dated November 29, 2012 of the Prime Minister approving the Mechanism for pilot implementation of design and domestic manufacture of equipment for thermal power plants in the period 2012-2025; Decision No. 1556/QD-TTg dated October 17, 2012 of the Prime Minister approving the Project "Support for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the field of supporting industries"; Directive No. 494/CT-TTg dated April 20, 2010 of the Prime Minister on the use of domestically produced materials and goods in bidding for projects using state capital.
Taking advantage of the Government's attention and support, Vietnam's mechanical industry over the past time has achieved certain results.
Specifically, a number of fields have recorded changes and breakthroughs such as: Manufacture of hydraulic equipment (supplied for large and small hydroelectric power plants in the country), manufacture of oil and gas rigs (supplied to large and small hydroelectric plants in the country). providing exploration drilling, oil and gas exploitation to a depth of 120m, lifting rig 90m of water, oil well drilling rig), electrical equipment, manufacturing and supplying equipment for cement plants, shipbuilding types (oil tankers up to 105 thousand DWT, liquefied gas tankers up to 5,000 tons, bulk carriers...), complete equipment works (sugar mill with capacity of 1,000 tons of sugarcane/day), processing rubber latex with a capacity of 6,000 tons/year).
Domestic engineering has also produced and assembled almost all types of passenger cars, trucks, and passenger cars; Motorcycle production has had a localization rate of 85-95%, meeting domestic and export demand.
A number of research and design agencies and mechanical manufacturing enterprises have gradually innovated, improved their consulting, design, equipment and technology manufacturing capabilities, participated in the implementation of a number of bidding packages of various projects. national key project.
The number of mechanical enterprises increased rapidly, from about 10,000 enterprises (in 2010) to more than 21,000 enterprises in 2016, accounting for 28% of the total number of manufacturing industry enterprises, creating jobs for more than 1 million workers, accounting for 17% of the total number of employees. in the processing and manufacturing industries. According to calculations by the Institute of Industrial Strategy and Policy (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the industrial production value of the mechanical engineering industry in 2015 accounted for 16.36% of the production value of the processing and manufacturing industry.
According to statistics, in 2016, the export turnover of mechanical products also reached over 13 billion USD, mainly household appliances and spare parts for cars and motorcycles. If including iron and steel of all kinds, the export turnover of mechanical products of Vietnam in 2016 reached over 16 billion USD. These results have partly contributed positively to socio-economic development and accelerated industrialization and modernization of the country.
Although certain results have been achieved, Vietnam's mechanical industry currently still has many limitations, reflected in the following specific aspects:
Firstly, about the market: The mechanical engineering industry is diverse in products, but the competition from imported products is quite fierce. Market expansion is still difficult due to lack of market information and competitive capacity of domestic enterprises is not strong enough.
Even in the domestic market, it is difficult for mechanical enterprises to participate in investment projects to install equipment in the steel, chemical and energy industries, mainly due to the lack of quality inspection system. products according to international standards; Domestic enterprises and mechanical products have not yet built a brand name and are known by many potential customers. Moreover, free trade commitments also put pressure on domestic enterprises when tariff barriers to protect domestic production are removed.
Secondly, about the level of science and technology: Practice shows that the mechanical engineering industry in Vietnam has very few registered inventions and inventions, and the equipment and technological level of the whole industry is slow to innovate. Mechanical enterprises lack output for products, so they do not have the opportunity to accumulate and invest in technological innovation. The Industrial Revolution 4.0 (CMCN4.0) took place, new technologies have completely changed the current production methods and methods, posing urgent requirements in innovation and updating of technology trends. for mechanical enterprises.
Third, about raw materials: Raw materials for the mechanical industry are mainly iron and steel and non-ferrous alloys, most of these materials cannot be produced domestically, so they have to be imported.
Fourth, in terms of human resources: Human resources in Vietnam's mechanical engineering industry are lacking and weak in both quantity and quality. The number of highly skilled mechanics has decreased, and specialized workers lack international certificates and foreign language skills. The research and development force, first of all, is a team of design consultants who are not qualified to meet the requirements of works and projects on synchronous mechanical equipment.
Fifth, the role of industry associations has not been effective: Industry associations have not yet promoted their representation in the collection of common ideas and actions; The participation of mechanical enterprises has not been attracted and the member enterprises have not been closely linked. Currently, the Vietnam Mechanical Association has only attracted the participation of more than 100 enterprises out of a total of over 21,000 mechanical enterprises.
The reason for the above shortcomings and limitations is that most of the domestic mechanical enterprises have small production scale, medium technology level, and have not yet confirmed the market capacity. Although some foreign firms have strong brands, in Vietnam, they mainly assemble for local consumption; The level of association and cooperation is still low, failing to promote the power of division and cooperation in production; The fixed capital for mechanical production is usually large, the working capital loan cycle is low, so it is difficult for mechanical enterprises to raise capital, so mechanical projects are also less attractive to commercial banks. compared to other projects in the field.
The overlap in management also limits the development of the mechanical engineering industry, the monopolization of technology and equipment limits the division of specialization, slows down technical and technological innovation in mechanical manufacturing. gas, uneven product quality, high production costs.
The development of standards and techniques of the mechanical engineering industry has not been given due attention, lacks synchronization with the support of activities of accrediting agencies according to registered standards and regulations; Bidding criteria in many cases also create advantages for foreign enterprises to win bids; Conditions for negotiating the purchase of machinery and equipment are often detrimental to domestic enterprises...
Opportunities and challenges for Vietnam's mechanical industry in the Industrial Revolution 4.0
According to experts, Industry 4.0 has an important impact on mechanical production in the present and in the future, especially on issues of technology management, production management..., specifically Industry 4.0 will bring many opportunities for Vietnam's mechanical engineering industry to develop, which are:
Firstly, Industry 4.0 allows mechanical enterprises to access information, access knowledge, access advanced technologies...
Second, Industry 4.0 with breakthroughs in new technologies greatly reduces the cost of manufacturing and operating robots, drastically reducing the production costs of additive manufacturing technology (3D printing technology), thereby increasing the ability to apply robots, additive technology to replace cutting technology in mechanical production for countries with limited economic potential like Vietnam.
Third, Industry 4.0 is an opportunity for Vietnam to "take a shortcut to take the lead". Our country's mechanical engineering industry has not yet developed, the scale is still small, so the inertia is small, the risk may not cause too great a loss.
Fourthly, mechanical engineering workers are eager to learn and quick to adapt to new things, so it is very easy to adapt to new opportunities and technologies from Industry 4.0, thereby improving them. level, create and grasp advanced technology to apply.
Fifth, with quick approach and flexible application of the achievements of Industry 4.0, our country's mechanical engineering industry will have many opportunities to improve technology level, increase productivity, and shorten production time. products to the market, producing quality products with competitive prices... thereby, changing management and administration methods in mechanical production.
Besides opportunities, Industry 4.0 also brings many challenges to Vietnam's mechanical industry, which are:
Firstly, in Industry 4.0, mechanical workers may have difficulty in finding jobs, because manual jobs will be automatically replaced by robots and automatic machines. The formation and development of a mechanical engineering workforce equipped with skills and qualifications to exploit and master new technologies and operating methods is also a big challenge for human resource training. force of our country's mechanical industry today.
Secondly, our country's mechanical enterprises are mostly small and medium enterprises, not yet competitive enough, not ready to approach new technologies. Many enterprises are still passive with new development trends, not ready to change the business organization model, in which, competitive pressure is increasingly fierce and facing pressure on investment resources to transform. innovation, breakthrough.
Third, Industry 4.0 with new technologies, especially 3D printing technology (additive technology), has completely changed the traditional cutting technology of Vietnam's mechanical industry. This technology allows customers to order products with custom designs and produce them at a faster rate and the world is changing more and more strongly, not just limited to manufacturing. products from plastic materials, now metal materials are also being applied this technology.
Not to mention, mechanical production systems in Industry 4.0 must be systems capable of deep connection, recognition, data collection and exchange such as Cyber Physical Systems or Internet of Things, which are considered key technologies. has not yet been applied in mechanical production in our country.
Problems facing Vietnam's mechanical industry
From analysis of development practices, limitations, challenges and opportunities of the mechanical industry in the context of Industry 4.0, in order to promote the sustainable development of Vietnam's mechanical engineering industry, the Vietnam Mechanical Engineering Development Strategy needs to identify identify and pay attention to the implementation of the following issues:
- About the market: Creating a market is a prerequisite for the development and handling of commercial fraud and the rampant import of used equipment.
- Regarding investment capital: Create long-term loans with stable interest rates according to the characteristics of production investment for mechanical enterprises.
- Regarding bidding activities for domestic works and projects: Promulgating bidding regulations to contribute to improving the rate of using domestically produced materials and goods and managing general contractor packages in the form of Contracts. design, supply of technological equipment and construction (EPC) of machinery and equipment, to be able to create a market for domestic mechanical enterprises.
- Regarding industrial promotion, investment promotion and trade promotion: Develop mechanisms and policies to support production and encourage domestic consumption of mechanical products in line with Vietnam's international commitments. .
- Regarding business linkage: Implement business connection programs to strengthen linkages and joint ventures between domestic enterprises and large enterprises in the world in the value chain to access technology and standardize. product.
In order to achieve the goal by 2035, Vietnam's mechanical engineering industry is developed with most majors with advanced technology, product quality meeting international standards, deeper participation in the global value chain, basically meet the needs of mechanical products of the domestic market; Export output reaches 45% of the total output of the mechanical engineering industry. In the coming time, Vietnam needs to synchronously deploy the following strategic solutions:
Firstly, perfecting a system of mechanisms and policies that are synchronous and strong enough to support the development of the mechanical engineering industry. In the immediate future, the Government should soon develop and issue a Decree on the development of the manufacturing industry.
Second, develop downstream industries in the field of mechanical engineering with a large supply chain to create opportunities for domestic mechanical enterprises to participate in providing spare parts and components for manufacturing and assembly enterprises. final product assembly. In particular, focus on developing mechanical industries with potential for development such as automobiles, industrial equipment, household mechanics and tools...
Third, improve the quality of trade promotion activities, attract investment from famous mechanical enterprises in the world to gradually form domestic supply chains and seek to expand export markets for enterprises. domestic mechanics.
Fourth, build and update the database on mechanical enterprises; effectively implement business connection programs, linking domestic enterprises with foreign enterprises. At the same time, improve the quality of statistics as a basis for industry analysis and forecasts.
Fifth, ensure long-term loans with stable interest rates for mechanical enterprises through support programs and preferential packages in accordance with domestic regulations and international commitments.
Sixth, to quickly complete synchronously standards and regulations for mechanical products, and at the same time, develop and improve the capacity of inspection and testing agencies according to registered standards and regulations. .
Seventh, to build and develop a system of management, assessment and grant of national vocational technical certificates, especially for vocational skills in the field of mechanical engineering; Develop incentive mechanisms to encourage linkages between training institutions and enterprises in training activities and develop training programs and curricula suitable to reality.
References:
1. Conclusion 25-KL/TW dated October 17, 2003 of the Politburo on the development strategy of Vietnam's mechanical engineering industry;
2. Decision No. 10/2009/QD-TTg dated 16/01/2009 on supporting mechanism to develop production of key mechanical products and List of key mechanical products, List of investment projects manufacturing key mechanical products, period 2009-2015;
3. Decision No. 1791/QD-TTg dated November 29, 2012 of the Prime Minister approving the Mechanism for pilot implementation of design, domestic manufacture of equipment for thermal power plants in the period 2012-2025;
4. Directive No. 494/CT-TTg dated April 20, 2010 of the Prime Minister on the use of domestically produced materials and goods in bidding for projects using state capital.
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