Quang Binh Bohemia Kaolin Co., Ltd: Overcoming Difficulties, Boosting Production

Licensed to make investment for the first time in 1999, after often changing technologies to fit quality and ore reserves and overcoming European financial crisis, Trade BGM a.s. of B.G.M Group was officially granted the revised investment certificate to continue its investment to build factories in December 2008. In 2010, its production facilities were put into operation.

 

QBBK’s growth in 2012 and 2013 was relatively low due to economic slowdown. Anticipating continued difficulties in 2014, the company focused all its resources on production and business operations. The gradual recovery of real estate market and effects of stimulus packages boosted construction demand. And, utilising support from the parent company, QBBK closely managed production stages and processes, particularly product-finishing stage to minimise faults; cut input costs and transport costs by hiring two-way transportation services; reduced product prices; restructured operations, and sought international customers.

 

With those efforts, the company saw remarkable changes in production and business results in 2014. In the first 11 months of the year, the output of the company’s two key products, kaolin DH 350 and kaolin DH 500, surged 478 percent and 147 percent over the same period of 2013, respectively. The sales of kaolin DH 350 and kaolin DH 500 soared 357.9 percent and 152 percent against the corresponding period of 2013. The company’s revenue jumped 291.35 percent year on year in the reporting period.

 

Besides, QBBK invested in the most modern European equipment and technologies; thus its product quality is increasingly improved and its product categories are diversified. Currently, the company is supplying kaolin DH500, kaolin DH350, kaolin DH50, Proterex-branded paint, mastics, synthetic plaster powder, construction sand, kaolin used for NPK fertiliser production, kaolin used for unfired brick production and other construction materials. The company’s products are sold not only in the domestic market but also exported to other countries like Bangladesh and India, and are expected to be exported to Japan soon.

 

After two years of exploring the northern market with Proterex paint and gaining very positive feedback from customers, the company will officially launch this product onto the Vietnamese market and export it to Laos and Cambodia in the first quarter of 2015. This paint is totally tropicalised, waterproof and alkaline-resistant.

QBBK CEO Le Minh Hai said: "QBBK will focus on developing domestic and export markets and restructure its quality management system towards ISO standards. As for key products, Proterex paint and plaster, the company has set up a distribution system and will start official production from the first quarter of 2015. The firm will strive to fulfil business plans ahead of schedule in 2014 and will make a profit from 2016.”

Remarking on the local investment environment, he said, Quang Binh has local economic development potential, especially tourism and inputs for building material production. In the past years, the province has attracted a large number of big investment projects in the province, including QBBK kaolin plant. This project is the stepping stone for the advent of other projects from the Czech Republic in Quang Binh.