Passion for creativity
Engineer Vu Huu Le received the Second and Third Class Labor Orders from the President of Vietnam; the Creative Labor Award from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, along with numerous commendations from the central and provincial authorities. Photo: Dinh Thuy/TTXVN
On a winter day in December, at the workshop of Hong Ha Mechanical and Construction Company Limited, dozens of workers were still diligently working, each with their own task, to create machines to serve agricultural production for farmers. Mr. Vu Huu Le, a small man, despite being 90 years old, still worked nimbly alongside the workers. He always wore a friendly smile, was optimistic, and passionate about his work.
Born in 1935 in the rural area of Ha Hoa (Phu Tho province), Mr. Le found his calling in Yen Bai (formerly) and grew up working at the Provincial Mechanical Factory, serving as its director for nearly 20 years. In 1990, upon retirement, instead of enjoying a peaceful old age, he harbored the dream of opening his own mechanical workshop. During his work and field trips to the mountainous Northwest region, he realized that farmers had many agricultural products such as tea, cinnamon, cassava, vermicelli, and medicinal herbs that needed processing but lacked suitable machinery. Therefore, he decided to establish a mechanical workshop to manufacture equipment.
Over 20 years of construction and development, Hong Ha Mechanical and Construction Company Limited and engineer Vu Huu Le have participated in 10 Lao Cai Provincial Technical Innovation Competitions and won high awards in all of them. Photo: Dinh Thuy/TTXVN
At that time, even with only one million dong and an old Simson motorbike, he was determined to find a way to earn money to fulfill his dream. Mr. Le, with his motorbike, traveled to every alley and street to collect scrap metal, then sold it for profit. He used the money he earned to buy various machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, and planers, to pursue his dream of building machines. After three years, he had acquired all the necessary machines and tools and began building his first machine.
With knowledge gained from his studies in the Soviet Union and practical experience, after many sleepless nights working on blueprints, Mr. Le successfully created the first mini tea processing machine with capacity and quality equivalent to imported machines; the cost was also many times lower, making it suitable for small-scale farming. Thus, machines to support farmers in agricultural production were successively created with varying capacities and sizes.
Helping farmers free up labor.
The products created by engineer Vu Huu Le are suitable for use in households as well as large-scale production facilities, but their selling price is only 30-40% of imported machines, making them affordable for farmers. To date, engineer Le and 21 workers have created more than 10 types of machines serving agriculture and daily life. Thousands of products bearing the Hong Ha brand are available throughout the provinces, helping farmers reduce labor and increase productivity.
Many products created by engineer Le have been granted patents by the Intellectual Property Office, becoming typical rural industrial products, such as: a machine for stirring cooked cassava starch paste, a semi-automatic vermicelli noodle pressing machine, a cinnamon essential oil distillation system, a horizontal cylindrical steel drying oven with a movable drying rack, a green tea rolling machine with a plate and cylinder rotating in opposite directions...
In 2022, engineer Vu Huu Le successfully researched, manufactured, and marketed a multi-functional tea rolling machine with a capacity of 220 kg per rolling cycle for both green and black tea. Photo: Dinh Thuy/TTXVN
In 2022, engineer Le successfully researched, manufactured, and marketed a multi-functional tea rolling machine with a capacity of 220kg per rolling cycle for both green and black tea. The resulting product is free from clumping and crushing, increasing productivity by 3.5 times compared to older machines. To date, over 1,000 units have been sold and are available in provinces such as Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang, Lai Chau, and Lam Dong, earning the trust of tea farmers.
In the cinnamon growing region, Mr. Le invented a cinnamon essential oil distillation pot and sold nearly 400 pots in the provinces of Lao Cai, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, etc., with a high essential oil yield of 0.4 - 0.6 liters/100kg of branches and leaves, and a content of over 80%. In 2024, Mr. Le successfully developed a cinnamon branch cutting machine with a specific path and a continuous cutting machine for segmenting cinnamon twigs, with a capacity of 3 - 3.5 tons/day, a six-fold increase compared to manual cutting;...
Furthermore, in other agricultural production fields, engineer Vu Huu Le has also researched and created many other agricultural machines such as: cassava root grinding machines, cassava root washing machines, cassava vermicelli drying ovens, clean cassava starch filtering systems, and semi-manual vermicelli pressing machines using extrusion methods with a productivity 2-3 times higher than manual machines; wood chipping machines, wood shavings chipping machines, machines for grinding various types of veneer, clean heat drying ovens for cinnamon and star anise; cassava slicing machines of various capacities, cassava starch grinding and filtering machines, cassava slicing and drying systems; automatic mushroom bagging machines with a capacity of 4,000 bags/shift, self-steaming mushroom bag sterilizers; pelletizing machines, fertilizer pressing machines, fruit slicing machines, and sliding tray systems for silkworm farming…
Over 20 years of construction and development, Hong Ha Mechanical and Construction Company Limited and Mr. Le personally have participated in 10 technical innovation competitions in Lao Cai province and won high awards in all of them.
Actively participate in social activities.
Engineer Vu Huu Le currently provides stable employment for 21 workers, with an average income of 6-8 million VND per person per month. Photo: Dinh Thuy/TTXVN
Thanks to the dynamism and creativity of engineer Vu Huu Le, Hong Ha Mechanical and Construction Company Limited currently provides stable employment for 21 workers, with an average income of 6-8 million VND per person per month.
Worker Cao Ngoc Trieu (who has worked at the company for nearly 20 years) shared that he has been with the company for a long time because "Uncle Le" is a friendly and enthusiastic person in the field of mechanics. "Uncle Le" has spread his love for the profession and helped farmers get suitable machinery to serve production. This meaningful work has made him more attached to and passionate about the job. Everyone in the company treats each other like family, united, sharing joys and sorrows, and striving for development.
In addition to his research, invention, and management work, engineer Vu Huu Le is also actively involved in social activities. From 2020 to the present, Mr. Le has donated over 500 million VND to charity, helping those in difficult circumstances. He has also implemented many preferential policies to support farmers, such as: selling machinery on installment plans; reducing prices by about 70-80% so that everyone can access the machinery; and providing free technology transfer guidance… Thanks to these efforts, he is considered the "igniter of innovation" in the agricultural machinery industry of the northern mountainous region of Vietnam.
For his contributions, engineer Vu Huu Le has received the Second and Third Class Labor Orders from the President of Vietnam three times; the Creative Labor Award from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor; the title of Outstanding Citizen of Yen Bai province (formerly) in 2023, along with 23 Certificates of Merit from the Central and provincial governments and many other awards.
Many products created by engineer Vu Huu Le have been granted patents by the Intellectual Property Office, becoming typical rural industrial products. Photo: Dinh Thuy/TTXVN
Looking back on his journey, engineer Vu Huu Le shared that he is dedicated to the mechanical engineering profession for the sake of the people's well-being and happiness. The valuable awards and recognition from the Party, the State, and the local authorities have further motivated and inspired him to continue researching and manufacturing machinery for farmers until the end of his life.
Commenting on engineer Vu Huu Le, Phan The Ngoc, Standing Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Cuong Ward, Lao Cai Province, said: "Mr. Le is a typical example in the locality, actively participating in patriotic emulation movements, social activities, and charitable work in the area. His company has many agricultural products that not only have economic value but also great social significance, helping people free up labor and improve their lives. In addition, Mr. Le has created jobs for many workers, contributing to poverty reduction in the locality. Mr. Le's contributions have helped build Nam Cuong Ward into a 'Green - Distinctive - Happy City'."
Engineer Vu Huu Le's journey is a testament to his love for his profession and the patriotic emulation spirit that President Ho Chi Minh instilled. He is one of 19 exemplary collectives and individuals from Lao Cai province selected to participate in the 11th National Emulation Congress, covering the period 2026-2030. Notably, he is one of eight individuals nationwide to receive the title of Hero of Labor for the period 2021-2026.
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/nguoi-tot-viec-tot/nguoi-thap-lua-sang-tao-cua-nganh-co-khi-nong-nghiep-20251224095306899.htm
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