Success through niche market breakthroughs.

Mr. Mai Duc Cuong, CEO of Mai An Duc JSC: Success thanks to a "breakthrough" in a niche market.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mai Duc Cuong spent time researching the market for supporting industries for factories in industrial parks. And that's how Mai An Duc Joint Stock Company was established.

Starting a business thanks to... too much free time.

According to a report by the Business Registration Management Department of the Ministry of Planning and Investment , 18,038 businesses dissolved in Vietnam in 2023. This figure reflects a challenging year for Vietnamese businesses. It is noteworthy that among these dissolved businesses, many were startups or newly established enterprises.

Mr. Mai Duc Cuong, CEO of Mai An Duc Joint Stock Company.

However, there are still businesses that, despite starting up during a difficult period for the Vietnamese economy , heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, have managed to stand firm and thrive.

The story of Mai An Duc Joint Stock Company, a startup enterprise providing auxiliary products for factories in industrial zones, is a story of unconventional growth and success.

Mr. Mai Duc Cuong, CEO of Mai An Duc JSC , recounts that he previously served as the Market Development Director of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in Ho Chi Minh City , one of the world's oldest professional accounting organizations headquartered in the United Kingdom.

“In early 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, work started to decrease, and I had more time at home. During this time, I started researching the market to expand my business. With my existing relationships with transportation and construction companies, I chose to sell lubricants to those I had close relationships with. Around this time, a partner proposed that I distribute Devcon industrial adhesives from the USA. This is a two-component adhesive that, when combined with metal powder, creates a very good and hard material for repairing damaged parts of machinery and equipment. So I started researching the market for auxiliary materials used in the maintenance, repair, and upkeep of industrial machinery. Seeing that this market had great potential for growth, and recognizing the significant shift of the market from other countries to Vietnam, I decided to establish a company to exploit this market. In March 2020, the company was founded.” "Mai An Duc Joint Stock Company was established," Mr. Mai Duc Cuong recounted.

To reach the market, Mr. Cuong continued his research. Initially, he had to establish his own website, www.Maianduc.vn, meticulously optimizing it for search engine optimization and utilizing his expertise to create articles sharing in-depth technical information about lubricants and greases. From there, Mai An Duc quickly began selling its products to factories in industrial zones.

The company then branched out into two main product lines: lubricants and industrial adhesives. However, the first problem arose when Mr. Cuong redistributed products from other distributors, as this conflicted with the distributor in Vietnam. Mr. Cuong decided to find a source to import directly from partners outside Vietnam. The first partner he found was Singapore.

“In 2020, revenue reached nearly 10 billion VND. Although the product range was still small at that time, sales were quite stable, and the company's website was also found by other businesses. Foreign partners also approached us to collaborate on developing more products,” Mr. Cuong said.

The biggest turning point for Mr. Cuong's business was in 2022, when a German company specializing in developing adhesives for all types of machinery in various industries approached the company. Together with Mr. Cuong, they visited thermal power plants and manufacturing plants in many industrial zones to explore opportunities for cooperation.

Since 2022, Mai An Duc JSC has officially become the exclusive distributor in Vietnam of the German brand WEICON, which has over 80 years of experience in providing anti-abrasion coatings, material restoration and quick-drying adhesives. The WEICON brand (www.weicon.com.vn) has been present in Southeast Asia for quite some time, but the Vietnamese market is relatively new.

Mai An Duc JSC's products always prioritize quality.

To date, the company has sold over 1,000 product lines, with revenue reaching 40 billion VND in 2022 and over 70 billion VND in 2023. This impressive growth stems from a forward-thinking development strategy. Specifically, Mr. Cuong stated that previously, he focused on lubricants as his flagship product, with partner companies being large corporations in the manufacturing and construction industries.

However, during the development process, Mr. Cuong realized that lubricants were an extremely popular product line with intense competition among distributors. Therefore, he proposed and implemented a product line shift: instead of selling popular products , he sold specialized products, such as specialized oils and greases that the market needed but were difficult to obtain, directly targeting a niche market and making it his strength.

"To enter this market and sell this supposedly expensive product, I believe businesses need a team of highly skilled engineers who understand the machinery and can provide comprehensive and optimal solutions. Selling the product will become selling solutions to customers," Mr. Cuong said.

According to Mr. Cuong, the story of starting a business during the pandemic, as well as taking a path that many businesses had already taken, was something he researched very carefully. He learned a great deal from factory managers and engineers in industrial parks while independently developing products to sell. He realized that the industry still had many weaknesses; many skilled and experienced engineers were completely unfamiliar with cold welding techniques…

Furthermore, the constant disruptions in the supply chain from suppliers to customers is a weakness of competing brands in the market. Mr. Cuong believes this is an opportunity for him, by ordering from warehouses in Vietnam, Singapore, and Germany to provide the best possible supply to the market. In addition, he is building a team of expert engineers from Dubai and Germany to support customers when their factories need major repairs, making service the core value and turning the weaknesses of other businesses into strengths for his own company.

“When customers ask what our strengths are, the answer is always immediate: besides the quality of German products, service and supply are two vital aspects of our business. There are customers we have to accept losses for simply because they are in a hurry; we have to import goods by air freight instead of sea freight, which would take too much time and wouldn't meet the repair schedule. A single day of downtime for a customer results in significant costs,” Mr. Cuong explained.

Extended business strategy

Recalling the early days of his business, Mr. Cuong said that when he started his company during the pandemic, the economy was difficult, and the financial costs were his biggest headache. At that time, the company had fewer than 5 employees. However, his only strength was his existing network from his time working for a British company. In addition, he relied on his friends to introduce him to factories and transportation companies that needed his products.

However, this was also a period when Mr. Cuong was both working and reflecting on the challenges in business. He realized that a newly established business couldn't possibly have the same customer base as established businesses. Therefore, he had to pursue something new and different.

“It involved creating a company website. At that time, we relied on friends and colleagues to write articles sharing knowledge and promoting the product lines the company was selling. We also focused on developing products online, attracting customers with keywords they frequently used to boost sales on the website. By the time the pandemic was under control, the company's sales website had reached the top 1 in product search results,” Mr. Cuong recounted.

After three years of development, Mr. Cuong believes that the opportunities for the supporting industries are immense. However, seizing these opportunities is not easy and requires a professional, systematic approach, as well as the preservation of core values.

A specific example Mr. Cuong gave was in 2022, when a Japanese company specializing in the production of steel balls for cement grinding plants, with a 40-year history in the Chinese market, relocated its production plant to Hai Phong. Upon returning to Vietnam, the company faced difficulties because the type of heat treatment oil used for quenching iron was unavailable in the Vietnamese market, nor was Vietnam authorized to import this type of oil. The Japanese client then requested a supplier of this oil.

Recognizing this opportunity, Mr. Cuong went to China to obtain oil samples, then returned to his factory at Cat Lai Port, Ho Chi Minh City, to test them against standards and technical specifications. Afterward, Mr. Cuong began exploring production methods. Following numerous sample tests at domestic and international quality control centers, and meeting the requirements of his Chinese client, he successfully sold his first shipment to a Japanese factory at the end of 2022.

"The shift of partners to Vietnam will clearly require finding reputable partners who are proficient in English and are willing to overcome any difficulties to succeed. Foreign businesses appreciate this working style and will seek out collaborations," said Mr. Mai Duc Cuong.

Speaking about his development plan for 2024, Mr. Cuong said that the most important thing is to choose which products to focus on selling based on factors such as actual demand, relationships, financial capacity, and human resources in order to achieve the best sales and maximize profits.

Furthermore, recognizing that his business sector would continue to face fierce competition in 2024 due to economic difficulties, businesses would be forced to lower prices and offer promotions to attract customers. Therefore, Mr. Cuong decided to build his business model by establishing relationships with businesses that have long-standing experience in maintenance and repair, as well as having pre-existing contracts with large factories to supply materials to these businesses.

Currently, Mr. Cuong has worked with and signed agreements with many partners in major provinces and cities such as Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Vung Tau, etc. Mr. Cuong also enthusiastically shared: “The road ahead is still very long. I and the entire company have developed very specific strategies, from marketing and business strategies to customer service. Starting 2024 with quite positive signs, we hope to have a year of explosive growth in customers and sales.”

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