With the first overseas press conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the EMO World Tour 2017 started. The event was followed enthusiastically by 45 journalists. Christoph Miller, Head of the trade fair department from the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association (VDW) presented the highlights and novelties of the upcoming EMO, which will take place in Hannover from 18th to 23rd September. Guest speaker Do Phuoc Tong, chairman of the HCMC Association of Mechanical Electrical Enterprise, described the sector-specific needs of the local electrical industry and pointed out the importance of the EMO Hannover. Quotation Tong: "If you want to remain internationally competitive, you have to inform yourself about the latest technologies - the EMO as the world's leading fair is the best place for this."

Sturdy growth expected in Vietnam

Vietnam is one of Asia’s most dynamic economies, and is excellently placed to achieve solid growth over the upcoming years as well. Experts regard the fall in GDP during 2016, due to water scarcity in the agricultural sector, as a temporary setback. One of the youngest populations in Asia, healthy direct investments from abroad, and a network of free trade agreements are supporting the encouraging progress being made. Nonetheless, many observers and economic experts believe that Vietnam has to tackle structural reforms aimed at more efficiency, improve staff training, and put in place more complete delivery chains.

The principal growth driver is still the industrial sector, boosted by direct investments from abroad in the manufacturing segment. They are attracted by low wage costs, and produce goods for export. The Vietnamese government is taking an increasingly critical view of this, and intends to initiate counter-measures.

For putting performatively capable vendors in place for the mechanical engineering sector plus the automotive industry and its component suppliers, the firms have to become more productive. This will include improved workforce training, a renewal of the capital stock, and the use of automation technology.

“All these topics will be addressed by the EMO Hannover 2017,” says Christoph Miller of the VDW. Machine tool manufacturers from more than 40 different countries will there be spotlighting their production technology, ranging from simple, sturdy and affordable to high-priced high-tech. Both stand-alone machines and concatenated systems will be on show,plus transfer lines and large machines, featuring a high degree of automation. “The EMO Hannover is the ideal platform not only for big investors,” explains Christoph Miller. “We are particularly keen to encourage mid-tier users of machine tools to find out in detail what the world of metalworking has to offer.” Finally, the EMO traditionally includes a special show for young people organised by the VDW’s Youth Foundation, which for many years now has been dedicated to recruiting youngsters and improving vocational training. Best practice – suitable for Vietnam as well.

Vietnam is dependent on industrial imports

So far, Vietnam has been importing 100 per cent of the production technology it needs. In 2015, this constituted machine tools worth 1.3 billion euros. That put Vietnam in 5^th place among the world’s biggest importers. The Asian electronics industry, in particular, has significantly increased its production capacities in Vietnam for manufacturing smartphones. More than half of the imports came from Japan, followed by China, South Korea, Taiwan and Germany. All of these will be prominent exhibitor nations at the EMO Hannover.

German technology enjoys an exceptionally good reputation in Vietnam. This was evident at the VDW’s most recent symposium, held in Ho Chin Minh City during November 2016. More than 100 customers from the metalworking sector brought themselves up to date on the corporate capabilities of German manufacturers. “German machine tools stand for quality, reliability, efficiency and productivity,” explains VDW expert Christoph Miller. “The manufacturers concerned, with their broadly based global experience, can be excellent partners for modernising Vietnam’s industrial sector. It’s definitely worth visiting the EMO just to find the right one for this purpose.”

Between 2012 and 2015, German exports to Vietnam rose by around 30 per cent to reach 32 million euros. Deliveries primarily comprise lasers, grinding machines, machining centres, plus parts and accessories. In 2016, exports did in fact decrease, due to the difficult economic situation. For the EMO year of 2017, however, capital investment in the most important customer sectors for machine tools is predicted to rise again, which will also mean increased machine tool consumption.

Photo: DMAG