In front of hundreds of factory workers, the Danish Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr. Peter Lysholt Hansen, was one of the first to congratulate Viking Vietnam on its new factory in Khanh Dong Industrial Park in the Hoc Moc district of Ho Chi Minh City. Being a joint-venture between Viking Rubber A/S and Vitexco, Viking Vietnam will use its new factory to expand its production of rainwear as well as other textile products.
The new factory has five production lines in operation and 200 employees – with the possibility of expanding it to seven production lines and 400 employees in the future. With the newly inaugurated factory facility, the working environment and conditions for the employees have been improved to meet international standards. The landlord has even built football and volleyball facilities for all the workers of the entire industrial park to enjoy – an initiative, which the Danish ambassador praised in his inauguration speech, noting that recreational facilities like these “are essential for the health and well-being of the employees,” which, he said, “is an important goal in itself.”
The cooperation between the Danish-owned Viking Rubber A/S and the Vietnamese-owned Vitexco began in 2002 with a supplier’s agreement aiming at establishing a production of high quality rainwear in Vietnam. During the spring of 2005, the two parties decided to launch Viking Vietnam as a joint-venture in order to facilitate investments in new equipment and facilities. Since then, the two partners have received support from the Danish Embassy through Danida’s so-called Business-to-Business development programme.