Swedish company, Polarium, took the next step in their growth journey in April by setting up a new factory within the Industrial Park of DEEP C Industrial Zones, in Haiphong, Vietnam.
The factory enables Polarium to better serve the increasing number of customers in the Asia-Pacific region while simultaneously reduce environmental footprint.
Only founded in 2015 based on the idea of how energy storage could empower a smart and sustainable world, Polarium has opened already its second manufacturing plant, less than 3 years after starting production in Mexico. The new factory is located in Haiphong, in the industrial park of the Belgian industrial Park operator DEEP C Industrial Zones, in the northern part of Vietnam.
Polarium provides energy storage solutions built on lithium-ion technology for the telecom, commercial and industrial segments and is assembling mainly its largest battery packs in Vietnam.
“The choice for Vietnam came out quite clear”, explains Brendon Boswell, who piloted the move into Vietnam. “With our rapid growth and international client base, we knew we had to be soon in Asia. Various options were investigated and Vietnam came out best in the comparison.” Situated next to China, well connected in Asia, its fast-growing economy, large amount of Free Trade Agreements and its well- developed economic zone system made Vietnam the obvious choice to expand production.
Like for most European companies, the area of Ho Chi Minh City in the south of Vietnam was known to the management as a production area and targeted by the group. However, in the search for suitable ready built factories up to international standards, Polarium got in touch with DEEP C Industrial Zones in Haiphong, the only European managed industrial park in Vietnam, who was able to offer quality buildings in a non-congested area.
“With their team of European and Vietnamese staff, we were able to identify a suitable factory meeting our challenging timeline in full pandemic” states Brendon. “As travelling was not possible, we had to do the whole interactions online and through video calls”, recalls Geert Dom, who is living and working as representative for DEEP C in Belgium. “But blessed with the visit of Polarium’s newly recruited in-country representative, the choice for the Northern area of Vietnam was made”.
Close to and with short connection with China – Shenzhen is in reach of less than 24 hours trucking from Haiphong – the direct connection of the Industrial Zone with the new deep sea port “Lach Huyen” of Haiphong, and the more efficient domestic freight system were valued by Polarium and contribute to reduce the C02 footprint and need for working capital. “Starting up operations in Vietnam comes along with a lot of paperwork, but luckily the DEEP C Team was there to coordinate most of this process”, continues Brendon Boswell.
Through the network of DEEP C, Polarium got connected to various service providers and logistic partners contributing to a smooth and successful start of operations in the first quarter of 2021. “However, there are still some challenges to overcome for Vietnam,” explains Brendon Boswell. “The local supply chain is still underdeveloped and so are the waste management services. But, this offers opportunities for both international and local companies in this fast growing economy.”
For both Polarium and DEEP C, the future is sustainable. With own wastewater treatment facilities, renewable energy production and a wide range of social programs, DEEP C is selected by the Vietnam government and Unido as one of the first Eco Parks in Vietnam. The battery solutions produced by Polarium serve a wide range of industries to assure renewable energy supply at all times. Both teams are exploring further collaboration in renewable energy storage in DEEP C through the technology of Polarium.
Asked about his overall evaluation on the move of Polarium to Vietnam, Brendon states clearly satisfied:
“We are very happy with our start of production in Vietnam and are already evaluating expansion options for our factory! Vietnam is a dynamic market and rightly the most popular location in Asia for expansion today. Swedish companies should contact Nordcham or Business Sweden who is well connected to give more background and guide them further.”
Source: NORDCHAM Vietnam
