Expanding in Vietnam: Opportunities of offshoring

Multinational American company, Hurco, offers technology and CNC machines to manufacturers all over the world. The company was founded in 1968 by Gerald Roch and Edward Humston who believe in the power and the connection between people and computers. The company continued to grow and innovate through the years and today, they continue “to provide unique, innovative software and CNC controls that help customers maximise productivity through reduced set up time and multi-tasking on the shop floor.”

The company currently has a strong presence in North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Hurco continues to expand, but keeping the heart of a down-to-earth Midwestern company intact. Their existence especially in Asia continues to grow and earlier this month a showroom was launched in Hanoi, it's second in Vietnam which supplements its showroom in Ho Chi Minh.

John Donlon, Executive Vice President of Sales and Service Worldwide at Hurco, was in Hanoi, Vietnam for the showroom unveiling to meet with regional customers, share new technologies and learn about their manufacturing needs. It's here where International Metalworking News for Asia sat down with him to discuss Hurco's unique selling point, new innovations, and growth in the region.

Vietnam on the rise

Although Hurco's South East Asian office is headquartered in Singapore, Donlon is convinced that Vietnam, along with Indonesia, are rising as major players in the regional manufacturing industry. Donlon believes that the growth won't reserve for just one industry and that there are three major industries that will boom: electronics, general parts manufacturing, and textiles.

“Our Hanoi showroom is in the north of Vietnam and it's a very attractive market to us,” says Donlon. “We have never had a showroom up here and it's very important location because I think that the industrial base here is a lot stronger than in Ho Chi Minh. It's natural to expand and so we're very pleased.”

However, as a U.S.-based multinational company, working with trusted local partners is a way that their clients can learn more about the product line up in a relatable and trusting way and Donlon believes that this is the best way to give comfort and assurance to those interested in Hurco's products.

The Hurco advantage

In addition to Hurco's cutting edge technology, enhancements, and software, which always continue to evolve, Donlon believes that Hurco delivers effectively on customer service and ease-of-use. These two factors are extremely important in the manufacturing industry and provide less down time for staff and machines which is translated to increased productivity and smoother and faster training for machine operators.

The fact that Hurco was born out of the Midwest is something that the company credits for their personable and accommodating customer service. Donlon, who is based out of Indianapolis himself, describes Midwestern culture as a naturally family-oriented one which translates into the company by taking their relationships with clients personally and to heart.

“A client can call us at any time and they will be able to reach any executive in our company to talk about a service issue,” says Donlon. “It's the way we want it to be and it's very different. Many of our competitors will say that if the client doesn't have a PO number then they can't talk to them about the service problem. But that's not the way we work.”

In addition to their stellar customer service, ease-of-use is another factor that sets apart Hurco's machines, which include Vertical Machining Centres, Turning Centres, 5-Axis Machining Centres, Dual Column Machining Centres, and Horizontal Machining Centres. They are programed and designed to have an intuitive feel which means shorter training time.

“In China, we hired a 21 year old from a secretarial school to serve as an administrator,” says Donlon. “She thought the machines were interesting so she studied them for a week. The next thing you know, she was giving demos to people who have been running machine tools for nearly all of their lives. All of this was coming from a lady who had no background in machine tools whatsoever.”

Looking to the future

Manufacturers and machine tool makers alike always need to look onto the horizon for what's to come. They have to remain innovative as well as be tuned into the movements in the world's markets. Although Germany is Hurco's biggest market, Donlon believes Asia to be a region that will see rapid growth; growth that the company wants to be a part of. In order to do so, Hurco will continue to remain competitive in several ways.

“We are looking at developing larger platforms that address specific areas. For instance we recently acquired two machine tool companies that provide products that we think will be attractive to certain segments,” says Donlon. “Also what we're going to do is to develop our service capability so that there's never a doubt. Never a doubt.”

Hurco's terrific machines have and will, without an uncertainty, continue to cater to the region's increasing manufacturing needs. With its strategic partnerships and satisfied customers on the rise in Asia, we will surely see more of Hurco while manufacturers can rest easy that affordable and innovative solutions will be available to them. 

John during the open house

Click to view E-zine: International Metalworking News for Asia – Dec issue