Nguyen Van Tien

Please tell us about your role in the Thanh Chuong Factory.

As a Production Manager, I am responsible for overall production management and quality control. Specifically, my responsibilities range from the daily receipt of incoming materials to the shipping of our products. I used to be a staff member, and it has only been about a year since I was promoted to my current position, but now I manage the entire factory.
Almost 100% of the products we ship are for Japan, and the brands we handle include many of the world’s best-known brands. I manage the production of many different brands and items, so I sometimes find it difficult to make decisions when I am unsure about a manufacturing process or training the staff.
But the sense of accomplishment is huge when I have successfully overcome a challenge and workflow proceeds smoothly, and that is the moment when I feel happiest.

At work or in the company, what would you like to challenge and achieve in the future?

We make customer satisfaction our top priority, and we make daily improvements in our daily operations to achieve this. If a customer points out something, we improve it immediately. We also make every effort to avoid delays in shipping and delivery times. Thanks to these efforts, customers trust us and place many orders, which has led to factory-wide confidence in achieving success.
As for my personal goal, I want to continue to grow every day so that I can take on the position of Vice Director in the future. To achieve this, I want to do my best in my current role and grow together with the staff.

What are your challenges outside of work? What do you like to do? Any hobbies?

I like to watch Korean dramas for relaxation. I can deepen my understanding of another culture through dramas. This also connects to my personal growth by developing communication skills to make smooth interactions possible.
Reading is also one of my favorite hobbies. Recently, I have been buying and reading books about sewing. Other than that, I also read sewing books in Japanese that my Japanese colleague give to me, and in this way, I learn sewing techniques while learning Japanese.

Please tell us what MATSUOKA means to you.

In the Thanh Chuong area, where I live, there were no factories before the MATSUOKA factory was built, and the only work was farming.
The local people live mainly from agriculture, but our lives are far from easy. In the summer, farming is very hard in an environment where temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius or more, and because farming depends on the weather, we are in a very unstable situation, with some years producing good harvests and others ending in failure. This situation has changed significantly since the MATSUOKA factory was established. Many local people, including myself, got the opportunity to work for a local factory, and thanks to this, our standard of living and our daily lives have gradually started to improve with stable jobs.
Before that, we used to leave our villages and find a job in a distant place, and then we would usually only meet our families once or twice a year for a long weekend or holiday. But now, we have a stable job close to home and a steady paycheck every month. This allows us to spend more time with our families and I feel that our quality of life has improved.

Comparing before and after you joined the company, what has changed?

I feel that my work has allowed me to become mentally tough. Before joining MATSUOKA CORPORATION, I worked for another factory in Vietnam. After becoming a member of a Japanese company, I feel a big difference in the way of working. While working with Japanese people and following strict and meticulous rules of a Japanese company, I realize that I am growing. At first, I was confused by the strictness, but I gradually got used to it.
I started my career here as a staff member, but now that I am the Production Manager, I must be spontaneous and active in finding solutions. In this situation, I can learn a lot every day because there are many things to learn. I feel that this has led to my personal growth.

*The contents, etc., of this interview are as of the time of the interview.