World Steel Group last week handed over a US$30 million battery production factory it had built as a general contractor to the investor GPPD Energy Co. Ltd.

The handover of the GPPD plant took place during a ceremony organized in Binh Phuoc Province, located in southern Vietnam, on October 19, both companies said in a statement.

GPPD Energy, a company with 100 percent investment from Singapore, had poured $30 million into the GPPD factory, which sits in Becamex Industrial Park - Binh Phuoc.

The Singaporean firm has 66 years of manufacturing history in terms of battery production and has the most advanced, fully automatic alkaline battery production line in the world.

In Vietnam, this is the first mercury-free manganese zinc alkaline battery factory, which comes with very high requirements on construction and finishing techniques.

The factory covers an area of ​​over 30,000m2 and has a total capacity of 936 million products per year. In phase 1, the factory will churn out 336 million products a year while it will make 600 million products per annum in phase 2.

Coming into operation, the GPPD factory will contribute significantly to the economic development of Binh Phuoc Province, create jobs for the local workforce, and encourage supply chain development.

World Steel Group worked as a general contractor in this project.

The early and mid-2020 project implementation phase was an extremely difficult time not only in Vietnam but all over the world because the utterly complicated COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every angle of life.

Despite such challenges, World Steel's team, directed by the board of directors, focused on the highest service spirit, best control, and excellent operations to ensure progress and quality for each work item.

“On behalf of the GPPD, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all World Steel employees, also to the government of Vietnam and Becamex Industrial Park – Binh Phuoc for their help,” Huang Xiao Yun, general director of GPPD Energy Co. Ltd., said the handover ceremony.  

“Our head office in Singapore is also very fortunate to invest in Vietnam. Today, Vietnam's first alkaline battery factory has set sail here.

“We have 66 years of battery manufacturing history and have the world's most advanced, fully automated alkaline battery production line.

“Clean batteries produced will fill gaps in the Vietnamese battery market and create green energy for Vietnam.

“We will also train outstanding Vietnamese industrial workers to contribute to local technology innovation and industrial development.”

In addition, World Steel Group has obtained the US IAS AC472 certificate, an important certification demonstrating the ability to meet stringent quality standards in the field of steel structures for industrial buildings in accordance with American quality standards.

World Steel Group is increasingly asserting its position in the domestic and international markets by owning many key projects such as: many important categories in the Hoa Phat Iron and Steel Complex project, CPV Food - Binh Phuoc Becamex, components in the Long Son Petrochemicals project, many different stages of Tongwei Group's projects in Tien Giang and Hai Duong Provinces, export projects to Southeast Asian markets such as the Thailand 7-Eleven project, the Philippines Coca-Cola Warehouse project, the Steel Bridge in Singapore, and particularly export projects to the U.S. market.  

These projects have gained the investors’ trust, praise, and appreciation for the quality of the work, construction progress, and implementation capacity.