Factories across Ho Chi Minh City are now in operation around the clock to produce Christmas products and prepare for the biggest export season of the year.

The products, which range from Christmas toys and decorations to clothes and shoes, are bound to be exported to U.S. and European markets.

Inside a Christmas toy workshop

Inside a workshop at Tan Phu Trung Industrial Park in Cu Chi District, Nguyen Van Su and his co-workers were busy manufacturing wooden animals.

Su was in charge of operating four computer numerical control (CNC) machines, which are capable of creating dozens of identical toy bears in just a few minutes.

The wooden toys are among the premium products of Nam Hoa Production and Trading JSC that are scheduled to be shipped to Europe and the U.S. over the next few days.

They will later be displayed at local shopping malls and souvenir shops ahead of this year’s Christmas Day.

Thanks to the machines, the firm is able to improve both product quantity and quality and meet the requirements of demanding markets, Su said.

The four machines that he operates are able to replace up to 32 people, he added.

After the machines complete their tasks, the products would be taken to the decoration area, where artisans, who are mostly women, bring them to life by adding vivid colors.

Some of these skilled workers have up to two decades of experience.

The factory began exporting its first Christmas shipments in early September, Luu Vu Son – the manager – stated, adding that they were finishing up Christmas orders before preparing for the New Year contracts.

“We no longer receive new orders for this year’s Christmas as we have gained enough contracts for full operation until next April,” said Nguyen Tien Tho, general director of Nam Hoa Company.

The firm often ships its products to partners by plane, Tho continued, adding that each merchandise sells for up to tens of millions of dong. (VND10 million = US$436)

Busy jean factory

Based in Thu Duc City, Viet Thang Jean Company has been working at full throttle for their Christmas orders.

Inside a 300-square-meter room considered the heart of the entire production chain at its factory, about eight workers were controlling eight laser engraving machines to make brand new pairs of jeans.

The machines cost a total of VND64 billion ($2.8 million), according to Nguyen Van Hien, the factory manager.

They have been put into operation 24/7, while workers have had to take turns working in both day and night shifts due to the large number of orders at this peak time of the year, Hien elaborated.

Each machine can turn out up to 3,600 products a day, he added.

Pham Van Viet, general director of Viet Thang Jean, said that the company had spent $20 million on modern European machinery to replace human power.

Along with the machines, nearly 600 workers have been working around the clock to finish 1.2 million products during this high season, Viet continued.

The goods will be exported to eight European nations by air instead of by sea because of urgent demands.

They need to be put on shelves on time for the upcoming holiday season, the general director stressed.

Abundant orders

The workshop of Thien Loc Shoes JSC in District 12 has become busy with approximately 2,300 workers rushing to finish the remaining Christmas orders.

The facility began making products for the holiday season in April, but the production was later stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As soon as the city reopened economic activities early this month, the company quickly mobilized 90 percent of its human resources to resume operations.

It also had to raise the capacity and number of working shifts to keep up with the schedule.

The firm’s partners were very cooperative as they were willing to make advance payments so that their shipments could be delivered on time, according to Vu Thanh Binh, Thien Loc Shoes’ general director.

“Our employees were happy to return to work when the pandemic subsided as we provided them with a lot of assistance during the hard times,” Binh said.

The company has obtained orders for production until the end of the second quarter of next year, he added.

Vice-president of the Ho Chi Minh City Textile and Garment - Embroidery Association Pham Van Viet told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that many companies in the textile industry have received enough orders until mid-2022.

Local businesses have been allowed to actively implement pandemic prevention measures, thus their operations will not be heavily affected like in the past, Viet added.

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