Doan Van Dung instructs employees to wrap the broom handles.

After four years in Taiwan (China) as a guest worker, Dung returned home in 2014.

In quest of building his own startup, he noticed that waste products in many wood-peeling workshops have yet to be utilised. Dung decided to obtain a loan worth one billion VND to open a facility turning tree cores discarded from these workshops into broom handles.

He made trips to Hai Duong, Quang Ninh and Hai Phong to learn about the business. In the first year of operation, his products felt short of consumers’ taste and earned him zero profit.

On his old bike, the young startup owner rode through streets across Hanoi, Hai Phong and Hai Duong to promote and sell his handles for cheap prices or even for free to gain customers’ trust.

After a while, Dung won his first order. Thoughts that occupied his mind at the time were “there is nothing to fear if you have the materials and skills in your hands” and “things might be hard at first, but if you keep trying, they will get better”.

Sensing the market demand growing, Dung decided to invest in modern machines to make quality and attractive products. To enhance competitiveness for his company, he studied technical know-how available on the Internet and learned from his friends’ experience and knowledge, which paved the way for his handles to reach overseas markets.

As orders from abroad have strict requirements in terms of product quality and timing, Dung, therefore, always oversees each stage of production himself. As a punctilious person with high standards, he never satisfies with what his startup has achieved. Apart from meeting clients, the young man often spends time updating new trends of technology and design.

A completed broom handle.

His model does not only economically benefit his own family but also opens up new opportunities, positively contributing to tackling unemployment and poverty eradication in the locality. The wooden broom handles, which are made from waste, are environmentally friendly products and are favoured by customers. They have been exported to different countries such as Portugal, Turkey, Iran and China. Dung sells thousands of broom handles every month on average, earning 300 million VND monthly.

Giving priority to local workers, his workshop employs 20 workers with an average income ranging from five to six million VND per person per month. Nguyen Thi Yen, born 1987, a resident in Ben Tram hamlet, Dong Son district said: “I have been working at Dung’s since the beginning. The job offers me a stable income and I do not need to spend much time travelling to work, so I have time to take care of my family”.

In the coming time, Dung plans to learn English to interact with foreigners without the help of intermediary agencies. In addition, he will continue investing in modern technology and expanding warehouse and production scale.

Tuyet Mai