The Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) will complete a master plan by the end of this year to improve the industry's productivity and quality.—Photo nld

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— The Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) will complete a master plan by the end of this year to improve the industry's productivity and quality.

Vinatex general director Uong Tien Thinh said at a seminar in HCM City yesterday that "productivity and product quality are key elements to improve enterprises' competitiveness."

When penetrating international markets, apart from competition on prices, evidence of corporate social responsibility was also important since consumers in developed countries do not just look at product quality, but how it has been produced, he said.

Over the past several years, many enterprises in the garment and textiles industry, especially garment makers, have raised their productivity and quality, he said.

Pham Le Hoang of Vinatex's technology department said the domestic industry's improvements notwithstanding, there was still a considerable gap between Viet Nam and other leading garment and textile countries in the world, he said.

Within the domestic industry itself, there were wide disparities in productivity and quality between enterprises, he added.

He said enterprises should replace old equipment and apply new management tools like lean manufacturing and TQM (Total Quality Management).

The plan to improve productivity and quality will formulate a new set of quality standards for the industry, Thinh said.

"There will be seminars on technology transfer in which enterprises that have high productivity will support those that are not doing as well," he added.

Phan Cong Hop, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Science and Technology Department, noted that the Prime Minister had approved in 2010 a 10-year programme to improve productivity and product quality of Vietnamese firms.

Under the programme, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has launched a project targeting industrial goods, including garments and textiles, footwear, plastic and steel.

The project seeks to facilitate the application of modern technology in industrial production, the production of value-added products, and the setting of higher industrial standards.

He said the State would provide financial support for industry and trade enterprises to provide technical training to their staff, build quality standards, research and evaluate products, and pilot new models of quality and productivity management. — VNS