He said, for his part, he started his business with a small Cuong Phat-branded pottery production facility with only a few dozen workers in 1983. In the early years, he produced bowls, cups, plates and teapots decorated with simple patterns, mainly for the domestic market.

The market economy opened in the early 1990s and Chinese goods began to flood into Vietnam, including ceramic products. To compete with foreign rivals, ceramic and pottery companies had to change production processes and create more artistic items for domestic market as well as for export. To meet market demands, Mr Ly Ngoc Bach started to transform his small production base into Cuong Phat Ceramics Private Enterprise in 1992. He injected more funds to employ more workers, change production processes and research new products such as vases, pots and animal shapes.

“Highly skilled workers and a diversity of elegant products decorated with harmonious and creative motifs made Cuong Phat ceramic products unique and different from others. For that reason, the company's products were very popular at that time and exported to such markets as Japan, Australia, Taiwan (China), France and Germany,” he said.

In spite of having achieved success, with his efforts to constantly improve quality, in 1994, Bach continued to invest in technological innovation, build workshops, replace firewood-burning technology with gas-fuelled technology and import more furnaces from Taiwan, vacuum extruders, and rolling printers. Therefore, the company’s sales increased year after year.

To catch up with development and integration requirements, in 2000, Bach invested in upgrading the enterprise into Cuong Phat Co., Ltd. He spent a lot of money to build more factories, import more modern machinery and equipment, and diversify products, particularly premium ceramics.

To sustain the development, he also invested in researching clay ores and feldspar mines across the country for his factories. Therefore, the company presently needs to import some chemicals from countries and territories such as China, Taiwan (China), Japan, Germany and Italy that cannot be produced domestically.
At the same time, he applied the advanced quality management system - ISO9001-2000 and later 9001:2008 - to ensure that the entire operation of the company is always controlled and constantly improved.

After 35 years of construction and development, from a small ceramic production base, Cuong Phat now has a total area of about 45,000 square metres of factories powered by advanced technologies and equipment and staffed by 1,000 employees. Each year, the company turns out over 10 million diverse beautiful, durable and safe products of European standard. 85 per cent of products are exported to nearly 20 countries and territories such as Japan, Taiwan (China), Germany, France and Italy.
Talking about Cuong Phat’s ceramic products, Bach said that each product is always meticulously crafted, fired at high temperature and based on European standards. All inputs are strictly tested for safety. Designs and colours meet consumer tastes and requirements.

Cuong Phat employs a contingent of skilled workers and artisans who are passionate about pottery and porcelain and devoted to the company for years. Many have more than 20 years of experience in working, prototyping and management. “Currently, the company has invested modern technology and machinery but they are only instruments while people are the soul of the company,” he added.

Bach also said that he always adheres to experience of old pottery makers: The first is the raw material, the second is the firing technology, the third is the product formulation and the fourth is the decoration. The company procures raw materials to ensure this key factor.

“We determined that each product made must carry two elements: Functional and decorative. Increasing the diversity and the blend of traditional cultures of Vietnam, the East and the West is the basic direction for the company’s products to meet development trends and tastes in many countries in the world,” he concluded.
N.Nga