The pride of being the first special prestressed steel producer in Vietnam

Joined Hoa Phat Group in December 2008 as an employee of the technical department, in February 2017, Mr. Do Van Tu was appointed as the Director of Hoa Phat steel drawing factory. In November 2018, he was in charge of the  post-tensioning plant in Dung Quat Economic Zone. HPG News talks with Mr. Do Van Tu about special steel products including prestressed bar steel (PC Bar) and prestressed steel cable (PC Strand) that the factory supplies for domestic and foreign markets.

Mr Do Van Tu (middle) and his staff at the factory

The Hoa Phat prestressed steel factory is the first producer supplying prestressed steel bars and cables in Vietnam. Could you introduce more details about the production line of these two special steel products?

Hoa Phat prestressed steel factory is proud to be the first unit in Vietnam to produce special steels such as PC Bar and PC Strand. Currently, the factory is producing two product lines including:

The input material of prestressed bar steel (PC Bar line) is steel grade 30MnSi. The main production stages include ribbed drawing and heat treatment.

Prestressed steel cable (PC strand line) with input material of grade 82B has production stages of rust removal, withdrawal and cable braiding.

Raw materials for the products’production are provided by Hoa Phat Dung Quat Steel Integrated Complex, thus ensuring quality from input materials to output products.

In March 2019, Hoa Phat supplied the market with Prestressed Steel Bar (PC Bar) and in January 2021, the prestressed steel cable product (PC Strand) was also officially launched? What are the products’ outstanding features and standards that they meet?

PC Strand has outstanding features such as: good corrosion resistance, less friction with unjoined ribs and easy bending, using on-site precast concrete production, saving materials and construction time.

The prestressed bar steel (PC Bar) meets Japan's JISG 31372008 standard while prestressed steel cable (PC Strand) meets the ASTM A416/A416M-17 standard from the US, ensuring mechanical properties, compressive strength and other technical standards.

The entire production line of prestressed steel cables is imported from a famous Italian corporation with many years of experience in the PC Strand steel cable manufacturing industry.

How are PC Bar and PC Strand used in constructions?

Hoa Phat's prestressed steel products are used in large-scale projects that require high technology, load-bearing capacity and safety such as towers, viaducts, oversea bridges, high-rise buildings, cable cars, highways, prestressed concrete piles, prestressed concrete plywood piles while optimizing space as well as material costs, shorten construction time.

Particularly, PC Strand is commonly used in large-scale projects that require high engineering, load-bearing capacity, and safety such as bridges, railways, highways, multi-storey industrial buildings and stadium.

Currently, the products are not only sold domestically but are also promoted for export. What is the competitive advantage of the factory's products compared to other suppliers?

The prestressed steel plant is located right next to Hoa Phat Dung Quat Steel Integrated Complex that helps save transportation costs, meeting production schedule and ensuring delivery in the fastest way. This therefore reduces product’s costs, improving competitiveness compared to imported goods. On the other hand, the product quality is stable and trusted by customers.

What is the factory’s capacity scale and implementation plan in the coming time?

The factory’s scale is about 300,000 tonnes a year, including more than 200,000 tonnes of pre-stressed steel bars (PC Bar) and over 80,000 tonnes of pre-stressed steel cables (PC Strand).

Hoa Phat's prestressed steel is highly appreciated by the market for its quality. By the end of 2020, the company has installed two lines and imported four more lines to implement the 2021 plan to double the PC Bar’s output.

It is expected that 4 pre-stressed bar steel production lines will be put into operation in July 2021. By December 2021, one more prestressed steel cable line will be deployed.

How many workers does the factory currently have? What support do experts from Italy give employees in technology transfer and operation?

The factory currently has 140 workers. The prestressed steel cable production line has been transferred by Italian experts to the cable braiding process. The factory's employees have gradually mastered this technology and production process.

Hong Hanh