Table of contents
- In the helmet factory at HJC in Vietnam Visit to the most modern helmet manufacturer HJC
- HJC’s production sites and markets.
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MOTORRAD visited one of the largest helmet manufacturers in the world. HJC stands for affordable, but high-quality motorcycle helmets and it is worth taking a look behind the scenes.
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High vertical range of manufacture: raw material for the helmet shells before chemical transformation.
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German precision machines process the raw material.
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Using heat, pressure and chemicals, they form finished, shock-absorbing inner shells for almost all models.
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Optimized the manufacturing processes when setting up the plant in Vietnam: Le Duy Cuong, engineer from South Korea.
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The base material for the helmet lining is cut to length and cut here.
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Nimble fingers and still hands are required when sewing the individual parts of the complex lining …
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… a task that the Vietnamese seamstresses perform with the utmost precision and an almost unbelievable speed.
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The finished helmet lining is evidence of the extreme effort made for comfort and safety.
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The finished helmet lining is evidence of the extreme effort made for comfort and safety.
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Must be accurate to the millimeter: the HJC designers’ decor sheets are glued to the outer shells.
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The working atmosphere: concentrated and cheerful.
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Before the helmet shells are painted, they pass through an air shower.
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The clear coat is applied in a booth. The helmet rotates.
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The shipping department packs according to an efficient, computer-aided system.
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Special series are the order of the day for HJC, not possible, there is no such thing as a principle.
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Special series are the order of the day for HJC, not possible, there is no such thing as a principle.
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In Hanoi City, HJC successfully operates a shop for the domestic market.
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HJC’s Vietnamese plant generates its own heat. Large sums of money have been invested in environmental protection measures such as exhaust air and wastewater treatment.
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HJC’s production sites and markets.
clothing
Helmets
Factory visit to HJC in Vietnam
In the helmet factory at HJC in Vietnam
Visit to the most modern helmet manufacturer HJC
HJC stands for affordable but high quality motorcycle helmets. The South Korean company is one of the largest helmet manufacturers in the world. MOTORRAD takes a look behind the scenes at the youngest and most modern HJC production facility in the north of Vietnam. Here the company does a lot differently than other companies in the low-wage country.
Markus Biebricher
01/19/2011
The world map shows how intense HJC cultivates the markets, but also shows where there is still potential for growth. HJC currently has a total annual production of over a million helmets of all types, but can increase this volume. However, you don’t just want to grow in terms of numbers, you also want to keep pushing the high level of safety, quality and comfort.
It was in January 2008 when the wind stopped pulling back the hair of all motorcyclists in Vietnam. The government had just made helmet compulsory nationwide. Very few Vietnamese bought a helmet straight away, but initially complied with the new law with imaginatively carried pots, hats, buckets or baby bathtubs.
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Even before this government decree, the South Korean company Hong Jin-Crown (HJC) decided to produce motorcycle helmets in the manufacturing paradise of Vietnam. On the one hand with a view to the possible future local million dollar market, on the other hand to support the long-standing production facilities in Korea and China in supplying the world market.
HJC is a real global player. Founded in 1971 by Mister Hong, the company has sales organizations, research and design centers in the US and Europe. As early as 1992, the South Koreans conquered the market leadership in North America with a market share of over 30 percent, which has not changed to this day. HJC has a stake of over fifteen percent in the world market. If you look at the effort with which the helmets are manufactured here in Vietnam, such a market presence is not surprising.
The 33,000-square-meter industrial complex nestles cleanly into the landscape. The sun shines pale on manicured flower beds, several large halls and outbuildings that nestle almost shyly in the surrounding hills. Small groups of workers stroll hand in hand on the streets between the halls, men eat their snacks on benches. They scrutinize the visitors in a friendly manner and say frankly that they are happy to have a job here.
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Optimized the manufacturing processes when setting up the plant in Vietnam: Le Duy Cuong, engineer from South Korea.
In contrast to the numerous textile or electronics production facilities in poor North Vietnam, the 330 workers at HJC-Vina, as the Vietnamese branch is called, earn around 130 dollars a month and enjoy above-average social benefits. Your colleagues in other industries often go home with the equivalent of $ 55 for long hours.
The halls also appear bright, clean and tidy from the inside. The vertical range of manufacture is well over 90 percent, only the visors have so far come from South Korea. Here in Hanoi, the EPS material for the shock-absorbing inner shells is even produced in-house. Large machines from the German company Kurtz spit out finished partial shells, which have to dry out for another six hours at an ambient temperature of 45 degrees before they can be processed further. The HJClers also generate the heat required for production in their own mini power plant.
Led by Mister Nam, the plant director and Le Duy Cuong, the engineer responsible for all manufacturing processes, we get to the sewing shop, where around 80 employees cut, sew and assemble all the helmet internals from the raw material, from the chinstrap to the lining, in precisely organized manual labor.
Then comes the production of the outer shells, where a whole range of work is carried out with a lot of logistical effort. Partly automated, partly by hand. What strikes again and again: The working atmosphere is relaxed, but focused. Precision is very important, to be on the safe side, all work steps are shown once again in pictures and writing above the respective stations on the wall. A meticulous quality control is carried out after each production step. If the scrap rate gets too high, they are not afraid to stop production and get to the bottom of the cause, assures Le Duy Cuong.
Ms. Nguyen is a young worker who, together with her colleagues, cuts out decal sheets and sticks them onto the outer shells. It is unmistakable that the ladies enjoy this activity. Gluing on is precision work and requires extremely steady hands. The trays are then placed in an antistatic air shower, then off to the painting line, where they are given a clear coat primer. Some of the model range has an acrylic coating, the others are given a multi-layer finish.
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The finished helmet lining is evidence of the extreme effort made for comfort and safety.
The mist and vapors produced during painting are extracted and chemically neutralized. The same applies to the other exhaust gases from HJC Vina, which have to pass through various catalytic converters and filter systems before they are released into the atmosphere from tall chimneys. Director Nam never tires of pointing out that HJC Vina is one of the most environmentally friendly factories in all of Vietnam and is playing a pioneering role here. The international rush of visitors is therefore great.
Just like in an automobile factory, all the individual helmet parts come “just in time” together in a large assembly hall. Now it is not far to the finished helmet. Here, too, the impression arises that the workers are not lovelessly cobbling together an industrial product, but rather assembling a clockwork.
The packing takes place with an automatic barcode system and a sophisticated cartoning. Eight helmets are sampled from each order and carefully checked separately. It’s hard to pin down, but the workers are in a good mood, which may have something to do with the fact that they have a ten-minute break every two hours. Or that there is a lunch in a large canteen that is prepared in the company’s own kitchen and is free of charge for all workers. Eight hour day, one hour lunch break, relaxation rooms for quick sleep that promotes concentration (“Power Nap”) in between and real opportunities for advancement make HJC Vina a sought-after employer, not only for workers, but also for engineers or other highly qualified workers.
These permanently optimize operational and organizational processes or work in the test laboratory, where the test cycles of all existing helmet standards are carried out for a wide variety of markets. Until recently only South Koreans were employed in the most responsible positions, but now more and more Vietnamese are growing into the management level with great success.
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Must be accurate to the millimeter: the HJC designers’ decor sheets are glued to the outer shells.
The test laboratory has the highest entertainment value for the visitors because the helmets are deliberately destroyed here under constant scientific analysis. “HJC tries to increase the safety of the helmets beyond the international requirements”, says Mister Nam and fires a bullet with a permanently installed rifle at a sight, which then only shows a small imprint. The laboratory is full of facilities that can simulate all conceivable crash situations and industry standards. Here one works on an optimal synthesis of stability, flexibility, weight and shock absorption capacity in all helmet areas.
Because this process continues, but the prices are not skyrocketing, HJC helmets sometimes win one or the other comparison test or adorn the heads of famous racing drivers. Nice to know that even in low-wage countries there are companies that value things other than pure profit maximization.
HJC’s production sites and markets.
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HJC’s production sites and markets.
The world map shows how intensively HJC is plowing the markets, but also shows where there is still potential for growth. HJC currently has a total annual production of over a million helmets of all types, but can increase this volume. However, you don’t just want to grow in terms of numbers, you also want to keep pushing the high level of safety, quality and comfort.
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