Ever since the production agreement was signed, I knew I had to visit the company in Vietnam.
When you enter into an agreement, you shake hands with those you will be collaborating with, and I wanted to have a good relationship from the start.
When the company started as a Danida project, I already knew in advance that the conditions were in order. And that was only confirmed.
We saw how much was done for the employees. In addition to the working conditions themselves, which were beyond reproach, they had also made a little extra effort.
Good canteen system, where good food was delivered every day. Long communal break, where most people used the time for a nap in the hammock after lunch was eaten.
There was a large orchard and a lovely pool for free use. There was also a beautiful wooden building where you could take a well-deserved break if you needed some privacy.
The whole thing was well guarded by a flock of geese, who apparently thought the entire park was for their sake.
The company is family run and we also met the man who started it all back in the day. He still came by every day to say hello, even though the actual operation had long since been handed over to his son and daughter. They loved his daily visits, both in the production and in the office.
In addition to taking good care of all employees, there was also a focus on the environment and the impact we leave as a company.
When working with wood, it must be cleaned of insects, and in most places this is done with chemicals. But not here, because here they only use water. And the wastewater is cleaned afterwards and used for both irrigation and toilet flushing.
No wood went to waste, and surplus wood was sorted and stored until used in other contexts or smaller productions.
We toured all the production halls, and everywhere we were greeted with smiles and great hospitality. It was clear that this is a good place to work.
It was great for me to see my dream come true when they ran the wood through the machines and sawed it out to the podiums on the figure.
Yes, it's just some planks of wood, but to me it was so much more. It was clear proof that now we're moving forward, now it's finally happening.
It was a great experience to be on a company visit and to visit the country.