Who is Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong?

Nguyen Tang Cuong was born in 1960 in the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh, in a family with a traditional mechanical profession. As soon as he completed his military service, he embarked on his entrepreneurial journey in 1981 with his passion and burning desire to "follow in his father's footsteps".

Through a long and arduous journey filled with sweat, tears mixed with happiness and joy, up to now, Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong has become general director of Quang Trung Mehanical Enterprise with 2 factories located in Quang Ninh and Ninh Binh provinces which specializes in manufacturing and supplying products, machinery and equipment related to the mechanical field.

Who is Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong?

Under the leadership of General Director Nguyen Tang Cuong, Quang Trung Group has continuously grown and become a leading supplier of cranes, bridge cranes, gantry cranes,... in the Vietnamese market. When mentioning Quang Trung, we must mention Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong with the No. 1 heavy lifting equipment in Vietnam.

Nguyen Tang Cuong and “game” in Son La Hydropower Plant

Recalling the glorious moment of reversing the move at Son La hydropower plant, the image of Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong reminds me of the image of the Da River ferryman in captivating poetry. A brave and courageous boatman calmly rushed straight into a dangerous river with many rapids and waves.

The Son La hydropower plant project of Quang Trung Group has entered into historical anecdotes, becoming a shining song in Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong's journey to build a career in the mechanical engineering industry. The project has made his name famous and is the pride of the Vietnamese people in general and the people of Ninh Binh in particular.

Some images of Son La Hydropower Plant project

Enterprising

Review in 2008, Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong, known as the Director of Quang Trung Mechanical Enterprise, risked all his assets, life and even his honor to "get" the job. 1200 ton crane for Son La hydropower plant. With a spirit of determination, he accepted to participate in this risky game.

However, the story of "getting" to make a 1,200 ton crane does not stop at Mr. Cuong's determination to dare to think and do it. After the problem was posed, the government, ministries and branches (Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Finance,...) expressed fear of responsibility because Vietnam has never been able to build a 5-ton crane, let alone a 1,200-ton crane. At that time, people expressed doubts: "If the 282m high water column breaks, all 28 million people will float out into the East Sea!"

The above statement has increased the disappointment of the mechanics who were initially excited about this century's project. However, right after that, Mr. Cuong immediately made a statement that turned the situation around: "Now the Party and State should encourage businesses to actively participate in bringing capacity and ideas to develop the country, develop society, especially in the mechanical industry.”

He further confided: "The mechanical industry is one of the country's foundational industries, a field that makes other fields develop sustainably. If Son La hydropower plant puts out a bid for heavy crane equipment, China will certainly win the bid because of its cheap price. But technology and quality are a question mark.”

Finally, he concluded: "I always thought there were 28 million people down there, including my father, my mother, me, my siblings, my comrades, if I have no responsibility, who has more responsibility?" With sharp arguments and determination to participate in a methodical and detailed project, Mr. Cuong received praise from the Prime Minister's Envoy - Thai Phung Ne and then the project was approved to proceed.

Smart, shrewd

When completing the 1200 ton crane, Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong invited EVN group boards along with envoy Thai Phung Ne and a series of consultants from many countries such as Japan, France, and Italy. When the product was tested, it attracted a lot of attention from the press. Notably, a Japanese consultant stated in the interview: "We come from Japan, a country with advanced industry, and in Japan there are not many large crane manufacturing units like like this. There aren't many in the world, but in Vietnam, a late-comer country, if there is a business that does this, we admire a lot."

To the surprise of a large number of interested journalists, envoy Thai Phung Ne firmly affirmed that he wanted to "test" Mr. Tang Cuong about this large crane with three "tests". First of all, Mr. Ne presented the problem of a crane with a tonnage of up to 1,400 tons being forced to stand still after braking. Receiving the assignment, Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong had the 1,400 ton crane lifted and at the same time let the car run and brake smoothly amid everyone's cheers.

Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong and Envoy Thai Phung Ne monitored the progress of the Son La Hydropower Plant project

Not only that, Mr. Cuong continued to receive the challenge of having to lower a 1,400-ton horse onto a brick with the condition of not breaking the brick. Once again, his intelligence and acumen were maximized when he chose to place the old brick on the soft ground. Indeed, this puzzle cannot be difficult for him.

For the last time of performing the "test", envoy Thai Phung Ne allowed him to lower the crane onto the brick with the cardboard lining on top. Mr. Cuong quickly chose a thick piece of cardboard and the cardboard could not be pulled out and the brick did not break.

Thus, all doubts about the 1,200-ton crane made by the Vietnamese themselves have been dispelled by extremely authentic actions. The presence of this heavy-duty crane is proof that our country, Vietnam, has enough financial and human resources to move forward to become an industrialized and modernized country.

Perseverance and determination

Fire proves gold, adversity proves men. The joy of successfully manufacturing a 1200 ton crane did not last long. Mr. Cuong and other agencies continued to face the big question: How to transport machinery to Son La Hydropower plant?

Initially, Mr. Cuong's decision to pump nitrogen into the beam and drop it directly into the river was rejected because the investor believed that the value of the crane was too great. More importantly, they had to face the National Assembly, with tens of millions of people. People should sink the product into water. In the end, everyone agreed with the decision to transport the crane by barge.

When the crane moved about 7km across the Thang Long bridge, the shipment faced the risk of extremely low river water levels. Furthermore, if it was only ten days late, it would take another year for the project to have water close to the Son La dam. Faced with that risk, consecutive meetings took place, a tense atmosphere prevailed and once again the opinion of General Director of Quang Trung - Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong opened a new light to answer all questions.

Emergency meeting to find a way to transport machinery to Son La hydropower plant

Racing against time, he found every way and at any cost to rent two tractors. Along with the cable, each product was pulled into the river one by one and fortunately none of the products were dented or damaged thanks to the layer of sand below the water surface. Gradually each product was pulled up to the dam in the burst of happiness of everyone.

At this point, Mr. Cuong reflected: "It was only a few degrees cold that day, but everyone was excited and worked all night. They even drank a bottle of soy sauce and jumped in to dive and hook sand." Then God did not let people down, each product was tied together into a raft on the river and conveniently moved to the Son La dam thanks to pumping nitrogen into the beam and using a winch.

Finally, the 1,200-ton crane was pulled up to Son La hydropower plant on schedule. Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong worked with all his passion. He confided that at that time he thought that doing this job was no longer his responsibility but was effective for the project and for the country.

The war is completely won

The Son La Hydropower project under the supervision of envoy Thai Phung Ne and EVN Electricity Group was completed with a 1200 ton crane, two sets of machine bridge cranes, one set of intermediate bridge cranes and two types of bridges, pedestal crane. Up to now, this project is still the pride of Quang Trung Industry Group in general and Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong in particular.

It can be said that the Son La Hydropower project has opened a new page for the hope of an industrialized Vietnam. The Son La problem has eased concerns about whether Vietnam's mechanical engineering industry can develop methodically and professionally as expected by the Government.

More than 15 years have passed, Son La hydropower plant is still there and many other hydroelectric projects have been completed to contribute to creating a strong image of Vietnam. This century-old project is forever the pride of Quang Trung Industrial Group and evokes many emotions shining in Mr. Nguyen Tang Cuong's eyes every time he talks about it.