VSM_Air blower: Vingroup established the Machine and Components division.— Photo courtesy of Vingroup.

On August 12, 2020, VinSmart Research and Production Joint Stock Company (a subsidiary of Vingroup) officially announced the strategic agreement with Medtronic plc to produce components for Medtronic’s ventilators. It is expected that around 50,000 units of Vingroup’s ventilator components will be exported to the US and Ireland over the next year.  

Medtronic is among the world’s largest medical technology, services, and solutions companies, providing healthcare services and healthcare solutions to over 150 countries. Medtronic’s ventilators are considered essential equipment in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, in which, an air blower is one of the core components.

According to this agreement, VinSmart Research and Production Joint Stock Company will partner with Medtronic to produce components for Medtronic’s ventilators effective June 2020. In particular, Medtronic will obtain components manufactured entirely by VinSmart and VinFast Manufacturing and Trading Co., Ltd. The ventilator’s components manufactured by VinSmart are evaluated to meet the requirements to be exported around the globe. 

It is expected that the first components will be exported in August 2020. The goal is that over the next year, 50,000 VinSmart units will be exported to the US and Ireland, providing additional ventilators to meet increased demand.   

About the agreement, Mr. Madan Krishnan, Vice President of Minimally Invasive Therapies Group, Asia Pacific, Medtronic, said: “No single company can meet the global ventilator demand alone. To further supplement supply to meet overwhelming demand, we publicly shared the design specifications for our Puritan Bennett™560 (PB560) ventilator system in March 2020 under a permissive license. To further ramp up our own production, we have been collaborating with a number of international partners who can supplement part of the production process. The partnership with Vingroup will be one that will see them manufacturing components within our ventilators. Their support in this manufacturing process will aid us to further increase our ventilator supply.

Previously, Vingroup received the technology for producing PB560 ventilators under a permissive license from Medtronic. After three months of research based on this specific model, Vingroup successfully developed VSmart ventilator, VFS-510, with 70% localised components, including the core and other complex components. The production has been licensed by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and has exported to Russia, Ukraine, and Singapore for the first time.

Mrs. Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of Vingroup, said: “Vingroup had also officially announced the establishment of the Machine and Components division to develop partnerships in terms of designing and strategic producing (ODM) for top corporations all over the world. Products VinSmart designs and manufactures include: PCBA circuit boards, switches, antennas, molds, and completed products such as smartphones, connected devices (IoT), electronic products, electronics, refrigeration, computer equipment, medical products, and products that are specifically requested by partners.” 

Participating in a complex supply chain requiring components with absolute precision and accuracy for Medtronic not only affirms VinSmart’s production capacity and technology, but also marks a significant transition to a new level for Vingroup in the road to become a leading industrial company in the region.