In early November 2025, the T-SENSE team set foot on the soil of Bac Ninh, Vietnam for the first time to participate in the three-day Vietnam Industrial and Manufacturing Fair (VIAM). Located about an hour's drive east of Hanoi, this city is a crucial electronics industry cluster in northern Vietnam and a hotspot for supply chain relocations following US-China trade shifts.
Before departure, we felt somewhat anxious about this unfamiliar market. Unexpectedly, upon arrival, we found Chinese spoken everywhere on the streets of Bac Ninh. From supermarkets and coffee shops to hotel front desks, Chinese signs and voices were heard everywhere, and a local "China Street" had even formed. For a Taiwanese team not fluent in Vietnamese, it was surprisingly language-friendly, giving us much reassurance on our first visit.
This exhibition was held at the Cultural Center of Bac Ninh Province, spanning a total exhibition area of 17,000 square meters with over 800 booths representing enterprises from more than 20 countries and regions. The organizers estimated attracting over 25,000 professional buyers, including manufacturers, engineers, academic experts, and industrial enterprise representatives.
On the exhibition floor, we observed a clear trend: Japanese and South Korean enterprises invested heavy resources in exhibiting, from brand image pavilions to technical demonstrations, showing a strong ambition to cultivate the Vietnamese market. Japanese and Korean brands have long established local footprints spanning infrastructure to consumer products, making their presence at industrial shows formidable. For Taiwanese manufacturers, this presents both pressure and inspiration—our product quality is second to none; what we lack is simply the opportunity to be seen.
For this exhibition, T-SENSE Technology joined forces with several high-quality Taiwanese partners, including YIDA, Yu-Ching, and Haolihui. Carrying the pride of Taiwan manufacturing—machine tool tool setters and precision linear bearings—we came to Vietnam to present the value of Taiwanese precision engineering to local buyers.
At our booth, the high cost-performance ratio and reliable quality of Taiwanese products received substantial attention. Vietnam is currently undergoing an Industry 4.0 transformation, with the local government actively promoting smart manufacturing and automated production, aiming for the industrial sector to account for over 40% of GDP by 2030. The demand for precision mechanical components continues to rise, and our products arrived at the right time and place.
An interesting observation from this show was that in Bac Ninh, many people are more accustomed to using WeChat than Vietnam's mainstream messaging app, Zalo.
While statistics show that Zalo has over 70 million active users nationwide as the "Vietnamese WeChat," the situation in Bac Ninh—an industrial city with a dense Chinese-speaking population—is slightly different. A large concentration of Chinese enterprises and workers resides here, with local sayings even mentioning "100,000 Chinese in Bac Ninh," making WeChat usage remarkably high.
For us, this turned out to be a delightful convenience. During the exhibition, we exchanged business cards and contact details with many local Vietnamese contacts via WeChat, communicating smoothly without barriers. These local connections are our most valuable assets as we advance into the Vietnamese market.
As the three-day exhibition came to a successful conclusion, T-SENSE Technology's journey in Vietnam is only just beginning. We extend our sincere gratitude to every professional buyer who stopped by our booth and to our Taiwanese partners for their mutual support. Carrying business cards exchanged and rich market insights, we look forward to the seeds planted in late autumn 2025 taking root, sprouting, and thriving in the vibrant land of Bac Ninh.
T-SENSE Technology, see you next time in Vietnam.
