Stitching Together a Global Manufacturing Company

Vannoeun “Wave” Naing (left), Factory Manager & Piet Holten (right), Founder

Fibers of Pactics is a 4-part capsule series, produced by Population, in which employees and management at Pactics share their invaluable perspectives on the manufacturing industry in Cambodia. 

Throughout this series, we have heard some of the challenges facing the manufacturing industry in Cambodia and what the industry should focus on when looking to the future. We have also gotten insight into the experiences of working in the industry and at Pactics specifically. On the fourth and final part of Fibers of Pactics, Kelsey Tsuchiyama and Dorian van der Mullen go deeper into Pactics’ origins, role in the industry, and hopes for the future with Mr. Vannoeun Naing (also known as Wave), Pactics’ Factory Manager and first employee hired over a decade ago, and Mr. Piet Holten, Pactics’ Founder and Chairman. 

Wave was born in Kampong Cham province and his family moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, when he was young. After studying tourism in Phnom Penh for two years, Wave quit school to help support his family. He went to start a taxi business in Phnom Penh where he met Piet, and eventually moved to Siem Reap to help Piet set up Pactics Cambodia. 

Piet was trained as a mechanical engineer and started his career in the Netherlands before moving around and eventually settling in the U.S. It was there that he started Pactics in 2004 as a trading company that imported microfiber fabrics from China to a factory in Mexico that made eyewear pouches for an American company. A few years later, he opened a factory in China, but was disappointed by the working conditions he found there. This motivated Piet to look for alternative locations for the factory.

The Beginning of Pactics Cambodia 

Piet first arrived in Cambodia in the summer of 2010 for a trip that was both business and pleasure and explains that Wave was the first Cambodian he met! Wave picked Piet up from the airport and drove him around Cambodia for the next week. Wave drove Piet around the manufacturing zone in Phnom Penh, to determine if Cambodia could serve as the next location for his factory. However, Piet saw many similarities to the factories in China and initially discarded the idea of opening in Cambodia.  

Piet’s trip continued in Siem Reap to see the temples, but as Wave drove him around the province, he thought, “Why not start a factory here?” When Piet saw the conditions in Phnom Penh, he was concerned with how workers were transported to factories on the outskirts of Phnom Penh and the dormitories where many lived because they were moving to the capital from other provinces. If Pactics opened in Siem Reap, workers could live at home and stay near their family and friends. Piet then hired Wave and his friend, Chhunnat Kann, to create a report detailing what it would take to set up a company in Cambodia and specifically in Siem Reap. 

Even though this seemed like a good idea, Piet was met with great resistance when he returned to Cambodia later that year. The first obstacle was getting a license to open a factory; the government in Siem Reap didn’t want a factory in their “tourist town”. However, workshops were allowed in the province, so they registered as a “workshop”, which is still Pactics’ classification even as they grew from 15 to 600 people. After working through all the obstacles, they were ready to set up their 15 people pilot with Wave serving as the general manager. 

There were several reasons why Piet asked Wave to be involved and take on such a significant role in this project. He was impressed with the fact that Wave discontinued his studies to start his taxi company and support his family. On a practical level, Piet didn’t know if the pilot would succeed, and Wave didn’t have to quit a job to take this opportunity. Fortunately, the pilot was a success and 12 years later, Wave is still working with Piet at Pactics. 

To learn more about Pactics’ pilot, their continuous evolution and approach to business and operations from Piet and Wave, tune into the final part of Fibers of Pactics.