Bangladesh is moving up the value chain and gone are those days when products like T-shirts, trousers, sweaters, rainwear jackets and the likes used to be the mainstay of the country’s exports.
Falling profit margins and increased competition in basic items are leading more and more garment makers to get into new product categories like lingerie, outerwear, sportswear and so on even as it has opened up the doors to technology adoption and innovative manufacturing practices to ensure further growth.
“Products like lingerie need precision and a considerable amount of finishing, which drives the need for comfort and finish technology thereby making bonding and welding operations to stand out compared to manual sewing techniques,” underlines Anshuman Dash, Marketing Director of H&H Asia Group Ltd., speaking to Apparel Resources (AR) on the sidelines of the GTB – Garment Technology Bangladesh 2023.
Hong Kong-based H&H is a sewfree and seam-sealing technology supplier that focuses on stitch-free technology.
Established in 1993, H&H has years of experience in thermoplastic technology on seam sealing and adhesive film applications including use of adhesive and waterproof technology for manufacturing of clothing, bags, shoes, material for medicals, tents and gloves etc., which include waterproof seam sealing, sew-free pocket adhesive, zipper bonding, front zip sealing, fabric joining, line bonding, overlay taping, etc.
A much bigger market compared to India from H&H’s perspective that caters to a specialised section, Anshuman is very upbeat on Bangladesh and more so in light of Bangladesh getting into newer product categories.
“After China, Vietnam and Indonesia, Bangladesh is emerging very strongly in jackets,” claims the Marketing Director of H&H, who believes the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about many changes in consumers’ choice in terms of fabrics, functionality, comfort, fit and other aspects that have opened up new growth avenues for the garment makers, more so in the realm of technical textiles.
Having a very strong presence already with the selling of more than 4000 machines, Anshuman believes there aren’t many that can compete with H&H in today’s landscape as it calls for immense strength of character, dedication not to mention the intention to innovate to deliver the best and live up to the customers’ expectations.
The company’s support to Bengaluru-based innovation centre is a rare testimony of H&H’s commitment in this direction, underlines Anshuman.
“We are the only company I would say which has an innovation centre and this is not a profit but cost centre for a machine maker, which we are running despite many challenges as we intend to bring value to our clients and deliver the best,” Anshuman claims but not before adding that selling of individual machines is easy but providing one-stop solution and a complete package is what matters.
Many machine makers/solution providers are concentrating on cost-competitiveness alone overlooking the other vital parameters, feels the H&H Marketing Director even as he adds that when the Covid-19 pandemic started spreading its deadly tentacles a couple of years back, many entities came to the market with the intention to lock horns with H&H only to vanish in the days to come.
“The market will speak for itself; we don’t want to be compared to any brand,” underlines a proud Anshuman claiming that when it comes to stitch-free technology, H&H holds a position of eminence that not many can achieve and it is the company’s ability to study and work on customer feedback and do extensive R&D thereafter, which helps H&H to deliver products surpassing customers’ expectations.
It is this very aim of bringing value to the table each and every time that propels people like Anshuman and his team to connect with like-minded professionals from across geographical locations to work on new innovations to excel and prosper.
Generating and maintaining trust is not an easy proposition after all, opines Anshuman to wind up on a positive note in a clear indication towards what makes H&H different, which is now all geared up to support the Bangladesh garment industry in its awe-inspiring growth journey.
