Amongst the top three denim producers in Bangladesh, Partex Denim has positioned itself as a premium denim fabric manufacturing company. Team Apparel Online recently met the very dynamic Showkat Aziz Russell, Managing Director of Amber Group, the parent company of Partex, having textile, particle boards and IT business under his aegis. Believing in the philosophy – ‘When there is catastrophe, there is a window of opportunity’, Russell lives life on his own terms, exploring new opportunities and experimenting with the best life has to offer, a part of it is expressed in doing up the interiors of his office, buying luxury cars and being an avid sports lover. He has been a national champion for snooker and represented Bangladesh several times as a student, and now he is a Director of the Bangladesh Cricket Control Board and Sheikh Jamal football team.
ussell decided to get into denim manufacturing at the time when Bangladesh was at a very embryonic stage of basic denim fabric manufacturing. His creative bent of mind along with genetically acquired business acumen and vision inspired him to foray into an unknown territory of denim fabric production. “I’m looking after nine different factories, but my passion is denim as it’s here where I can use my creative bent of mind,” says Russell who consults his father, M.A. Hashem, the Founder and Chairman of Partex Group very frequently on business issues. “My father is more efficient than all of us put together. He is still very much actively involved and is helping, directing and rescuing us when we are unable to find solutions,” he states emotionally.
Whilst narrating the journey of Partex Group since its inception, Russell says, “We are five brothers and in 2006 we split the business; so now each one of us has our own group with diverse interest. I am intrinsically a creative person and for me denim is a product where you can use creativity to the hilt so my denim is not basic, its premium. I have undertaken challenges like producing coated fabrics and getting into selvedge denim, which most other producers shy away from. Now I don’t look into the day-to-day affairs of the denim business, as I have a very strong and young team taking care of my denim business, headed by my director who is handling both the factories.”
Partex Denim which commenced its denim production in 2006 in Roopganj (on the outskirts of Dhaka) with the best and latest machinery available in the world, is now a vertically integrated setup, right from spinning, weaving and dyeing, both slasher and rope dyeing. With present monthly capacity of 3.8 million yards/month, the denim fabric range starts from 4.5 oz up to 14.5 oz using multi-count/multi-twist ring/open-end yarn. The company has picked the world’s best technology; weaving is done on Picanol (Belgium) machines and it has two Benninger Slasher Indigo dye range which are capable of doing colour bottoming/topping reactive colour denim/Sandwich/ plus very deep indigo shades along with rope dyeing facilities. “We increased our capacity in 2012 due to continuous demand from our clients by putting up another production unit, Partex Denim Mills in which we brought the most modern Rope dyeing and finishing machine from Morison (USA). In this unit our production capacity is 2 million yards/month which has taken our total production capacity to 3.8 million yards/month,” shares Russell who has taught his team… ‘Never say no to a buyer’.
Being amongst the top three players in denim fabric manufacturing, Partex has strategically placed itself as a fancy denim producer. “My entry into denim manufacturing was just because I thought so much could be
done in this fabric, which till then no one was doing in Bangladesh,” shares Russell. A quick decision maker is reflected in the fact that right from taking the decision to putting up a denim mill, to identifying the factories, understanding the business and opening LC for machinery, just took 10 days. “At that time the fabric price was good; it was a dollar/yard, but with many players coming in, one struggles now for even 10 cents, so it’s wiser to do something value added,” adds Russell.
With all its focus on R&D, the company’s development team is equipped to promptly invent new designs. This division also keeps all documents from dyeing recipe to fabric construction; as also master roll to maintain shades in same consistency. Manufacturing both rigid and stretch denim, the company is pioneer in introducing bi-stretch denim commercially in Bangladesh along with selvedge denim. “We make high-end denim blends in viscose and linen
which is unheard of in Bangladesh. We are also the pioneers to introduce the flat finish fabric commercially in Bangladesh and we are capable of doing a variation in flat quality as per the buyer’s requirement,” informs Russell.
[bleft] “When I hire people, at the manager and above level, I personally interview them. I ask very funny questions to judge how techno savvy they are. I see their academic background but my focus is on their communication skills. How well they can understand and execute the given job. Are they rigid on their own opinions; whether they will bend or not? Once I hire, I equip them with best of laptops, tabs and smart phones… I spoil my team with my care and in turn they help me to grow my business.” [/bleft]
Even after being so very well established in denim fabric manufacturing, Partex is still not moving up the value chain by getting into garmenting because Russell feels that it might conflict with the interest of his buyers. “I know it is much more attractive and profitable to make the ultimate garments and I am not ruling out my entry in garments, but I am holding back because I wish to serve my buyers and have no conflict of business,” justifies Russell who is contemplating to manufacture those products in denim which do not conflict with his buyers like making home furnishings products such as table cloth, cooking gown, etc.
With an annual turnover of Tk. 2000 crore in textile business, Partex is the first company from Bangladesh to get the privilege to participate at the PV Asia held recently in Shanghai. “Our denim fabrics have been nominated by brands and retailers like H&M, C&A, M&S, VF, Tom Tailor, S.oliver, H&M, Inditex Group, Uniqlo to mention a few. Now we are doing developments for brands like American Eagle and A&F,” informs Russell, and challenges that he can develop any fabric which a buyer wants, if he is willing to pay the worth of that fabric.
A Green and sustainable factory is the next agenda for Partex. “We are doing some experimental things; right now we cannot share but surely it will be quite interesting,” states Russell who along with his family is equally associated with many CSR activities like running many Madarsaas, Schools and Universities.
Wishing to reach at the level where the Indian companies like Arvind and Raymond are known today, for their product development capabilities, Russell is prepared to take on all challenges. “I don’t believe in number games, what matters to me is to give exclusivity to my buyers and creating the ability to develop any given value added product,” concludes Russell.
