Eastman Technocrafts Partners, one of the leading technology agents in Bangladesh, has opened its new office to the famous business tower called City Centre in Motijheel for better proximity and more space. The entire Sales, HR and Accounts divisions have been shifted to this new venue, while the rest of the operations will be maintained from the other offices. “Our business expansion necessitated more space,” simply states Manik Chowdhury, Managing Director, Eastman Technocrafts.
he recent mishaps in Bangladesh has impacted the industry but the big and established players are not affected as they adhere to safety norms; it is the smaller players who are now gearing up to adopt more and more safety measures in their old factories while at the same time adding new factories with all compliance regulations. There are also many small factories which are using shared buildings for their operations which are now being asked to shift to other places and put their compliance and safety norms in place. The ones who are not going to follow the norms would see their orders shifting to compliant factories within the country. Manik sees this as time to support the industry with newer technologies and better services. “There is a clear acceptance that to grow further it is very critical to move up the value chain and for this there are two very clear requirements – better machines and more skilled workers. However, as the skill levels still have a long way to go in Bangladesh and will take some time to develop, the immediate focus is to invest in best of technologies,” he suggests.
Conclusively, the business for Eastman Technocrafts is also on a high. Working with some world leaders in technology, Manik claims that 50% of the industry is his customer and his machines have been supplied to the best names in the industry. “Exporters working with all high class brands like Zara, H&M, Uniqlo, Mango, Tesco, London Fog, J&J and GAP are placing orders with us. Recently, we sold about 700 machines to Smart Jeans.”
According to Manik, after-sales-service has been the backbone of his company’s growth. With seamless integration of operations through ERP, Manik is able to keep a sharp eye on the sales and services to ensure complete customer satisfaction.
“We have 28 technicians in Dhaka and 7 in Chittagong, who have been trained by our principals, ready to support any technical requirement that our customers may have. For me more than selling, it is the confidence and trust that my customers have and which is more important,” avers Manik.
Very conscious of the faith that his customers have in him, Manik is very careful in selecting the right technology. Eastman has a major share in knit division selling high quality “Yamato” Industrial Sewing machines which are specially designed for undergarments. In the value-added segment available is Laser Technology from Jeanologia Spain and 3D whisker from Mactec Italy. The other very useful technology is energy/fuel saving industrial high pressure boiler such as Biomas wood tech boiler from Garioni Naval, Italy with capacity of 50 kg to 200 tonnes, and applications in garment and textile industry, among other industries.
“The best of machines are available with me and our technologies help to keep the factory clean and green since our machines are noiseless and are also vibration-free,” says Manik.
Providing sewing machines and automates from Brother, Yamato, Sipami and Kansai Special, Eastman Technocrafts also deals in cutting room solutions from Morgan Tecnica, Eastman Machine Company and Svegea. Washing and dyeing machines from Brongo, Mactec dry processing machines, chemical for dyeing and finishing from Soko Chemica, boilers from Garioni Naval and washing machines from Tong Xing, are also a part of the company’s product offerings.
Going forward Eastman Technocrafts is looking for technology in home textiles, as Manik believes that this segment will see good growth over the next decade. “We believe in and supply technology from cutting to washing, dyeing and finishing where we are giving 100% consultancy to make state-of-the-art factories to take Bangladesh to the next level of growth,” concludes Manik.
