‘Composite’ is among the key words in the Bangladesh garment industry, as apparel manufacturers are moving towards spinning, while spinning companies are adding garmenting capacities. The recently concluded Garmentech Bangladesh 2016 was also a ‘composite’ event as yarns, fabrics, accessories, as well as latest technology software and machine manufacturing companies from across the world were exhibiting their latest developments. Same was with the visitors – from owners to operators, top exporters to country heads of buying offices, and even HR and CRS professionals of the apparel industry – all were seen at the fair.
Most of the visitors, be it owners or senior/junior level staff of various departments, were of the opinion that business is good and they are expanding by either adding capacities or entering into manufacturing of new products. Md. Monabber Ahmed and Mainuddin Ahmed, Directors of Anowara Group were seen exploring yarns and fabrics at the booth of Indian textile companies, while Md. Arifur Rahman, Manager, R&D of the same company was busy looking at new developments in stitching machines. Engr. Shafiqur Rahman, MD, Hams Garments found some interesting machines for its bottomwear factory, Imamul Haque Osmani, ED, SB Sweaters Ltd., associated with the Famous Composite Knitwears Ltd., was looking for jacket manufacturing machines as he has plans to start manufacturing jackets.
Anjan Bhattacharya, CFO of Epic Group, was looking for genuine spare parts as he was of the opinion that getting the right spare parts for the right machines is important. He was also exploring new innovations in manufacturing that included automation in sewing, button attachment or any process in finishing. From the buying offices, Mahmudur Rahman Mamun, Country Manager, Toray International, Bangladesh Liaison Office didn’t find anything very new at the event. Elvan Tuncer, Overseas Merchandiser of LC Waikiki, who was visiting a Bangladesh fair for the very first time was looking for new accessories. “I was expecting to see accessories from different countries and I am happy to find them here. I hope it is even better next time,” said Tuncer. Md. Mohiuddin Bhuiyan Tipu, Sr. Merchandiser and Md. Saifur Rahman, Merchandiser, StarTex Clothing company (buying house) were looking for fabrics, but didn’t come across anything new.
The priority for technical professionals who visited the show was anything that could help in increasing productivity and reducing cost. Md. Shah Alam, Fellow, Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh, and Director (Operation), Cotton Group; Muktadir Khan, Head of Technical & Product Development, Square Fashion Ltd. and Jahangir Parvez Masud, AGM (Operations), Comfit Composite Knit, were all looking for energy-saving equipment. “Our current efficiency is 55 per cent and we’re trying to raise it to 60 per cent, so I am looking for advance technology as well as anything which can help in power saving,” said Masud.
Comfit Composite Knit is also going to start lingerie manufacturing. Chaminda Jayaweera, Manager, CSR & Sustainability at Hop Yick (Bangladesh) (Hop Lun) shared that some energy-saving equipment like LED and environment-friendly washing machines were quite interesting at the fair.
Accessory manufacturers impress…
RSS Thread & Accessories Ltd., a year old company that offers variety in woven labels, tags, elastic, ribbon, cord, leather patches, etc. has strength of a good setup of looms and yarn dyeing (continuous dyeing). The company, nominated by one of the brands of the Inditex Group, is associated with 48 factories in Bangladesh, 12 factories in Pakistan and 2 factories each in Turkey as well as in India.
Sheikh Mohammad Khobir Uddin, MD, RSS Thread & Accessories Ltd. shared that the focus is on accessory business as well as foraying into own apparel manufacturing, to start with lingerie and then to move forward with other products like ladies garments. “Since, Bangladesh is an emerging country, and after being successful in accessories and trims, we wanted to grow more in near future,” he reasoned. Having two production units for accessories, the company hopes to increase more than 35 per cent this year. It is also planning to explore new markets like Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam, with joint ventures or going all alone.
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Established in 1999, Siam Computerized Elastic Industries (Mumtex) is known as a quality manufacturer of narrow fabrics with export to China, India, Turkey and Vietnam. “Each personnel working with me has been trained well. We’ve never looked for experienced workforce; instead we focus on in-house training and keep upgrading our machineries. Whatever kind of elastic, tape, ribbons or cord is required by anyone, we are able to supply with quality,” said MU Majumder, MD, Mumtex. He adds, “We will add more types of machines for narrow fabric and in future I wish to start another factory for technical textiles.”
Tirupur-based Nilesh Impex India, manufacturing seal tag and various kinds of laces like GPO, lycra, crochet, etc. is also trying to get orders from Bangladesh for which the company participated in its first ever exhibition in the country. Upbeat about the market Vijay and Vikas of the company said, “As we can see the industry is booming in Bangladesh and we too have lots of hope. The garment industry here is similar to that of India and we don’t see any major difference in demand or pricing.” The company met some good visitors at the fair.
The fair also witnessed good involvement and support of Government representatives during inauguration and closing ceremonies. Similarly, networking sessions and seminars on various topics were also organized on the side lines of the event. ‘Life Time Achievement Award’ was presented to Md. Zakaria Bhuiyan – CEO, Zakaria Trade & Fair International and Chairman of Zakaria Enterprises on behalf of all current and past exhibitors of Garmentech Bangladesh for his pioneering contribution to the RMG sector through introduction of industrial sewing machines to the country.
Working with four world renowned buyers and catering to good buyers in Bangladesh, Index Accessories Ltd. is growing. This company recently started manufacturing elastic tapes and leather patches while it was already producing various types of labels, tags, stickers and twill tapes. The company recently increased its production by 35 per cent, and this year it is expecting to grow 50 per cent. Kabir, Sales Manager of the company informed, “We have seen good demand of labels, especially printed labels, and these are our strength. Our strict quality parameters help us to believe better products compared to others. Focusing on green, we are trying to procure papers that are FSC certified, also procuring thread from companies that are OEKO-TEX certified.” Satisfied with the fair, Kabir received good-quality visitors in the fair.
Expanding its capacities every year, Dekko Accessories Ltd. (Dekko Group) is happy with the market and geared up with further orders. Offering a complete package (woven and printed labels, different types of buttons, poly bags, plastic items, printed hang tags, etc.) to its customers the company has equal hold on all kinds of accessories. The company claims to take less lead time compared to others, like in plastics buttons it takes only 20 days to deliver an order. Md. Monwar Hossain, DGM (Sales & Marketing) and KM Shahidullah, Sr. Manager (Administration & HR) disclosed that the company is expanding in woven labels; rotogravure printed poly bags and will soon start in-house yarn dyeing facilities.
Montrims Ltd., part of Mondol Group and well-known accessory company of Bangladesh is continuously expanding. The company is coming up with a new factory which is expected to be completed within one year. Having all kinds of accessories with plenty of designs in its product basket, the company is expecting almost double turnover in next two years. MG Khaleque, GM (Sales & Marketing) of the company informed, “The new factory will be a big support to the industry, as more and more global fashion retailers are demanding accessories from us which we can cover well with the new factory. Currently Montrims Ltd. has a turnover of US $ 60 million and our target is to reach US $ 100 million within two years. This is the benchmark we have set for ourselves and we are hopeful to achieve it.” Last year the company grew by 13 per cent.
FSL Software Technologies, from Noida, India, is also trying to enter into the Bangladesh market and was satisfied with its first ever participation in any Bangladeshi event as well as face-to-face interaction with local industry. As of now, the company covers wide gamut of apparel industry as it offers ‘Compliance Mantra’ to manage compliances, while ‘Buyers Ease’ manages all the challenges faced by buying houses or liaison officer. ‘Sales Mantra’ helps to sell more and serve better.
Sharad Jain, MD, FSL Software Technologies informed, “Some vendors and buyers in Bangladesh are using our systems, but as of now we have not done any direct installations. All of our solutions are quite easy to operate and we are pro-active on training and overall support.” All the solutions are developed by company itself and are updated time to time. The company already has operations in the UAE and is planning to enter European markets, Australia and Sri Lanka.
Indian textile giants growing well…
Winsome Yarns Ltd., Chandigarh, Garg Acrylics Ltd., Ludhiana and Mumbai-based Damodar Industries Limited were strongly present at the fair with focus on value-added yarns. All the three companies were of the opinion that demand of value-added yarns is continuously growing in Bangladesh and there are ample business opportunities for them here. Damodar Industries Limited is planning to set up its spinning mill in Bangladesh. It is being claimed to be the first-ever Indian spinning mill in Bangladesh. The mill is slated to be set up in Sylhet, which will initially start functioning with 50,000 spindles and expected to be operational by the end of this year. SC Tandon, CEO, Knits Division told, “Our company targets to export 2,000 tonnes of yarn to Bangladesh each year for the next three years from its current annual export of 500 tonnes.”
Winsome Yarns Ltd. Chandigarh, which has been in this market for more than two decades now, claims to have introduced mélange yarn in Bangladesh. Rachin Lamba AGM (Export) of the company also sounded similar opinion adding, “Bangladesh is the only replacement of China; so huge demand is here.” Similarly Rakesh Dhir, VP (Marketing), Garg Acrylics concluded, “We have seen growth of 50 per cent in the past two years, and expect a growth of 50 to 60 per cent in the coming years.”
(In the following pages, Team Apparel Online reviews the technology frontrunners, their product mix and their strategies for the market).
