Butterfly Industries Ltd. in collaboration with South Korean electronics giant LG inaugurated its first-ever television manufacturing plant in the country on Thursday.
The inaugural ceremony was held on the factory premises at Bhaluka upazila in Mymensingh.
Trade Representative at the South Korean Embassy in Bangladesh Jong Won Kim, Butterfly Group chairman MA Mannan, LTV Asia vice-president Gerald Chun, LG Bangladesh managing director Edward Kim, Butterfly Industries director (sales and product) Mahbubul Haque Sufyani and head of factory operation Tanvir Alam attended the ceremony.
The 120,000 square feet manufacturing plant, having a capacity of producing 100 television units per hour, has already employed around 500 workers, said officials concerned.
The company has also a plan to set up a separate manufacturing unit for LG air conditioners and LG refrigerators by next year, which will create job opportunities for 2,500 more people, they said.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Mr Mannan said, "We are very happy to establish the completely knocked down (CKD) factory in the country to manufacture LG-branded LTV."
From now on, customers will be able to purchase state-of-the-art LTVs at affordable prices, he said.
The company will start manufacturing LTVs shortly targeting the upcoming FIFA World Cup-2018, he added.
With technological support from LG, Butterfly Industries will produce around ten TV models, including UHDTV.
Replying to a question, Butterfly's head of factory operations said US$30 million has been invested to establish the plant.
He also said that his company has a plan to invest $70 million more in near future to set up the air conditioner and refrigerator manufacturing plants.
Mentioning the long-standing relationship between LG and Butterfly, Mr Chun said Bangladesh is an important focal point for LG in Asia because of the country's fast economic growth.
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