The American & Efird (Bangladesh) Ltd, one of the world's leading industrial sewing thread manufacturers, is making fresh investment in Bangladesh, aiming to double their production capacity despite the current slowdown in global demand.
The sustained export growth of the country's readymade garment (RMG), especially in the USA market, blended with quality and sophistication have lured the American & Efird (A&E), based in the USA, to set up its new facility with state-of-the-art technology at the Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) in Chattogram.
The A&E has been producing industrial sewing thread in Bangladesh since 2004 when it established its first factory in Gazipur.
Chris Alt, President of the A&E, a subsidiary of Elevate Textiles and also the second-largest industrial thread supplier, shared his company's expansion plan in an interview with The Financial Express during his visit to 'Bangladesh Denim Show' last week.
The Denim Show was held as part of the 'Made in Bangladesh Week 2022' that ended on Friday.
Terming Bangladesh an important market, Mr Chris said Bangladesh has sustained its position as the second-largest apparel exporter to the world.
"We believe that they would continue to grow even though the market is down right now," he added, reiterating Bangladesh's potentials.
RMG exports fetched about $43 billion, out of a total of US$ 52.8 billion export earnings, he noted.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has set a target of US$100 billion export earnings by 2030.
Referring to his talks with global brands, particularly US brands and retailers, Mr Chris said, "It continues to be a destination for garments and the quality and sophistication continues to rise."
Bangladesh's RMG exports to the US market during January to September period of 2022 stood at US$7.55 billion, registering nearly a 51 per cent growth year-on-year.
The country exported apparel worth US$5.0 billion during the corresponding period of last year, according to the US official data.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh earned $7.14 billion from RMG exports to the US in 2021, retaining the market's position as its single-largest export destination without any duty preference.
"We are going to double our capacity," the A&E President said, adding that their growth over the years in Bangladesh shows the company's strength to go for expansion despite sluggish demand worldwide.
At present, A&E's Gazipur thread producing facility has a dyeing capacity of 22 tonnes of thread and a production capacity of 145,000 cones of thread a day.
The A&E will continue to value their stringent environment, health and safety standards for their new establishment at Chattogram, Mr Chris said.
The A&E will start its new production facility in May 2023, he said.
The Gazipur facility has created 600 employment opportunities while the new one at Chattogram is expected to generate 400 more jobs.
