30pc growth in sale ofWalton refrigerators

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Arafat Ara Sale of Walton refrigerators grew by 30 per cent over the 11 months of this year due to the rising demand and maintenance of quality of the product in the country, officials said. "Consumers prefer purchasing our refrigerators as we maintain the quality," said Uday Hakim, senior deputy director (creative and publications) of Walton High-tech Industries Ltd. The only local electrical equipment manufacturer has started its expansion activities to nearly double the refrigerator production by the next year. The production of refrigerators will be increased to 1,400,000 pieces in 2012 from 800,000 pieces at present, he said. To meet the growing demand of the local refrigerators domestically and internationally, the company has decided to set up a new refrigerator manufacturing factory very soon, he mentioned. "We are also planning to export the product from the next year after meeting the country's demand," he said adding "we will be able to export 400,000 to 500,000 refrigerators each year." The company sold a significant number of refrigerators during Eid-ul-Azha when people rushed to shops to buy cooling machines, he said. Mr Hakim said the lone local refrigerator company produced around 45,000 refrigerators ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. Moreover, the company had an additional stock to meet the demand of the peak season. "We are happy that all the products have been sold by this time," he said. He expressed hope that the number of sale of refrigerators will be increased to 200,000 pieces during Eid-ul-Azha next year. Walton deputy director (marketing) Matiur Rahman claimed that presently the company dominates the local market of refrigerators by meeting 60 per cent demand. He also hoped that the country would not require importing refrigerators when the new factory goes into the production.