Local manufacture helps B\\\'desh break reliance on glass imports

Shah Alam Nur | Published: June 17, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The country's glass manufacturing industry is thriving on the back of domestic demand, helping the nation to reduce reliance on imports of glassware, top industry captains said.
Local manufactures are capable of meeting more than 90 per cent of the domestic demand, the market of which stands roughly at Tk 10 billion, they said.
They said only a few varieties of tinted and luxury glass are now being imported from China, Thailand and Indonesia.
"From the import dependency, we're now self-reliant in glass production," Nasir Uddin Biswas, Chairman and Managing Director of Nasir Group of Industries, a leading float glass manufacturer in the country, told the FE.
He said, "Use of glass is increasing significantly. After fulfilling the growing domestic market demand, the country's glass manufacturers are also exporting their products to several countries, including India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka."
Mr Biswas said gradual industrialisation, specially the booming garment sector, is helping the glass industry to grow.
He noted that the country was fully dependent on imported glass in the past, but today the dependence on import is gradually depleting, thanks to the rising manufacture by local companies.
Silica and gas, the basic raw materials of float glass, are available in Bangladesh. Secondary raw materials are dolomite, feldspar and limestone which are imported from neighboring countries, including Bhutan and Nepal.
Float glass is the latest technology, which is being manufactured in the country. It is non-combustible and easy to clean. This type of glass prevents harmful ultraviolet-ray penetration and reduces the solar heat entering the building. It is cheaper than wooden panel.
Shamsul Alam, Executive director of PHP Float Glass Industries Ltd, said: "The local manufacturers are producing high-quality mercury glass, a clear glass coated with a solution of silver nitrate and grape sugar, to produce a mirror-like finish, which was earlier imported."
He said almost all the high-rise buildings are using float glass. As a result, now local industry is manufacturing the product, which was once fully import-dependent.
His company produces around 2,000 tonnes of float glass every day. It is now going for expansion for capacity building as the demand is on the rise.
The price of local glass is 30-35 per cent less than that of imported items. As result, the country's glass-manufacturing companies are saving nearly Tk 7 billion that used to go for financing imports annually.
Local groups such as Nasir Glass Industry, PHP Float Glass Industries Limited, Usmania Glass Sheet Factory Ltd and MAB Glass Industries, have set up their factories mainly on Japanese technology with Chinese machinery.
The country's manufacturers have been producing all kinds of glass such as float, shades (commonly known as mirror), tempered and reflective ones to meet growing demand both at home and abroad.