Deshbandhu’s new investment generates 5000 new jobs

Staff Reporter :
Like the rest of the world, the economy of Bangladesh was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Thousands of workers of small and large industries had lost their jobs as production activities of many factories are even still closed.
Yet despite all odds caused by the pandemic and the war, Deshbamdhu Group has been able to reinvest which generates 5000 new jobs in its factories.
It has reinvested above Tk 8.5 billion in the outgoing year in its sugar, food and beverage, sweater, denim, polymer factories which helped to generate above 5,000 new jobs leading total employment to around 25,000.
Golam Mustafa, Chairman of
 Deshbandhu Group, said that his core aim to increase quality employment in the country.
Deshbandhu Sugar Mills, South East Sweater, GM Apparels, Deshbandhu Food and Beverage, Deshbandhu Packaging and Deshbandhu Textile Mills are the major sister concerns of the company.
The annual turnover of the group has increased from Tk 2400 crore to Tk 2800 crore with 14 per cent year-on-year growth, Brigadier General (Rtd) Md Zakir Hossain, Director (Admin) of the company, said.
In spite of the increase in investment and employment, the expected production and sales activities could not been achieved amid the Russia-Ukraine war as well as existing difficulties to open L/Cs due to volatility in the US Dollar market, he said.
A higher value of US dollar is a big shock for the factories as it has been hurting import process of raw materials, he said.
Besides, gas, fuel and electricity crises are affecting the production activities of the company, he added.
Deshbandhu Food and Beverage General Manager Maruf Hossain told The New Nation during a visit to its factory on Saturday that Deshbandhu Mineral Water has managed to create huge demand across the country.
Following this, the company reinvested around Tk 200 crore to import advanced technologies and capital machineries, he added.
Production is expected to increase by 65 per cent to 75,000 (bph) bottles per hour and employment will further increase by 1500 people, he said.
He also said apart from the domestic market, Deshbandhu food and beverage are being exported to Dubai, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Greece.
Sakhawat Hossain, General Manager of Deshbandhu Polymers said that after the establishment of Deshbandhu Sugar Mills, Deshbandhu Polymer factory was established in 2006 to meet its own demand for 35 to 36 lakhs of bags.
A small-scale mill with a production capacity of one crore bags per year was set up with Taiwanese machinery and now it increased to 6 crore bags yearly.
Apart from meeting local demands, he said Deshbandhu Polymer and Deshbandhu Packaging’s WPP bags, one and double ply cement bags, BOPP (swing and pasting) and FIBC bags are being exported to various countries of the world including to Canada and the United States.
Menawhile, the Southeast Sweater factory’s export increased to $30 million this calendar year from $6.0 to 10 million, said Shakikul Islam Titu, General Manager of the unit.