How Nazrul Islam became best medium entrepreneur of 2022

When Nazrul Islam took over his family business right after his father's demise in 2004, he was not aiming to be a triumphant businessman or entrepreneur. He was just striving to keep his father's dream alive.

Nazrul's late father Tajijul Haque Master established Raja Metal Industries in Old Dhaka's Dholaikhal after the country's liberation in 1973 with only 15 employees, producing a variety of bathroom and kitchen fittings.

Nazrul had no plans to be a businessman like his father. After passing the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) examination, he went to London to graduate from the University of Greenwich. 

He was a BBA final-year student when his father passed away. He returned to his Dholaikhal home to bid a final farewell to his old man, who till his last breath was struggling to establish his small company.

Being the eldest among five siblings, Nazrul knew how much the company meant to his father. As a tribute to his memory, he decided to take the reins of the struggling business.

But it was a more cumbersome job than he had initially anticipated because the company was drowning in bank loans. As the company was privately owned, the bank decided to sell the company along with the land to recover the loans.

Nazrul could not let that happen and took a bold step despite the dire straits the company was in. He changed the ownership of Raja Metal in his own name and took the huge responsibility of repaying the loan himself. 

He revamped the factory and ramped up production, adding a level of aesthetics, modernity and safety to its products. His efforts bore fruit and the business started to revive despite many challenges. 

Within just two years, Nazrul paid off the bank loans. He has not had to look back since.

At present, about 200 people are working regularly in Raja Metal Industries. Amid increasing customer demand, six outlets of the company have been opened across the country. 

Raja Metal is now one of the top brands in the sanitaryware industry in Bangladesh with an annual turnover of Tk8-10 crore.

In addition to design aesthetics, Raja Metal Industries gives equal importance to health and safety issues.

All the products of the company are tested in its own lab and approved by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI). 

In recognition of his work in enriching the country's kitchenware industry, the SME Foundation recently named Nazrul Islam the Best Medium Entrepreneur of 2022.

Nazrul told The Business Standard, "There was a time when people had to collect water from rivers, ponds and tube wells for daily use. We have come a long way from that era. Now we get water at home by pressing the faucet and we continue to develop that faucet in many ways." 

"The faucet has now found its artistic form in our kitchen or bathroom with a touch of technology and aesthetics," he said, adding that Raja Metal is one of the companies that has brought such art to homes.

"Since childhood, I have seen how accessories such as faucets are made in the factory. In the 1980s, my father started making faucets, but there was no demand for those in the country at that time due to an underdeveloped housing industry," Nazrul said.

"My father was smart. He noticed that most of the locally-made sanitaryware and kitchenware got clogged or damaged due to high concentrations of iron in water and salinity in the water of coastal areas," he said. 

"So, my father gave importance to the current needs of the customers. To solve this problem, he imported modern machines from Germany and the USA. Under his guidance, the simultaneous efforts of man and machine were able to bring about a radical change in the quality of products," the entrepreneur said, adding that his father was successful in producing safe and durable faucets.

Nazrul Islam wants to develop his company from a medium industry to a heavy industry, with large-scale production of high-quality fittings. 

"In the next 10 years, more than 2000 people will be employed in my company. We can earn foreign currency for the country by exporting these products abroad," the award-winning entrepreneur added. ***