Turning waste plastic bottles into fine jackets
At present the company has to import 5,000 tonnes of polyester staple fibers annually from South Korea, which costs both time and foreign currency.
Debonair Group is going to start large-scale production of Polyester Staple Fibers (PSF), the raw material for making synthetic fabrics and jackets from used plastic bottles. Funding for this project is coming from the group's own resources.
Debonair Synthetic Fiber Ltd (DSFL), a sister-concern of fully export-oriented jacket producing company Debonair Group, has been set up to produce 1,200 tonnes of fiber per month from waste plastic bottles to reduce its dependence on imported PSF.
At present the company has to import 5,000 tonnes of polyester staple fibers annually from South Korea, which costs both time and foreign currency.
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The Debonair Group intends to diversify its product line by producing padding, home textiles, pillows, home wear and outer wear textiles. DSFL will be their main backward linkage industry to reduce production cost and lead-time for this venture.
The deputy managing director of the group, Azam Khan, told The Business Standard on Saturday that they will produce both recycled and virgin grade polyester staple fiber.
The factory is under construction at Bhaluka in Mymensingh on a 100-bigha plot of land. Production is expected to start in November, 2020.
The project is being implemented with DSFL's own financing worth about Tk150 crore.
Debonair Group has also signed an agreement with Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) and IDLC Finance Limited (IDLC) to provide low-cost and long-term financial help to promote the largest environment-friendly plastic waste recycling project in the country, if required.
The factory will churn out 40 tonnes of plastic staple fiber in a single day from plastic waste. This waste will be collected from plastic bottle collection booths set up by DSFL in different parts of the country.
Azam said, "We will not face any shortage of raw material because tonnes of plastic bottles are thrown away every day."
The Debonair project will help solve the challenges of plastic disposal management, he hopes.
Another such factory, Raw Tech (a Bangladesh-Hong Kong joint venture) is also under construction, and is expected to be ready for production in December. It will produce 600 tonnes of PSF per month for export only.
Potentiality of PSF export
Generally, cotton is the main raw material for producing fiber, but nowadays manmade fiber has become popular as a substitute for cotton.
Some countries, especially China and Korea, are doing good business by exporting PSF.
So there is an opportunity for Bangladesh to grab a section of the global market for polyester staple fibre, said Azam Khan.
About Debonair's thriving business
Debonair Group entered the apparel sector in 2010. It now has six operating entities, four of which are export-orientated.
The group manufactures high-tech specialised non-woven jackets. These are mainly padded, non-padded, quilted, bonded or woolen ski jackets.
Debonair does business with more than 20 leading European and North American brands such as H&M, Columbia, Benetton, C&A, Best seller, VARNER, Jack & Jones, K-mart, TEMA, Camel Active, KappAhl and Sourcing Style.
The group's revenues grew to $100 million in 2017, and it hopes it will reach $200 million by the end of this year, said Azam.
Mohammad Nurun Nabi FCA is the chairman of the group while Mohammed Ayub Khan FCA is its managing director.
