After quick success, Chinese medicalwear co invests $10m for new factory
To expand business, Chinese firm invests $10m in Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar
Chinese company Jiehong Medical Products (BD) Co Ltd started operation in Chattogram Export Processing Zone in September 2019 – just a few months before the first Covid-19 outbreak was reported.
The company expanded its operation to keep up with the increased demand for medical products amid the raging pandemic and now it is setting up a new factory in the Bepza Economic Zone of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar in Mirsarai, Chattogram with an investment of $10 million.
The company's monthly production capacity will increase to around 8 lakh pieces – double than its current capacity – when the new factory starts operation by the end of 2023, said senior officials of Jiehong Medical Products.
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The new factory on a 21,000 sq-ft area is expected to create 2,000 employment opportunities.
Jiehong Medical Products manufactures isolation gowns, patient gowns, scrub suits, lab jackets, shoe cover, coverall etc.
The company uses non-woven fabric and elastic as raw materials for manufacturing its products. It plans to make non-woven fabric at its new factory in Bepza Economic Zone by importing plastic particles.
According to the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (Bepza), from September to December 2019, the company exported products worth $187,245.
At that time, they exported products only to the Netherlands and France. When the global demand for medical products increased amid the pandemic, they started exporting goods to the USA, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Spain, and Canada.
The company's export earnings reached $1.06 billion in 2020 and it jumped to $2.3 billion in 2021. In the first six months of 2022, its export earnings were $1.3 billion.
Tanveer Mohammad Sajjad, manager of Jiehong Medical Products, told The Business Standard, "We have been increasing exports continuously. Initially, we made 1-2 lakh pieces of products per month with only 100 employees. Currently, about 350 workers are employed in our factory which produces around four lakh pieces of products per month.
Trish Wang, general manager of Jiehong Medical Products, told TBS, "During the pandemic, we were looking for a ready-made building within the Chattogram EPZ to expand our production capacity, but could not find any. By the end of 2020, we registered with the Bepza to set up a factory in the economic zone.
"We decided to set up our factory in Bangladesh considering its favorable environment for production, low wages, and political stability. Besides, we decided to set up the factory in Chattogram to take advantage of the nearby port," said Wang.
