Beximco launches USD 100m PPE plant in Savar

Dhaka: Beximco on February 10 launched its UDS 100-million PPE Park in Savar where the leading company will produce personal protective equipment (PPE).
"The new facility shall help manufacturers, buyers, retailers, brands and the government with required services since all the services will be available under one roof encompassing European, American and other global regulatory standards," Beximco CEO Syed Naved Hussain said at the inauguration ceremony.
"This should help us realise our vision of seeing Bangladesh as the largest manufacturer and exporter of PPE products."
The Park will serve both domestic and international markets and is aimed at increasing the diversity of the supply of PPE, ensuring that it is not totally dependent on any one country, he said while hosting the event.
"Beximco has steadily contributed to Bangladesh's meteoric rise as a manufacturing hub in South Asia. I am delighted with the new development since it would place Bangladesh on the world's PPE manufacturing map."
The PPE park converts granules to melt-blown as well as laminated fabrics in different weights, the company said in a statement.
The fabric is later used to manufacture isolation and surgical gowns disposable sterile and non-sterile, reusable isolation gowns, N95 cup type and foldable type masks, surgical masks, disposable scrubs, woven and knitted shoe covers and head covers, reusable scrubs with water repellent treatment.
The 25-acre park is an advanced fully vertical PPE manufacturing facility. The construction and certification of the site took six months from groundbreaking to certification and full production.
Beximco Group, through its new Beximco Health division, has agreements to supply PPE, including masks and protective gowns, to major US healthcare service providers.
Intertek and Beximco have developed the PPE Centre of Excellence at Beximco Health in the PPE Industrial Park in Dhaka.
The Centre of Excellence PPE lab has a covered area of 12,000 square feet with major sections of physical testing (respiratory analysis), chemical testing and micro-biological testing, ensuring that it meets the regulatory and quality assurance requirements of PPE manufacturers across Bangladesh.
This is Intertek's, a 130-year-old leader in testing, most advanced PPE lab capable of testing all levels to comply with the US, EU and UK standards, according to the statement.
"This is not the first time Beximco has risen to the challenge of a disrupted supply chain," US Ambassador Earl R Miller said while inaugurating the park.
This shows that Bangladeshi enterprises have the capability to move beyond readymade garments in producing exportable goods, he added.
It also demonstrates the ability of the Bangladesh labour force to produce goods meeting the exacting standards of the healthcare industry, the envoy said.
The opening ceremony was also attended by Major General Md Mahbubur Rahman, director general of the Directorate General of Drug Administration; Sirazul Islam, executive chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, and Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, chairman of the National Board of Revenue.