Tex Zippers (BD) Limited, a sister concern of Tex Corp Limited, India has over the past 18 months since it started commercial production of metal zippers gone from strength to strength with the production capacity increasing six-fold during this time. The company which started sales operations in Bangladesh in 2007, importing the zippers from its Indian manufacturing facilities, is today an established player in the buyer nominated market which is growing at almost 20 per cent YOY in Bangladesh, as business in the country increases. Tex Corp is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company and Tex Zippers and slide fasteners surpass British quality standards by as much as 2:1 in some tests. Being the largest manufacturer and exporter of Zippers/slide fasteners from India, Tex is also the only Indian Zipper manufacturer having production facilities in Turkey, besides Bangladesh.
Kapil Kumra, Country Manager, Tex Zippers (BD) talks to Team Apparel Online Bangladesh on the vibrant industry and CSR efforts to engage workers for consistent growth…
Established in the Adamjee Export Processing Zone, Tex is manufacturing zippers specifically for bottoms, which is one of the major export categories from the country. Since the company is manufacturing for such a fast moving category, the capacities at the factory are being constantly increased to meet the demand, almost on a quarterly bases. “We are looking at a focused business model and having spent the initial years studying the market, we are targeting the fast growing bottom wear market, utilizing metal closed end zippers” says Kapil. “Also, we are targeting only nominated business, and are not at all selling to the local market”. He goes on to explain that the nomination business is growing very fast in Bangladesh as most of the big buyers only want to work with nominated trim suppliers.
[bleft]The way the company is growing, it has every tell-tale signs to be a bigger operation than the parent company in the very near future. Bangladesh is a very important market with immense growth potential and we want to be partners in their growth. [/bleft]
In fact, there are two market segments for zippers in Bangladesh, one is the open market which is being fed by the local manufacturers of zippers and the other is nominated business which multinational companies having manufacturing in Bangladesh like YKK, Triple-H and Tex among others are feeding. Also, only about 65 per cent of the zipper requirement for the nominated business is being fulfilled by local sourcing; the other 35 per cent even today has to be imported. “In our product category (bottoms), we are steadily gaining market share from most of our competitors and our investments in training, automation and quality are starting to pay off,” avers Kapil.
The Tex Zippers (BD) office, which initially had seven expats, is now employing mostly Bangladeshi nationals in senior- and mid-level management and is focused on developing local people to take bigger responsibilities. “In the last 6 months, we have repatriated 3 expats and currently only 4 expats are in Bangladesh. It is important to have continuity in business. Typical assignment duration of an expat in Tex is 2-3 years. We are now replacing our outgoing expats with local managers who have gone through an extensive training and mentoring program. We believe this local connect is very important in engaging our workers and understanding their culture. This ensures better retention and a more productive work force,” reasons Kapil. The company has engaged in major CSR/Employee engagement initiatives to ensure that there is no incidence of worker unrest, which have become a common occurrence in Bangladesh today.
Though Tex Zippers (BD) is a 100 per cent foreign investment in Bangladesh, it has earned a reputation of being a good employer with more than 160 people happily employed in the enterprise. In fact, right from its inception, the strategy was to be a preferred employer and conduct business in a fair and ethical environment. “People in Bangladesh are simple and hardworking, but very emotional; they need to be managed very tactfully,” opines Kapil. Some of the employee welfare initiatives include health cards for employees, PPF contribution, flexible times on special days, facilities for housing/education and medical loans, and monthly meetings to discuss problems. Tex recently did an internal Q12 and an employee engagement and empowerment survey to assess opportunities for further increasing work force moral and management effectiveness. “We do not invest in pampering our workers, but on building relationships that add value to the business and to the worker’s living and working conditions. This is a small investment to make for having a happy, healthy and safe workplace environment,” argues Kapil.
Having established a firm footing in the country, the company is now looking to expand its offerings. “We want to capitalize on our market reach, and besides zippers we are exploring opportunities to supply buttons to the Bangladeshi market,” says Kapil. The way the company is growing, it has every tell-tale signs to be a bigger operation than the parent company in the very near future. “Bangladesh is a very important market with immense growth potential and we want to be partners in their growth,” concludes Kapil passionately.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
