One of the largest knit manufacturers of Bangladesh, the DBL Group, along with another decades-old apparel maker Urmi Group have been honoured with the HSBC Export Excellence Awards as the top readymade garment exporters of the country.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed handed over the recognition crests at the 8th edition of HSBC Awards at a gala ceremony held at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden Hotel on September 22, 2018. Four other exporters were also awarded.
A leading knitwear garments and fabrics manufacturers and exporters in Bangladesh since 1991, DBL Group caters to buyers mainly in the European Union and the US. It is currently composed of 25 concerns with a workforce of 30,000 and an annual export turnover of more than US $ 100 million.
It claims to be the Platinum Supplier of H&M for Knit Garments. H&M, Walmart-George, Puma, Esprit and G-Star are among their major buyers. The group boasts of a capacity of 13 million pieces of apparel items a month with specialisation in women and kidswear.
On the other hand, the Urmi Group started its journey in the 1950s and is accredited by leading international clothing brands. It exports to 49 countries across six continents for 13 retailers. It now has more than 90 production lines and over 8,000 people working relentlessly.
The group boasts a capacity of producing 150,000 pieces of apparel items per day. Claiming to have a good market share in Germany, the group caters to buyers like Muji, Puma, M&S, S. Oliver, H&M, Lidl, Tchibo, Ernesting’s family, ellos, Laredoute, Vertbaudet, Auchan, Decathlon, Fullbeauty, Toray International, Kmart, Kaufland, Primark, Next and others.
The other winners are: Etafil Accessories, Western Marine Shipyard, Mazen (Bangladesh) Industries Ltd, and Walton Hi-tech Industries Ltd.
Etafil Accessories became the exporter of the year in the supply chain and backward linkage category for an annual export turnover of US $ 10 million and more. Established in 1998, Etafil Accessories is a concern of Tamishna Group, a manufacturer and exporter of sewing thread, garment accessories and yarn dyeing.