Factory safety expo piques garment makers' interests

Tofail Ahmed, commerce minister, looks on as a stall attendant demonstrates the functions of a TYY-branded fire alarm system at the International Trade Expo for Building and Fire Safety at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka yesterday. The system, locally marketed by ZM International, is equipped to detect the source of smoke, fire or heat and issue timely warnings. Atiqul Islam, president of BGMEA, was also present. Photo: Star

Full of passion and hand gestures, Mastaeem Billah Chowdhury was articulating the merits of the fire extinguishing system that his company is displaying at the International Trade Expo for Building and Fire Safety at Sonargaon Hotel.
“This is the most efficient and reliable solution out there,” said the UK-educated electrical engineer to the handful of visitors at his stall.
Chowdhury, who is the managing director of Re-Green Bangla Industries, assured the visitors, most of whom were garment factory owners, that the system would ensure continuity of operation after fire incidents.
The reason for the animated sales pitch was the good response from visitors at the two-day expo, jointly organised by the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
“Some people are keen to buy fire and safety products and some are not at all interested, saying that they don't want to invest money for that,” said Chowdhury, whose stall was also displaying a light that can keep its service on for an hour even after the building is burnt down.
For Symantec Technology, the exposition is turning out to be gainful. On the first day of the fair, the company bagged 12 clients from the garment and textile sector, six from the real estate sector and another 13 from other industries such as hospitals.
“Already, the demand for fire safety equipment has gone up in recent times,” said Monzur Alam, director of operations of Symantec that sells equipment and provides consultancy on fire safety solutions.

Mizanur Rahman, marketing and sales executive of Micro Electrical and Mechanical Solution, said: "Recently, some businesses are contacting us for more sophisticated and secured products, such as vertical multistage and portable pumps.”
He said the company has provided fire fighting solutions to only 18 clients from different types of industries.
Genesis Technologies, which is an authorised distributor of the German company Bosch, has over 50 types of fire and safety solution products, for local buyers.
“We expect a rise in our sales driven by growing awareness of factory owners,” said Omar Faruk, director of Genesis.
Fawn International, a local company, has come up with fire prevention equipment with a slogan that 'fire prevention is better than fighting'.
The company was displaying pictures of towing vehicles, pick-ups and cabs used to put down fire. It also sells 'rescue vehicles'.
Humayun Ahmed, marketing executive of Fawn International, said they have a portable fire pump that can be taken to the top of a 10-storey building.
“The demand for this pump is increasing as many factories in Bangladesh are located in multi-storey buildings.”