Camera lens plant to expand as focus shifts to hi-tech
Based in Chittagong Export Processing Zone, Japanese owned Sanko provides lenses to some of the world's most famous camera brands such as Nikon, Fuji, Konica and Olympus.Photo: Zobaer Hossain Sikder
The lenses used in some of the world's most famous camera brands are being produced in Bangladesh with such success that the company involved plans to expand it operations.
Based in the Chittagong Export Processing Zone, Japanese owned Sanko supplies leading camera manufactures such as Nikon, Fuji. Konica and Olympus.
It is an example of a growing group of hi tech industries that are changing the image of the country’s EPZs, that have long been associated with the Ready Made Garment industry.
According to the agencies that run the country's eight EPZ's, more hi-tech companies are on the way as international corporations look to find alternatives to China, where the high pace of growth is causing production bottlenecks.
Sanko employs around 1400 female workers producing around 1.5 million lenses per month.
Apart from camera lenses the company also produces lenses for fax machines, photocopies, security cameras, scanners and projectors.
The company earns around US$ 8 million annually by exporting products.
“Lenses are mainly produced manually for which individual work is important. Workers dedication and concentration in polishing heightens the quality of the products,” said Bikash Chandra Mondal, Manager of Sanko Optical Co. (Bd) Ltd.
In producing lenses workers need to follow nine stages such as curve generating, smoothing, polishing, cleaning, inspection, centering, coating, second time inspection and packing for export.
The company was first set up in the 1990s and is now looking to expand. Bikask said last month it signed an agreement with the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) to hire more land. Construction on the new unit that will produce camera casings in steel and plastic will begin in March.
Bikash said the country has great potential for lens and other electronic sector investments from Japan as these manufacturing processes are labour intensive. Japanese investors are planning to shift their companies from China, Malaysia, and Singapore as the labour cost has increased manifold during last few years, he added.
Bikash's views were backed by Brigadier general Ashraf Abdullah Yussuf, Bepza executive chairman. He said the authority received many new investment proposals from Japan, Singapore and Malaysia to invest in the electronics and semi-conductor sector.
“We are not now accepting any small scale investment for the garment or accessories sector instead we are looking high-tech investment,” he added.
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