Rahimafrooz to set up new auto battery plant

Photo shows a salesperson at an automotive battery shop in Dhaka. Rahimafrooz will set up a new plant at Ishwardi in Pabna district by the end of this year.

Rahimafrooz, the country's leading automotive battery manufacturer and exporter, is setting up a separate plant at Ishwardi in Pabna district to produce batteries to meet growing demand worldwide.
A senior official of the company said the new plant, a joint venture, is scheduled to go into operation by the year-end with a target to manufacture 2 lakh batteries a month.
Pointing to the fast progress in the work, he said, “Machinery for the Ishwardi plant has already been purchased. If everything goes alright, we are hopeful that the fully export-oriented company will go into operation within this year.”
At present, Rahimafrooz has been exporting automotive batteries to more than 35 countries including India, Dubai, Vietnam, Jamaica, Ghana, Chile, Paraguay, Mauritania and Lebanon, the official said.
The company mainly exports its brands Volta, Delta and Optus to those countries. Another Rahimafrooz brand 'Locus' battery is produced for the local market.
Sources said in 2008 the total export of the company may cross Tk 700 million. The company's export earning from batteries was Tk 571 million in 2007.
The company is also planning to transfer its Nakhalpara plant to Ashulia soon in order to reduce pollution levels in Dhaka.
Presently the company has two plants--one at Nakhalpara and the other at Savar. Between them they produce 1.40 lakh batteries per month.
“You can say the whole local market for automotive batteries is controlled by Rahimafrooz as there is hardly any local competitor,” the official told The Daily Star.
Of the total production, 50 percent is exported and the remaining is sold in the local market, he said.

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