Singer’s $78m green factory aims at growing local electronics market
The factory hopes to go into production by the end of 2023
Singer Bangladesh Ltd has started the construction of its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant at the Bangladesh Special Economic Zone at Araihazar, Narayanganj.
The multinational electronics and home appliance firm looks to production at the $78 million (around Tk800 crore) green factory by the end of 2023, primarily targeting the fast growing local market alongside exploring export opportunities from the plant, said top officials at Singer and representatives of its parent company Arçelik - a Turkey-based global industry giant.
Arçelik is one of the world's leading consumer durables companies with 12 brands. It has 45,000 employees worldwide and has subsidiaries in 52 countries. Arçelik's 29 research and development (R&D) and design centres and offices across the globe are home to over 2,300 researchers.
Arçelik, the flagship company of the Koç Group, acquired the holding company of Singer Bangladesh in 2019.
Speaking at a press conference in the capital after the factory groundbreaking on Monday, Dr Fatih Kemal Ebiçlioğlu, president of Durable Goods Companies at Koç Holding - parent company of Arçelik and the only Turkish company represented in the Fortune 500 global list, said, "With the initiation of a new manufacturing plant, sustainable and smart in-house production processes of the highest quality will be started at Singer."
With Arçelik's R&D strengths, Singer Bangladesh is introducing state-of-the-art energy-saving electronics and home appliances, and it will be accelerated in coming days.
Arçelik's Chief Commercial Officer Cemal Can Dinçer said Singer aims to locally manufacture 90% of its products, up from the present rate of 52%. The company would also help develop local suppliers for the electronics and home appliances industry.
The initial capacity of the factory, on the 1.35 lakh square metre industrial plot, would be to manufacture 15 lakh units of refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, air conditioners and other major appliances annually, which will strengthen Singer's position in the market, said Arçelik's Chief Technology Officer Nihat Bayız.
The new factory will also create jobs for around 4,000 people.
Arçelik is globally committed to become net-zero by 2050 to tackle the climate crisis, and Singer is also moving ahead in line with that.
Singer Bangladesh's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) MHM Fairoz said, "Singer's new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will be built according to the gold standards of LEED -- a green building certificate that is recognised all over the world."
With the support of Arcelik, Singer will bring the know-how on energy efficient products and production technologies in Bangladesh that will help the country's transition to a low-carbon economy, the CEO said.
The factory will be designed to maximise natural daylight with the use of skylight roof surfaces for sustainable energy management that would save 50% energy and the solar panels on the roof of the factory would prevent up to 60% of carbon emissions, according to Fairoz.
Rainwater will also be harvested and stored for use in plumbing as well as for landscaping irrigation. Energy monitoring systems will be used for sustainability and quality targets. Local and recycled building materials will be used during construction, he added.
Singer, which started with its flagship product sewing machine, has been present in this land for more than 117 years, and it is a household name in the local market of white goods.
Its shares, having a face value of Tk10 each, closed at Tk151.9 at the Dhaka Stock Exchange on Monday.