Local mask producer enters US market

Local BM Group in partnership with Chinese entrepreneurs is manufacturing KN 95 maskLocal BM Group in partnership with Chinese entrepreneurs is manufacturing KN 95 masks in Bangladesh, mainly to grab a chunk of global market.

The brand name of the mask is 'Smart Smile'. The port-city based clothing major has already obtained approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European agency concerned for its shipment.

BM Group is also producing surgical or medical masks. It will sell both the products in the domestic market as well. The local price of KN 95 mask will be Tk 25 a piece, while that of a 3-layer surgical mask will be Tk 5.0 each, company sources said.

The company that is involved in garment, port logistics, and bottled gas manufacturing, said their factory is unique in a sense that it is using the same technology, used by Sinopec and 3M masks.

It has own lab facility to measure the level of filtration efficiency of masks that is hardly available in Bangladesh. It can test particle filtration efficiency, bacterial filtration efficiency, breathability, and blood resistance filtration.

Besides, it is using 'melt-blown' fabric, which is the same as used in 3M masks, by manufacturing it locally through importing raw material from China. 'Melt-blown' fabric is called heart of the mask for preventing bacteria and multiple types of dusts from entering the respiratory tract.

Mostafizur Rahman, chairman of the group, said that the quality of their products is equivalent to those of Sinopec and 3M brands. Those also meet 100 per cent requirement of the US and European markets.

The local drug administration has approved it, and his firm got permissions for sending both medical and KN95 masks to the US and European markets.

He also said the company has already finalised a deal for shipping 25 million pieces of KN95 masks to the US market.

It is also negotiating about the price to export 2.0 billion pieces of masks to the US market under a mega deal.

He noted that there is huge demand for KN95 masks in the US, as the coronavirus is still spreading across the world's largest economy.

The US government recently stopped export of 3M masks to neighbouring Canada and Latin America to help overcome the short supply of the item amid its growing demand.

Mr Rahman said both medical and non-medical uses of masks are on the rise in the US market.

Around Tk 300 million has been invested in the BM Group's factory, now run by a Chinese team of experts. The local group has 55 percent stakes in it, while the remaining belongs to the Chinese entrepreneurs.

The plant is now producing half a million pieces of masks of both the categories per day. The production capacity will be expanded further.

The global market of masks was merely US$ 0.79 billion in 2019, which is now estimated at around $166.44 billion in 2020, according to Grandview Research.s in Bangladesh, mainly to grab a chunk of global market.

The brand name of the mask is 'Smart Smile'. The port-city based clothing major has already obtained approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European agency concerned for its shipment.

BM Group is also producing surgical or medical masks. It will sell both the products in the domestic market as well. The local price of KN 95 mask will be Tk 25 a piece, while that of a 3-layer surgical mask will be Tk 5.0 each, company sources said.

The company that is involved in garment, port logistics, and bottled gas manufacturing, said their factory is unique in a sense that it is using the same technology, used by Sinopec and 3M masks.

It has own lab facility to measure the level of filtration efficiency of masks that is hardly available in Bangladesh. It can test particle filtration efficiency, bacterial filtration efficiency, breathability, and blood resistance filtration.

Besides, it is using 'melt-blown' fabric, which is the same as used in 3M masks, by manufacturing it locally through importing raw material from China. 'Melt-blown' fabric is called heart of the mask for preventing bacteria and multiple types of dusts from entering the respiratory tract.

Mostafizur Rahman, chairman of the group, said that the quality of their products is equivalent to those of Sinopec and 3M brands. Those also meet 100 per cent requirement of the US and European markets.

The local drug administration has approved it, and his firm got permissions for sending both medical and KN95 masks to the US and European markets.

He also said the company has already finalised a deal for shipping 25 million pieces of KN95 masks to the US market.

It is also negotiating about the price to export 2.0 billion pieces of masks to the US market under a mega deal.

He noted that there is huge demand for KN95 masks in the US, as the coronavirus is still spreading across the world's largest economy.

The US government recently stopped export of 3M masks to neighbouring Canada and Latin America to help overcome the short supply of the item amid its growing demand.

Mr Rahman said both medical and non-medical uses of masks are on the rise in the US market.

Around Tk 300 million has been invested in the BM Group's factory, now run by a Chinese team of experts. The local group has 55 percent stakes in it, while the remaining belongs to the Chinese entrepreneurs.

The plant is now producing half a million pieces of masks of both the categories per day. The production capacity will be expanded further.

The global market of masks was merely US$ 0.79 billion in 2019, which is now estimated at around $166.44 billion in 2020, according to Grandview Research.