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business to meet the increasing domestic demand for acrylic yarn, a
raw material of sweater. The group, which has three sweater factories,
one spinning and one dyeing units, is expected to go into production
in its new spinning mill in December. The unit set up at Chowddagram
in Comilla at a cost of Tk 30 crore will have a capacity of
producing around 25 ,000 pounds of acrylic yarn a day in its 18 ,000
spindles, according to Dragon' s Managing Director Mostafa Q Sobhan.
"We eye a turnover of more than US$60 million next year, with the
operation of the new factory that creates job opportunities for about
1 ,000 people," Sobhan said. The 2009 turnout of the group is $50
million, he added. Started its journey in 1984 , Dragon has now
raised its workforce--officers and workers--to 8 ,000. Once the new
unit produces acrylic yarn, the group's total capacity will reach
around 45 ,000 pounds a day, as the present one, CD Acrylic
Bangladesh, produces around 20 ,000 pounds a day; whereas its total
requirement for its three sweater factories is 40 ,000 pounds a day.
After December, the group's dependence on the imports of sweater raw
materials will definitely come down, Dragon boss asserted. Now it has
to import artificial fibres, mainly from Japan and Germany, to
manufacture sweater. Currently, the group exports 8 ,00 ,000 pieces
of sweater per month, with a 10 percent annual growth, Sobhan said,
adding that the group goes for expansion as international buyers are
placing increasingly export orders every year. The expansion will also
enable the group to reduce the cost of materials by about 15
percent, which will help it maintain its position as the most
competitive sweater supplier from Bangladesh, he claimed. Its major
buyers include global retailers like Asda, Wal-Mart, Primark, C&A,
Bhs, Dorothy Perkins and Zara.
