http://www.newagebd.com/2009/apr/06/busi.html#1
Rubber industry gets a lift
Entrepreneurs want more supports to help cut imports
Shakhawat Hossain
A local entrepreneur is producing liquid rubber and marketing the item in a remarkable feat giving a lift to the country’s five decades old rubber industry.
The Chokoria based HR latex successfully developed 60 grade rubber, popularly known as liquid rubber after an effort of four years overcoming odds including the financial problems.
The production of liquid rubber- an intermediate material used to make costly products like divers outfits, surgical gloves, automobile parts, condoms, swimming caps, high quality elastic and water and oil seals- lifts the local rubbers businessmen position from a mere rubber-sheet makers, added the experts.
Local rubber developers led by state owned Bangladesh Forest Industries Development Cooperation used to produce rubber-sheet, a low-end product mainly used for footwear.
Before the commercial marketing of the home grown liquid rubber by HR Latex until last year the country used to depend fully on import to meet the annual demand of liquid rubber amounting to about 14,000 tonnes.
Presently, HR Latex supplies 2000 tonnes and helps the country to save foreign currency worth at least Tk 200 crore by substituting the import of the item, said vice president of the rubber garden association Motaher Billah. The market price of per kg liquid rubber is Tk 150.
HR Latex had to work hard to develop the formula as liquid rubber producers in the countries like Thailand and Malaysia are very conservative in technology transfer, he said.
It is not only in the rubber industry but also in other technology oriented industries that technology transfer is restricted. Even HR Latex also maintains secrecy about its formula, he added.
The commercial production of liquid rubber, however, was not started until last year as the company failed to import machinery to set up the factory due to fund crisis.
A Swedish company offered financial assistance as HR Latex did not look back.
It sets up a factory at a cost of several crores of taka and produces the item for the first time in the country, said S.M. Haroon-ur-Rashid, owner of the HR latex.
‘Our liquid rubber is 98 per cent perfect compared to imported liquid rubber,’ he said.
At present the HR Latex that nurses 12 rubber gardens on 300 acres of land in Chokoria, some 25 kilometres away from Cox’s Bazaar can produce one seventh of the country’s demand.
Rashid said he has an aim to substitute the entire liquid rubber import by next five years providing the fact that the government offers encouragements to this sector.
The encouragement includes action against the adulteration of the liquid rubber to sell it at low price and cheat the customers.
Besides, arrangement of bank loan at low interest rate to the rubber gardeners will help the local rubber industry develop further, he said.
His company is progressing fast as two export oriented footwear factory in Savar Export Processing Zone are procuring the HR latex’s liquid rubber while Bata Shoe Company expressed interest in signing a contract, he added.
