Experience Group is a family-owned business with offices in Dhaka and London and manufacturing sites in Bangladesh. Experience Group offers a wide range of apparel products such as bottoms, dresses, blouses, tops, outerwear, sleepwear, underwear, and workwear. All are produced in our ethical and sustainable factories.
Usama Maqsood, Director of Experience Group, recently shared his views on the recent power crisis and planning for the coming days. Key discussion points are mentioned below for our readers-
Photo: Usama Maqsood, Director of Experience GroupPower crisis in the industry:
Whenever Experience Group faces any power crisis moment, we call that situation a “Crisis Situation” and do “Crisis Management.” At that moment, we cannot create any reliable power source instantly. We need to adapt to the situation. We are getting a gas facility from the Government. How will we run the industry if they cannot give us sustainability? At that moment, we have alternative plans. We plan to install a solar system in our whole factory vert soon. But the energy we will get from the solar system will only cover our garments section. But we cannot run the textile section with a solar system. Textile machines consume much energy, requiring a reliable & constant Gas supply. The current issue is not only the higher price of gas but also the quality & shipment of products. When we are dying textile products in a machine & there is not enough gas pressure, it affects the quality of the product and so on. Honestly, there is no “One Stop Solution” for the situation. We are looking for the best solutions to ensure a continuous energy supply. Besides installing the solar system, we are also looking forward to installing next-generation coal boilers, which have many advanced facilities and are comparatively eco-friendly.
Looking back on 2022 and expectations for 2023:
The year 2022 was not that good. Though the gas price was okay, the gas supply was discontinued. For around 1-2 months, there was no gas supply in Gazipur industrial area, especially the textile & garments industry. It affected the quality & production badly. Power is an important fact. This affects all the manufacturing industries, not just the textile & garment industry. In Bangladesh, the Garment industry is comparatively more sustainable than the textile industry. As the textile industry is about fewer people and more technology & machines, a continuous power supply is necessary to ensure a sustainable textile industry.
The year 2021 was good. 2022 was not good, especially since the last 6 months were horrible. In 2023, we will have some global crises; inflation is happening everywhere. The customer that used to order a million pieces of garments earlier is now unsure about its sale and providing a tiny number of orders. Looking forward, we need to survive now. Lots of big companies are trying to find methods for themselves to stay. As the gas price has increased in Bangladesh, the production cost has increased. Now we all need to come together and ask for a higher price from the buyers. Either the buyers will stay, or they will go to other countries. The buyers won’t go. They have invested so much in this country.
Now all manufacturers need to agree and ask for higher prices to solve the gas price hike issue. The cost of gas won’t come down; it will only go up. So, now BGMEA, BKMEA, and BTMA have to come together and send letters to the owners to adjust the products’ price per increased gas price. That’s the only solution.
