Intertek Opens Asia's Largest Softlines Laboratory in Dhaka
26 Jun 2014
One-stop service for all quality and safety assurance solutions
June 25th, 2014 – Intertek, a leading quality solutions provider to industries worldwide, has inaugurated a comprehensive testing facility in Bangladesh to support the growing business volume of the ready-made garment (RMG) industry in South Asia. Intertek's Dhaka lab is the largest Softlines testing lab in Asia and a one-stop facility for all quality and safety assurance solutions for diverse industries in South Asia for countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. The lab is located in Tejgaon, Dhaka.
In addition to serving the Softlines industry, the new lab features enhanced capabilities in new streams like footwear testing, water testing, ceramic testing and packaging testing. Additionally the lab facilitates electrical, food, mineral, agriculture, cargo and GTS testing services. The lab offers tactical advantages of calibration, inspection, auditing and training.
Lab Highlights
- 100,000 sq. ft. of total space
- 750+ employee seating capacity
- Fully compliant fire prevention and fire protection installations and fixtures
- Tested & certified building for structural safety & legal regulations
- Energy saving occupancy sensors for AC, lighting and water control for auto shutdown
- Instruments like ICP-MS, LCMS, GCMS, HD-XRF installed
The lab has been inaugurated by the honourable commerce minister of the Government of Bangladesh, Mr. Tofail Ahmed M.P., His Excellency Mr. Robert Gibson, High Commissioner, British High Commission in Bangladesh was the Guest of Honour, Mr. Atiqul Islam, President, BGMEA and Mr. Deen Mohammad, Chairman, Phoenix Group, graced the occasion as the special guests. Local manufacturers, representatives from brands' liaison offices and stakeholders were present during the program. Calvin Yam, Global Business Line Leader for Softlines at Intertek was also present at the event along with members of the Regional Senior Executive Team at Intertek
Bangladesh is the world's second-largest exporter of RMG, contributing USD 21.5 billion in 2012-13, representing nearly 80% of the total exports, making it an important hub for the Softlines business. The environmentally friendly lab features energy efficient lighting, water recycling and an effluent treatment plant. The high-tech testing lab is equipped with state-of–the-art safety technology and is operational under fully centralized monitoring and controlling features by advanced IT enabled innovative "Building Management System."
"The elaborate testing facility is Intertek's solution to overcome capacity constraints and take full advantage of the growing business volumes in the region. Bangladesh is best placed in the region for strategic business expansion and has shown phenomenal growth in RMG, thus the potential for industry linkage is enormous. The new lab will allow Intertek to provide superior services to local and international consumer goods clients," said Mr. Rajesh Saigal, Regional Managing Director, Intertek South Asia. He further added "This will help the exporters of different regions to reduce the lead time in testing to a huge extent and to acquire the test results faster."
Focusing on the one-stop service Dr. Karthik N.D. , Director Softlines and Business Assurance for Bangladesh added, "The new Intertek facility, with about 100,000 sq. ft. area, will support enhanced testing activities in Dhaka and the lab complements current inspection and auditing services to support the US, EU and other major global export destinations for Softlines."
The lab will not only sharpen the competitive edge of regional clients who require high standards of quality and safety for their products, but also help them to gain competitive advantage and ensure that they achieve acceptable standards for international buyers.
About Intertek
Intertek is a leading quality solutions provider to industries worldwide. From auditing and inspection, to testing, training, advisory, quality assurance and certification, Intertek adds value for its customers by helping improve the quality and safety of their products, assets and processes. With a network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices and over 36,000 people in more than 100 countries, Intertek supports companies' success in the global marketplace, by helping customers to meet end users' expectations for safety, sustainability, performance, integrity and desirability in virtually any market worldwide. Visit www.intertek.com.
For Intertek & Media Inquiries:
Madhumita Guha
Business Dev & Marketing Head
Intertek South Asia
Mobile: +88 01730336600
Email: madhumita.guha@intertek.com
