Published 20th July, 2022 by Jess Mills

PHP Float Glass Industries is set to double its production capacity to 300 tonnes a day in two years to meet growing local demand in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Dr Amir Hossain, Managing Director of PHP Group, said: “It will take 12 months to manufacture and import the required machinery.

“After that we will start the conversion process, including installation of the additional facilities, which will take 12 more months.”

The factory currently manufactures float glass with thickness ranging from 2.5mm and 12mm and will be able to produce up to 15mm glass after the expansion. The group also plans to start manufacturing sound-proof glass.

The expansion will allow the factory to take on 700 employees; the factory currently employs 800 people, including executives, engineers and workers.

The factory will also be equipped with European technology to automatically detect and crush the defective goods. Earlier technology could only detect un-melted particles.

As part of its mid-term expansion plan, the group also plans to set up another plant in the next five years, which will be able to produce 600 tonnes of glass a day.

Dr Hossain said that the company aims to be the leader in the glass manufacturing sector in 10 years.

The rise in demand of float glass has seen many changes within the company over the last 10 years. A major portion of the company's produce remained unsold when it started its commercial production in Sitakunda in 2005. But now, Dr Hossain said local demand is taking precedence.

He said: “We initially started exporting glass to Nepal, Bhutan and India. But we could not give much concentration to the export due to the increase in local demand.”

Jess is the Deputy Editor of Glass International magazine. She has been training in creative and professional writing since 2017, earning her degree in 2020. Prior to joining Quartz Business Media, Jess worked as a freelance writer for a variety of companies and publications.