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Olympic bumps up production capacity

Gazi Towhid Ahmed
Olympic Industries has expanded its production capacity to introduce new products and grab the market for cream biscuits.
It has bumped up capacity by 2,500 tonnes to 7,500 tonnes a month, to launch cream sandwich biscuits and add new varieties to existing products, said Md Nazim Uddin, executive director of Olympic Industries.
"We plan to tap the growing premium market of cream biscuits and better our average selling price and margin," he said.
The company recently installed two new production lines in its biscuit segment at its new factory premises in Sonargaon, Narayanganj, which started commercial operations on Wednesday, he said.
It translates into a significant 50 percent expansion in the biscuit segment, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the company's total revenue, he said. Olympic's revenue stood atTk 709.31 crore last year.
Olympic is a leading biscuit maker in the country with more than a 20 percent market share.
The company runs on imported modern machinery from Italy and India, along with cream making and sandwich machinery from Peters Sandwiching in the US, he said.
The company spent around Tk 70
crore to expand its production capacity, 55 percent of which came from its own sources and the rest from banks, according to Olympic.
The combined capacity of the two lines will be 30,000 tonnes a year, according to Dhaka Stock Exchange.
Olympic made a debut into exports in January by selling in the Middle East and Singapore. "We export six items and some are more in the pipeline as product registration is going on."
The local biscuit industry is growing at 20 percent a year, he said.
"We are focusing on premium biscuits in our product line as consumers' buying capacity and awareness of quality are increasing gradually," said Quazi Touhiduzzaman, general manager for sales and marketing at Olympic Industries.
Some new products are being developed to add to their existing product range of 36, he said.
"The winter season is good for our business as people travel more at this time. People are losing interest in homemade food as it is time consuming."
Olympic's net profit rose 44.44 percent to Tk 64 crore year-on-year in the nine months to March, riding on the back of growing demand for biscuits. The company's earnings per share stood at Tk 5.41 in that period.
The company began expansion in September 2011, when it set up its fifth unit at a cost of Tk 25 crore, taking loans from banks.
The plantstarted producing 1,800 tonnes of biscuits a month from July 2012.
Starting with steel production back in 1950, the company has steadily diversified over the years into various consumer goods, including biscuits, confectionery items, batteries and ball pens, with over 40 brands.
gazitowhid@thedailystar.net