State owned Usmania Glass Sheet Factory faces at the verse of closure due to old production facility, high production and selling cost, sources said.

The company’s accumulated loss at the end of the financial year 2018-19 stood at Tk 35.74 crore. If the government does not cooperate with cash and install new and advanced technology machineries, doubts have been raised about the company’s ability to conduct business in the future.

The company has already broken FDR (fixed deposit) due to major liquidity crisis. The level of loss is constantly increasing. It will be impossible for the company to conduct business in the future if the government does not install cash and machinery of new and advanced technology now.

Usmania, a once profitable glass sheet factory, has not been able to recover from its losses due to inefficient management, nepotism in recruitment, corruption and inability to make timely decisions. The company has already broken the FDR of Tk 4 crore 8 lakh to cover the loss. At present FDR is Tk 7.90 crore. If investment and advanced technology are not integrated into the organization, the company is likely to close in the future. Besides, 300 employees of the company are at risk of becoming unemployed.

However, Usmania Glass Sheet Factory, the country’s first state-owned glass manufacturer, is not making a profit despite the increasing demand for glass every year. In the last five years, the state-owned company has incurred a loss of Tk 30 crore. In the meantime, one of the two units (furnace) of the factory has been shut down in 2016.

Concerned people say that at present the use of glass in various establishments including buildings and commercial establishments is increasing. Therefore, the demand for glass in the country is increasing at a rate of about eight to 10 percent every year. The sand and gas used to make glass are readily available in the country. That is why new investments are coming in this sector. At present, there is a glass market of around one and a half to two thousand crore rupees in the whole country. The annual demand of glass in the country is 250 million square feet.

The total production capacity of the country, including government and non-government organizations, is 32 crore square feet. The industrial groups are producing high quality glass with advanced technology equipment. In the private sector, PHP, Nasir and MEB Glass Industries are currently producing high quality glass with modern equipment. These companies are regularly increasing their production capacity. But the losses of Usmania leading the way in the glass industry are increasing every year.

Usmania Glass Sheet Factory at Kalurghat, Chittagong started production of white glass sheets in 1959. At one time this organization was one of the main sources of glass supply in the country. There are 300 permanent and temporary employees working in this organization. The production capacity of the Ottoman Empire was about 140,000 square feet. With the closure of one unit, the production capacity has now been reduced to 60,000 square feet.

Usmania produces glass sheets with equipment that is about 70 years old. No new equipment was added here due to inefficient management. So even if the quality of the product is low, the cost of production is high. As a result, the amount of losses is increasing. The demand for low quality glass produced in Osmania is also low. So it is often impossible for a company to survive in a competitive market.

And in addition to the liquidity crisis, Usmania Glass Sheet Factory is suffering from major technical problems in production. In addition, there was a plan for a container glass plant, a modern unit, but poor management could not describe in detail.

Shahadat Hossain, company secretary of Usmania Gloss Sheet Factory Limited, said production had stopped since the factory caught fire last June. The unit was severely damaged due to the fire. As well as the fact that sales are low due to the impact of the corona is much more stockpiled. Thus the demand for our glass is less in the market. I can’t say for sure when production will start.

However, Usmanian officials refused to accept the allegations of incompetent management. Engineer Bidyut Kumar Biswas, managing director of the company, said many private companies are producing glass. They frequently lower prices. It is difficult to survive. The prices of raw materials and gas are also increasing day by day. But accordingly Ottoman glass is not being sold in the market.

So the losses are increasing every year. At the moment our production is off. Sales have dropped significantly due to the Corona effect. It has accumulated a lot of stock. And there are plans to set up new plants. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.