Local company holds potential in automobile filter export

Bogra Motors Pvt Ltd, a factory located in the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation's (BSCIC) industrial estate in Bogura, has achieved a remarkable feat as it can produce filters that can be used in automobiles both at home and abroad.

The owners say the company can manufacture filters for any types of automobiles and has created ample opportunities to earn foreign currencies by exporting them.

It all began in 1977 when two friends -- Aminul Islam and Ahmed Rezaur Rahman – set up two workshops on two bighas of land in the Bogura BSCIC. At that time, old cars were repaired in one unit while cars were painted in another unit.

In 1989, they started manufacturing filters.

The owners say the company can manufacture filters for any types of automobiles and has created ample opportunities to earn foreign currencies by exporting them.

Bogra Motors obtained ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) certification in 2004 and is selling its products under the brand name of "Power".

Currently, the company has the capacity to produce more than 70,000 to 80,000 units of filters worth around Tk 2 crore annually. Last year, it manufactured filters worth Tk 20 crore.

It produces cabin filters, oil filters, fuel filters and air filters -- the four essential parts of the engine that are used to protect buses, trucks, cars, microbuses, motorcycles and other automobiles from any impurities.

"Renowned companies of the country are using our filters," said Md Nurul Islam, general manager of Bogra Motors.

The company, which employs 400 permanent and temporary staff, also exports its products.

In 2022, Bogra Motors exported 3,000 units of filters to the United Kingdom, fetching $11,250. In 2008, the company shipped goods worth $12,196 to Canada, said Islam.

Officials at the Bogura BSCIC say Bogra Motors is the lone local company that has registered the export of filters. However, due to some limitations, the company is unable to continue the shipment.

A lack of adequate land in the BSCIC area is one of the main reasons, said one official.

Almost all the parts required to make filters are manufactured in the factory. Only raw materials such as filter papers, adhesive and a special kind of glue are imported.

Islam said a separate production unit is needed to manufacture export-quality filters. "We don't have that space here, so we have not been able to keep exporting."

Besides, the production cost is rising day by day due to an increase in the prices of raw materials and continued load-shedding, he said.

Another problem the company is facing is low-quality imported filters have flooded the market, according to the senior executive.

Some local producers are marketing their filters without any brand name. Contactors are cashing in on this opportunity and they market the filters using the names of foreign brands.

"Therefore, we are losing our market share," Islam said. 

AKM Mahfuzur Rahman, deputy general manager of the Bogura BSCIC, also praised the quality of the products made by Bogra Motors.

"It is an industrial unit that has huge potential."

He said the company has already exported filters to Canada and the UK and will do more in the future.

"Apart from employing a lot of people, Bogra Motors is paying a huge amount of VAT and taxes to the government. It is also saving foreign exchanges by making export-quality filters."

One of the four owners of Bogra Motors is Tahmidul Islam Chandan.

He said they would build another unit outside the BSCIC industrial estate to produce filters for automobiles as well as those used in power plants.

"At present, filters used in power plants are imported. If filters are made in the country, a lot of foreign currencies will be saved."

He also talked about the challenges facing companies like Bogra Motors.

"There have already been many changes in the automobile industry in the world. Electric and hybrid cars are being produced. In this case, the use of oil filters will decrease. So, we will have to think differently to survive in the business."