‘Advanced Chemical Management’ project of G.Güldenpfennig GmbH (GP), Germany partnered with Reed Consultancy, Bangladesh (RCB) kicked-off

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Figure 1: Representatives from Reed Consultancy, Bangladesh, G.Güldenpfennig GmbH (GP) and their supplier factories are present in the group photo.

Desk Report:

The ‘Advanced Chemical Management’ project of G.Güldenpfennig GmbH (GP), partnered with Reed Consultancy, Bangladesh (RCB) kicked-off on 24th February at GP’s Uttara office. The RCB was founded by two British people Mr. Rodney Reed and Mrs. Ann in 2004 and incorporated in July 2006. Since foundation time, RCB is actively working on social and environmental sustainability for textile industries in Bangladesh. On the other hand, GP has evolved and positioned internationally over the past decades as a strong partner for retail and wholesale customers for sourcing all kind of private label clothing and sportwear.

The main objective of the project is to improve the chemical management system at GP’s supplier factories by arranging long term training (e.g. 9 Months) by the highly experienced consultants and trainers of RCB. Representatives from Güldenpfennig and Reed Consultancy, Bangladesh along with the factory representatives from Impress Newtex Composite Textiles LTD, Pakiza Woven Fashion LTD, Lantabur Apparels, Anamica Washing LTD, RFS Fashionwear LTD were present in the kick-off meeting.

As sustainability has become a vital issue for humans and the world, and the international buyers are taking it very seriously. As a strong partner for major international customers, GP wants to take part in the mission of cleansing their supply chain by upgrading the chemical management system of their supplier factories. With a view to manifesting their goal, they have teamed up with RCB, Bangladesh, who extensively works on chemical management system with the industries at home and abroad.

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Figure 2: GP team members from Germany joined the meeting through MS Team call.

Hartmut Scholz, Head of CR and Supply Chain Department, Dr. Masud Rana, Global Sustainability Manager (Chemical & Environment), Monzil Hossain, Sustainability Manager, Chemical & Environment Department and their team from GP talked about their vision and expectations from the training.

Dr. Abbas Uddin Shiyak, Assistant Professor of Department of Dyes and Chemical Engineering of Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX) and Principal Consultant of RCB said, “The Advanced Chemical Management Project will consist of three scopes: 1. Assessment, 2. Training and 3. Follow up. There will be a validation stage where the factories will be validated on the basis of their performance. The whole process will end in October-November with improvement reports for the factories. In this whole journey, the trainees will get desktop support continuously.” Addressing the factory representatives, he further added, “We want your development, we are not here to assess you as good or bad. We’ll develop you as our partners and go forward to reach our goals. Dr. Masud Rana, Global Sustainability Manager (Chemical & Environment) of GP said, “From our side, we’ll give you optimum feedback and support so that you can upgrade your factory’s chemical management system which will be very helpful for you. In the coming years, the challenge will be tougher as it will be very difficult to meet the buyers’ requirements day by day. So, if we all can work together, there is a possibility to improve for everyone. ”Dr. Abbas Uddin Shiyak said, “We want factories to improve just as the management wants. If the factories fall into stagnation, ultimately, it’ll become a great problem for the country. I think if the people develop, the factories can automatically develop. Our main focus is to develop them.” Md. Ashraf, the project coordinator from RCB, wished the project to be very much significant and impactful for the factories as the team will be working together to ameliorate their overall chemical management.

The interactive meeting ended by taking questions from the factory representatives and hearing their expectations from the extensive training program.