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Pran-RFL Group is ready to go into full-scale production of lifesaving gear helmets under the brand ‘Safemet’ at its plant in Narsingdi.
The manufacturing and processing giant said they are the first manufacturer of high-quality helmets in Bangladesh, which will ensure maximum safety for the users, particularly the motorcyclists and workers at risky construction sites.
The company has established a factory of helmets at Danga Industrial Park in Narsingdi and awaits BSTI clearance for going into full-scale production.
The 40,000-square-foot factory can manufacture 50 thousand pieces of helmets a month.
“We are awaiting approval from the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI). All other preparations are been completed. After getting the approval we will go to mass production and officially launch the helmets in the market,” said Kamruzzaman Kamal, Director (Marketing) of PRAN-RFL Group.
“Thanks to the fast-growing motorcycle industry and a boom in the construction sector as well as rising safety concerns, there is a soaring demand for high-quality helmets in Bangladesh,” he said.
The group initially invested around Tk 20 crore in the project which will ensure employment for 400 people for its smooth operation.
‘Safemet’ brand has developed three categories of helmets – full-face, half-face, and modular off-road– for capturing the market.
Kamruzzman said earlier they used to market imported helmets but seeing growth in demand the Pran-RFL group decided to manufacture helmets locally.
In Bangladesh, helmets are mostly used by motorcyclists and construction workers while the estimated demand for helmets per year is around 20 lakh pieces, according to importers.
The helmet market in Bangladesh is mostly import-dependent. Among the imported brands, STM, Yohe, Steelbird, Vega, Studds, Yema, and MIBK are top-selling, said the importers.
“Most of the helmets are imported from China while some are imported from India, Thailand and Indonesia,” Sarwar Morshed, owner of Yohe International, one of the largest helmet importers in Bangladesh.
Due to the volatile exchange rate and newly adopted rules and regulations of the BSTI, helmet importers are now facing trouble, he added.
The latest data of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) released in this August said there are 38,39,836 motorcycles in the country. Of them, about 13 lakh motorcycle drivers have no driving licence.
The number of motorcycles in Dhaka now is about 9,81,265 motorcycles, which is 26 per cent of the total motorcycles in the country. The number was 2.1 lakh in 2010 in Dhaka.
The market size of the imported helmet is now more than Tk 500 crore, according to the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
A recent survey by the ARI shows that only 10 per cent of motorcyclists and 2 per cent of pillion riders use quality helmets – although wearing the standard ones can save them from fatal injuries.
Only 7 per cent of motorcycle accidents occur in Dhaka, while 93 per cent in other parts of the country. It found that riders and passengers in rural areas are less interested to wear helmets. And those who wear, prefer lesser quality helmets than in the capital. Deaths and injuries are also higher in rural areas, according to the ARI.
A total of 1,168 people died in motorcycle accidents across the country in 2021, which was 1,097 in 2020, the institute added.
