A three-day trade expo begins tomorrow in the city to showcase globally recognised building and fire safety equipment.
The expo titled “Third Building and Fire Safety Affairs International Trade Fair” will be the platform for vendors and factory managements especially for the SMEs to discuss about the latest advancement of safety especially fire detection and fighting equipment.
The fair, which will be jointly organised by Elevate Partners Ltd, Alliance, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Electronics Safety and Security Association of Bangladesh (ESSAB), will be held at the Bangabandu International Convention Centre.
“Remediation work of garment factories in Bangladesh is on and such expo is very important to carry out the post-inspection activities,” said Alliance Chief Safety Officer Mark Chubb while addressing a press conference at Alliance’s office in the city.
M Rabin, vice-president and managing director of Elevate said, “Most of the safety equipment need to import and considering the demand for such equipment, the expo will bring the internationally certified makers of those under a single umbrella.”
Alliance that inspected some 837 garment factories and almost all factories need some form of remediation especially fire and electrical issues where access to safety tools and technologies are critical, he said.
Responding to a query, he said, “On an average, a factory set up in a 18 to 20 years old building having four to six floors with 1000 workers needs to invest $2,50,000 to fix it fire and electrical issues.”
The factory will need to invest five to ten times more if it requires sprinkler system, he also added.
Some 36 organisations including 13 global vendors and four service providers will showcase their products ranging from fire doors, hydrants and pumps, sprinklers, fire alarms, detection and protection machinery and services.
On the sidelines of the exhibition, eleven lecture tracks and two panel discussions including loan management, how to re-mediate and install fire doors, risk management, affordable finance during the showcase will be arranged.