In the wake of product safety recalls and increasing awareness of hazards, regulatory and voluntary requirements with regard to safety and performance are becoming more stringent. - Ishan Palit, President and CEO, TÜV SÜD Asia Pacific

TÜV SÜD South Asia, a leading global technical services provider, announced the inauguration of a new laboratory in Dhaka in October 2010. The new laboratory specializes in testing of textiles, clothing and footwear (Softlines) products and supports manufacturers and exporters in Bangladesh to meet international quality and safety requirements through faster delivery and cost efficiency. Bangladesh Textile Today (BTT) had interviewed Mr. Ishan Palit, President and CEO of TÜV SÜD Asia Pacific.

BTT with TÜV SÜD top executives: In the photo from left Ezhilan Neelan, Country Manager of TÜV SÜD Bangladesh; Niranjan Nadkarni, CEO of TÜV SÜD South Asia; Ishan Palit, President and CEO of TÜV SÜD Asia Pacific, ASM Tareq Amin, Editor & Publisher of Bangladesh Textile Today and Liz Fendt, Vice President of International Marketing, TÜV SÜD.

BTT: TÜV SÜD is a global quality and safety technical service provider working in many industries, including textile and clothing. How do you see the changes of quality and safety requirements over time?

Ishan Palit: In the wake of product safety recalls and increasing awareness of product hazards, regulatory and voluntary requirements with regard to safety and performance are becoming more stringent. Revisions are made to existing legislation such as CPSIA and REACH to protect consumers from the hazardous chemical and physical properties of products. This is fueled by the growing base of discerning consumers seeking safer, better quality and environmentally friendly products. Retailers are under increasing pressure to ensure that products on their shelves are safe.

BTT: How big is the business volume of TÜV SÜD and what is the contribution of Textile Garment Industry in total TÜV SÜD business?

Ishan Palit: In 2010, TÜV SÜD’s sales revenue was EUR 1.55 billion. We are unable to disclose the exact percentage contributed by Softlines, but we have identified it as an important and strategic industry segment.

BTT: How can TÜV SÜD help in improving quality and safety situations in Bangladesh?

Ishan Palit: TÜV SÜD, as an independent 3rd party technical service provider, brings world class expertise in testing, certification, inspection, training and consulting into Bangladesh.

Our new laboratory will add value to two main groups of people. The first group is the manufacturers and suppliers within Bangladesh. With our support, manufacturers will be able to provide added assurance to their clients that their products meet international quality, safety and environmental protection requirements.  With the accessibility of our lab, we can now offer faster turn-around time for test results and better cost efficiency. The benefits to manufacturers are many including increased product safety and quality, global market access and a brand name committed to ensuring quality and safety for the end users.

The second group is the buyers and retailers who are looking to source from Bangladesh. We support our clients to manage risks by ensuring that the products they have ordered are made according to their requirements. For example, in the last two years, we have been partnering Tesco and Tom Tailor with pre-shipment inspection services, supporting them to verify the quality of their merchandise before they are shipped out of Bangladesh.

TÜV SÜD can also support local manufacturers benchmark their business processes with worldwide management systems standards. Lastly, our social compliance auditing services support ethical production throughout the supply chain. By working with us, Bangladesh manufacturers can earn a reputation of fulfilling quality, safety, environmental protection and social standards.

BTT: As the CEO of TÜV SÜD in the Asia Pacific region, what is your observation on quality and safety scenario of the Textile and RMG as compared to other manufacturing countries?

Ishan Palit: The textile and Ready-Made-Garment in Bangladesh is growing at a steady pace. The manufacturing process in Bangladesh showed substantial improvement over the years. The challenge is to meet the change in the expectations of the global consumer and fulfil the requirements set by international regulatory requirements such as CPSIA, REACH.

BTT: As raw materials price is increasing day by day, all the pressure is on decreasing operational cost in at the manufacturing end. At the same time we see that regulatory and testing costs are increasing as well. How do you see these challenges?

Ishan Palit: There are alternative ways in which a manufacturer can reduce operating costs while maintaining the quality and safety standards of goods. For instance, TÜV SÜD has supported a garment manufacturer to implement a Quality Improvement Program (QIP) which resulted in substantial decrease in fabric rejections. Fabrics requirements have been streamlined, avoiding wastages and thereby reduces operating costs.

Manufacturers can also improve operational efficiency when streamlining their business processes according to globally recognized management system certification standards.

BTT: Manufacturers over here in Bangladesh normally do job for a blend of buyers from different parts of the world. Those buyers are mostly coming with different codes of quality & safety requirements (even though purpose is similar). So the manufacturers are being examined several times by at their own cost for the same type of codes. How can this pressure on the manufacturers be reduced?

Ishan Palit: In other countries such as China and Vietnam, we have worked with clients who face similar challenges. Just like the manufacturers in Bangladesh, our clients produce goods that will be exported to different markets. The key advantage of working with TÜV SÜD is that we are able to support manufacturers to navigate through the sea of regulations. We are able to evaluate the various requirements for world markets and customize a testing program that will satisfy multiple regulations requirements.

TÜV SÜD has two certification marks specifically for the Softlines industry. The TÜV SÜD Texcheck mark and the TÜV SÜD Footwear Mark are awarded on the completion of a comprehensive testing, factory and pre-shipment program. These Marks are designed to address pertinent US regulations and EU directives regarding hazardous chemicals. The test parameters also include most substances found on the Restricted Substance List of major retailers. The Footwear Mark is exclusively for the footwear industry while the Texcheck Mark is customized for textile products. The Texcheck Mark also contains social compliance elements. With our one-stop testing services, manufacturers are able to conduct all necessary tests for entry into different markets with us, saving time and money.

BTT: You have started your testing services here in a greater way. What has stimulated you to do so?

Ishan Palit: We see huge potential in Bangladesh, being the second largest garment manufacturer worldwide. We are committed to supporting Bangladesh manufacturers to achieve world class quality, safety and environmental protection standards through our knowledge of global regulations. Equally, we are committed to support retailers with third party, impartial audits / inspections of their suppliers in Bangladesh.

BTT: What are your plans for further investments in Bangladesh?

Ishan Palit: We are constantly looking at other opportunities in Bangladesh for capital investment. We have a robust plan to invest in our people in Dhaka with training and professional education. We have an excellent team of professionals in Dhaka, and we will invest in the best technologies and the best training to ensure this lab in Dhaka is as good, if not better, than any Softlines testing facility in the world.