Meenakshi opens Bangladesh plant for two-wheeled vehicle seats

New Delhi – Gurugram, India-based Meenakshi Polymers is expected to commence production of seats for two-wheeled vehicles at its new facility in Bangladesh this week. Work on the project in Dhaka, Bangladesh was started in 2019 but was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
 “It took some time to start the project as the market scenario was challenging post-pandemic but now the market gained normalcy and the partners have decided to restart the project,” said Sandeep Sareen, general manager (marketing), of Meenakshi Polymers. 
 
The PU seat project is a joint venture between Meenakshi Polymers and local partners: TVS Auto and Uttara Motors. The JV plant will supply PU foam seats for TVS’s motorcycle manufacturing and assembly site at Tongi, in the Gazipur district of the Dhaka Division of Bangladesh.  
 
TVS first entered the Bangladesh market in 2007 and has since become the second-biggest seller of two-wheeled vehicles in the country. Uttara Motors Limited is a Bangladesh distributor for several two-wheel and four-wheel automotive brands, mostly representing Indian manufacturers, but also selling vehicles manufactured in Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia. 
 
The PU foam machinery at the Bangladesh plant is supplied by Indian company Polycraftpuf Machine, based in Vadodara, Gujarat. The completed factory offers plant solutions for seating, automotive interior and exterior components, refrigeration, panel lines for garage and residential doors, bowling balls and bathroom/kitchen fixtures. 
 
Meenakshi Polymers is among the largest producers of two-wheeler seats and seat foams with clientele expands to two-wheeler range of OEMs like Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Bajaj, Hero, TVS, Yezdi, and Royal Enfield, whilst also producing seat foams fors car, buses and tractors. It operates six sites in India, and one each in Nepal, and (now) Bangladesh.  
 
Currently, Meenakshi has the capacity to produce 10,000 two-wheeler seats per day supplying to various OEMs. It also produces 100 tractor and 100 bus seat for the aftermarket. Meenakshi Polymers also manufactures mattresses under the Vibes brand.  
 
India’s two-wheeler market experienced disruption in the last decade, and there is a clear shift towards electric two-wheelers in the domestic market. Meenakshi Polymers plans to cater to the needs of the EV OEMs. Sareen said: “We have a large seat range for two-wheeler EVs and have built-up a client base of about 25, supplying consistently about 15,000 seats each month. We are also in touch with more OEMs foraying into two-wheel EV space in the domestic market.”