Atlas Bangladesh, together with Runner, begins production of helmets

Atlas Bangladesh, a state-owned engineering company, is set to venture into motorcycle helmet manufacturing in collaboration with Runner Trade Park, a Runner Group concern, with an initial investment of TRY 18 crore.

Both companies have recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a helmet manufacturing unit at the Atlas Bangladesh plant. The division, called the Atlas-Runner Helmet Factory, will operate under a separate board that will include representatives from both sides.

Yesterday, Atlas presented its enterprise on the stock exchanges, after which the price of its shares rose by 9.94%, reaching 56.40 tenge – the maximum allowable increase in one day.

Atlas Bangladesh Limited is a two-wheeler manufacturer and Runner Trade Park, established in 2018, is an authorized distributor of Bajaj Genuine Spare Parts and Lubricants, specializing in both two-wheelers and three-wheelers.

Dr Ajibor Rahman, managing director of Atlas Bangladesh, told The Business Standard: “The demand for helmets is increasing day by day, but the market is still largely dependent on imports.”

Noting that the current helmet market size is around Tk 500 crore, he said, “The initiative to jointly set up a helmet manufacturing unit has been taken to cater to the growing demand.”

According to sources, this initiative marks the company’s second domestic venture to manufacture motorcycle helmets.

RFL Group entered into motorcycle helmet manufacturing in mid-2023, marking the first such initiative in the country. Under the Safemet brand, RFL initially introduced two types of helmets – half-face and full-face – with an investment of Tk 20 crore.

The helmets are manufactured at Durable Plastic Limited, a subsidiary of RFL Group, located at Palash, Narsingdi. The annual production capacity of the enterprise is more than 120,000 units.

Production goals

The Atlas-Runner helmet plant plans to produce its products by September or October next year.

Ajibor Rahman said that they are planning to produce 6 lakh units annually against the annual demand of helmets in Bangladesh of 20 lakh units. He also mentioned ramping up production if market demand increases.

Fall and struggle of Atlas Bangladesh

According to the website, Atlas Bangladesh began operations in 1966 as a private venture in partnership with Honda Motor Company Limited.

After Bangladesh gained independence in 1972, Atlas was nationalized and transferred to the Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC).

In 1988, the company was listed on the stock exchanges and later in 1993, Atlas started its business with Hero Honda.

However, the split of the Japanese Honda brand and Indian Hero Honda in 2011 marked the beginning of the demise of the Atlas. In 2018, the company signed a corporate partnership with TVS Auto Bangladesh and two years later, in January 2020, Atlas launched a new assembly line for TVS motorcycles.

But Atlas has been losing money for years due to its inability to sell its products.

For the financial year 2023-24, the company reported a loss of Tk 6.65 crore and announced that it will not pay dividends to its shareholders.