Atlas Bangladesh ventures into helmet manufacturing with Runner

Atlas Bangladesh, a state-owned engineering company, is set to venture into motorcycle helmet manufacturing in collaboration with Runner Trade Park, a concern of the Runner Group, with an initial investment of Tk18 crore.  

The two companies have already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) recently to establish the helmet manufacturing unit within Atlas Bangladesh's factory premises. The unit, named the Atlas-Runner Helmet Plant, will operate under a separate board with representatives from both parties.  

Yesterday, Atlas unveiled its venture through the stock exchanges, following which its share price surged by 9.94%, reaching Tk56.40 – the maximum allowable increase in a single day.

Atlas Bangladesh Limited is a two-wheeler manufacturer, and Runner Trade Park, established in 2018, is an authorised distributor for Bajaj genuine parts and lubricants, specialising in both two-wheelers and three-wheelers.

Md Ajibor Rahman, managing director of Atlas Bangladesh told The Business Standard, "The demand for helmets is increasing daily, but the market still depends largely on imports."

Noting that the current market size of helmets is approximately Tk500 crore, he said, "The initiative to jointly set up the helmet manufacturing unit has been taken to meet the growing demand."

This initiative marks the second domestic venture into motorcycle helmet manufacturing, according to sources.

RFL Group ventured into manufacturing motorcycle helmets in mid-2023, the first such initiative in the country. Under the brand name Safemet, RFL initially introduced two types of helmets — half-face and full-face — with an investment of Tk20 crore. 

The helmets are produced at the Durable Plastic Limited factory, a sister concern of RFL Group, situated in Palash, Narsingdi. The facility has an annual production capacity of over 120,000 units.

Production Goals

The Atlas-Runner Helmet Plant aims to launch its products by September or October next year. 

Ajibor Rahman said they have planned for an annual production of 6 lakh units against the 20 lakh annual demand for helmets in Bangladesh. He also mentioned scaling up production if market demand increases. 

Atlas Bangladesh's fall and struggle

According to its website, Atlas Bangladesh began its business in 1966 as a privately owned entity in collaboration with Honda Motor Company Limited. 

After Bangladesh's independence in 1972, Atlas was nationalised and placed under the Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC).

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

However, the separation of the Japanese brand Honda and Indian Hero Honda in 2011 marked the beginning of Atlas's decline. In 2018, the company signed a corporate partnership with TVS Auto Bangladesh and two years later, in January 2020, Atlas launched a new motorcycle assembly line to assemble TVS motorcycles.

But Atlas has been incurring losses for years due to its inability to sell its products. 

In the fiscal year 2023-24, the company reported a loss of Tk6.65 crore and announced that it would not pay any dividends to its shareholders.