BOC Bangladesh Limited is both an old and a relatively new company. Old because it has been present in what is now Bangladesh, in one form or the other, since the days of British India. New, because it was registered under its own identity only in 1973. The Company began, after the independence of Bangladesh, with a modest turnover of a little over Tk 6 million. The turnover in 1999 exceeded Taka 1 billion.

BOC Bangladesh Limited started out as Bangladesh Oxygen Limited with 3 small Oxygen plants and Dissolved Acetylene plants, one of each in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna. In addition, it had an operating contract to run the Oxygen plants of Chittagong Steel Mills (CSM), which is still there today. For the manufacture of Welding Electrodes the Company had only one very small extruder.

From inception, the Company had remained the sole supplier of Medical Oxygen in the Country.  In the mid 70’s a Nitrous Oxide plant still the only one in Bangladesh, was imported and installed in Dhaka to provide the nation with this vital anaesthetic gas. Later in the decade a Carbon Dioxide plant was bought and installed in Dhaka and this was the first in the Country to produce dry ice. In the early 80’s the first liquid gas plant was imported from New Zealand and again installed in Dhaka, where the demand for Oxygen was concentrated.

Shortly after that came the first boom in ship-cutting and demand for Oxygen “went through the roof.” The Company invested immediately in additional compressing capacity for the surplus Oxygen at CSM while simultaneously pursuing the Government to permit it to invest in new production capacity. Eventually the Company was permitted to import a 400 cubic metres per hour air separation plant from Australia, capable of producing Liquid Oxygen, Nitrogen and, for the first time in Bangladesh, Argon. This was installed in Chittagong, essentially to feed the ship cutting market on the beach. In the early 90’s booster was added to this to increase output, pending investment in further capacity.

Meanwhile, the welding business of the Company was also growing fast and in the early 80’s a state of the art RAM extruder was added to the production line, dramatically improving output and quality of electrodes. The Company, in another innovative move, invested in a wire drawing machine for the electrode factory. A second RAM was added in the late 80’s to keep up with demand.

The Company went “public” in 1985 when the Government renounced its right shares in favour of the public. Today, BOC Bangladesh is one of the premier companies in the Country.

The 90’s witnessed another change in the fortunes of the Company with deregulation and liberalisation of the economy. A site was specially purchased at Rupganj, near Dhaka, where the Company installed a 30 tonnes per day air separation plant, the largest in the country. The US made plant produces Oxygen, Nitrogen and Argon and is technologically, as advanced as any in the world. It came on stream in 1995.

At the same time, the Company also invested in a modern integrated welding electrode plant, made by the largest welding electrode manufacturers in the world, which was imported and installed at the new site in Rupganj. A technical collaboration arrangement was also made with the suppliers ESAB AB of Sweden and the plant went into production in 1995. Welding business received ISO 9002 certification in the following year. A distribution agreement has been signed with world class Welding Company, The Lincoln Company of USA.

Bangladesh Oxygen Limited changed its name to BOC Bangladesh Limited in March 1995 in line with a world-wide programme of the BOC Group.

In March 1998 a second line of production was added to the integrated Welding Electrode Factory at Rupganj, doubling the capacity. Same year, in November 1998 a new site with a 20 TPD liquid plant was acquired in Shitalpur, Chittatgong. In the same site another 30 tonnes per day liquid air separation plant identical to one at Rupganj was commissioned in June 2000.

During the years 2000 and 2001 the Company has enhanced its Nitrous Oxide and Carbon Dioxide production capacity through installation of a Carbon Dioxide plant and adding  ancillaries to the existing Nitrous Oxide plant.

The BOC Group, of which BOC Bangladesh Limited is a member, has its headquarters at Windlesham in the UK. It employs nearly 43,000 people and contributes to the economies of nearly 60 countries world-wide, with a turnover of £ 3.8 billion.

Mr. Waliur Rahman Bhuiyan
Managing Director
8821240-5 (PABX)
8821419
E-mail:wali@bocbangladesh.com