UNCOILING OPPORTUNITIES
Partex making strides in the cable industry
By Marjiya Baktyer Ahmed
Partex Cables Limited entered the market with the vision to revolutionize the cable industry. Making their landfall in 2016, Partex Cables shot through competition by manufacturing household wires, low voltage PVC and XLPE insulated cables, medium voltage, high voltage, instrumentation & control cables, communication cables, and overhead conductors. You name it, they have got it. A.K.M Ahasanul Haque is at the helm of the young industry as Chief Operating Officer, laying the foundation and leading it to the market position Partex Cables holds today.
Certified by ISO 9001:2015 for its Quality Management System, Partex Cables Limited follows the standards set by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), BDS, VDE, BS, ASTM etc. Obtaining the necessary certifications from BSTI, BUET, CRPI, Partex Cables strives to deliver its users excellent product and reliability. They are dedicated to improving the quality of life through the implementation of advanced information and transmission technology.
The import-heavy cable industry of Bangladesh is growing rapidly with local manufacturers stepping up and meeting most of the cable demand. However, due to the lack of a proper formal structure, and regulation the industry often falls prey to counterfeit cables with compromising quality. Haque stresses the need to curb the activities of these industries to make space for companies wanting to offer quality products and assurance. By using automatic coiling and wrapping, and QR codes and skin coating; Partex Cables ensures that their products cannot be replicated, “this is how we ensure quality” Haque says. In order to limit import and save foreign currency, Partex Cables have come up with some import-substitute cables like underground cables, Medium voltage cables, High voltage cables, data cables etc.
Cables are comprised of two main parts – conductor and insulator. The higher the purity of the conductor, the higher the electricity carrying capacity. Conductors are of many types, however, Aluminum (Al) and Copper (Cu) are the two main types used for making cables. Partex Cables ensures that their conductors meet all the Electrical Grade standards. The purest copper cathodes are imported from London Metal Exchange-listed companies. High-quality Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) insulation is necessary to ensure complete safety and a perfect life span of cable; therefore Partex Cables imports the finest quality cable grade PVC resin, Calcium carbonate, DOP and other required additives to produce the best quality PVC granules. Besides, they use calcium zinc based stabilizer for PVC granules and PVC shrink poly for coil wrapping which ensures a complete environment-friendly cable.
By using cathodes which are refined through the electrorefining process, Partex Cables ensure that the copper they use is 99.99% pure which guarantees that the electrical conductivity is 101%. The best quality technology and machinery are used for the safest electric propagation in Bangladesh. Impure copper disrupts the conductivity of the copper which leads to system loss, transmission issues, and distribution disparity. Haque iterates, “Purer the conductor, more efficient the electrical flow and better the cable.”
Quality insulation is necessary to maintain the quality of the cable. Partex Cables installed the world’s best CDCC CCV Line from Maillefer, Finland. This state of the art technology allows them to produce 72.5 kV High Voltage Underground Power Cables. PVC, XLPE, and rubber are the commonly used insulators. Despite PVC’s bendable qualities, it does not sustain well in high temperatures, and this is where cross-linked polyethylene insulation is employed. In Bangladesh, PVC is used for high tension cables, but since they carry a high voltage they require higher quality insulation for which XLPE is the best option.
In order to restrict the chances of a flare-up from short-circuiting, Partex Cables has in its inventory PVC based fire-retarding low smoke (FRLS) insulators. This prevents an unfortunate spark from turning into a catastrophe by retarding the spark to a 1-meter length. Partex Star Fire Guard Fire Resistant Cables survive up to 950°C under the CWZ category. They are resistant to fire, water, and mechanical shock. LSZH cables are low smoke and halogen free, and they restrict the noxious fumes produced by a fire. The implementation of these cables by the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) will be beneficial to the economy, enrich the lives of users while increasing the efficiency of electricity generation.
Partex Cable has grown in leaps and bounds in reimagining the cable industry. However, in order to sustain their growth and increase productivity, it is imperative to educate the consumers and electricians. Haque notes, “Electricians who fit electricity and cables are the influencers and it is important that they are educated properly and equipped accordingly.” The latest initiative is to set up training workshops for electricians to learn what cables are available in the market and translate that effectively to consumers.
Despite creating import-substitute cables, ensuring their facilities, and developing infrastructure, Haque finds that government intervention is necessary to stop the import and to encourage local industry growth. Haque insists, “The government has to step in and ensure facilities for local manufacturers and subject them to capacity, capability and quality standards so that import can be ceased.” There is an urgency to root out fake manufacturers whose activities reduce the quality of the products thereby hindering the industry’s progress. Haque states, “Our industry needs to be educated more, customer education is necessary plus the cessation of unhealthy competition which hinges on poor quality. A government can help to educate and inform and create awareness among the people.” If BSTI or other bodies implement a standard law for the entire cable industry, then Haque believes this will help weed out the fake manufacturers and allow the industry to prosper with those companies looking to offer consumers an efficient money-saving, life-improving quality product, and service.
Besides Electrical Grade cables, Partex Cables manufacture high-speed network cable Partex DataStar, producing CAT-5, CAT-6, CAT-5e, CAT-6ecables. These cables ensure low attenuation, crosstalk, and structural return loss. Most of the data cables used in Bangladesh are imported and are of very low quality. Partex Cables also manufacture high-quality coaxial cable ranging from RG- 6/6u, 47, 48, 57, 59, which are used in cable TV network and CCTV camera. These cables warrant a minimum loss in signal quality for better reception, higher bandwidth for larger network expansion, low attenuation value, less electromagnetic interference, and a minimum structural return loss.
Partex Cables offers the assurance of quality production at every single step. They employ the most modern, and well-equipped laboratory where expert Lab Engineers and Technicians ensure high quality of the cables they produce. They initiated the differentiation in segments like production, packaging, distribution and were the first to focus on customer service. The initiatives taken by Partex Cables have reshaped the fast-growing industry. With proper regulation and government intervention, the cable industry as a whole will adhere to the efficiency standards and the high-quality production process set by Partex Cables Limited.
