What next for Nasir Group after its founder’s death?

Noted industrialist Nasir Uddin Biswas, 78, passed away in a hospital in Dhaka on Monday morning. He was the chairman and managing director of Nasir Group of Industries that have exposure in plastics, melamine, keds (footwear), float glass, CFL lamps, glass tableware and glass tubing for fluorescent, energy-saving lamps, etc.

The veteran industrialist established some industries, which were the ‘firsts’ in Bangladesh. Some of his ‘first’ industries in the country are: melamine, canvas shoe company (Jump Keds), float glass, CFL lamps, glass tableware and glass tubing for fluorescent and energy-saving lamps.

He was well known among the businesses for innovation and diversification of manufacturing bases in the country. Though he began with tobacco trading in the early 1970s, later he expanded his business to diversified areas.

“I always believe in innovation. I try to look for products that are not being produced in Bangladesh but for which there is instant market demand,” Nasir told this correspondent back in 2009. He always thought about importing substitute products, which is also evident in his industries.

Coming from a farmer family in Kushtia, Nasir, a commerce graduate, always studied competitiveness and availability of raw materials before setting up a factory. For example, before setting up the float glass factory, he studied the Indian market also.

“Glass companies in India are located in the western and southern zones, a long way from Bangladesh. So Indian companies did not pose any threat to my business,” he told this correspondent over a decade ago.

Nasir Group entered the float glass business in 2005 with a factory at Sreepur in Gazipur, which can now produce 400 tonnes of glass per day. Rising demand from local consumers has led the group to establish a second glass factory with a capacity of 600 tonnes per day at Mirzapur in Tangail district three years ago.

The combined capacity of two factories can now meet the country’s demand, which is around 30,000 tonnes per month. In terms of monetary value, the market size of float glass in Bangladesh would be over Tk 20,000 crore a year, where Nasir Group is the market leader, according to industry insiders.

This is how his extreme business acumen paid him off. Now he left behind an empire of over a dozen factories, most of which were unique and present market leaders in Bangladesh. The annual turnover of the group would be no less than Tk 5,000 crore.

Now the question is what next for the multi-billion dollar Nasir Group of Industries.

The question comes as the group has not a corporate structure that is run by professionals. He set up all the industries almost single-handedly.

Also, he had family feuds. He got married at least twice and there were differences between the two families, which were also evident in an incident several years ago when the eldest son of his first wife tried to capture the management of Nasir Glass Industries.

“I gifted my son and daughter the majority shares of Nasir Glass. After that, they secretly applied to the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms to take over the management of the company as they were the majority shareholders,” Nasir shared this incident with this correspondent several years ago.

When he came to know the matter, he was heartbroken but not lost in despair. “I bought back all the shares I gifted to them and cemented my holdings in the company,” he told this correspondent.

Amid this situation, it has become a big question who will take charge of the multi-billion dollar group as the succession plan may also be slightly unclear because of differences between the two families.