Integrating innovation culture can take the industry next level

Integrating Innovation in Career 2022 by Textile Today illuminated future pathways for young and future textile engineers

Industry Icon ATM Mahbubul Alam Milton, Executive Director, Masco Group said, “Integrating innovation is all about better thinking process – only then it will become a process and set the motion of innovation.”

Mahbubul Alam Milton opined this in the ‘Integrating Innovation in Career 2022’ seminar as the Keynote speaker. The seminar was organized by Textile Today at AG Conference Hall, Tejgaon, Dhaka on December 3, 2022.

The daylong seminar highlighted how young and future textile engineers can add innovativeness as a real tangible skill that can add direct value in their jobs and business and even larger in their lives.

“The most important aspect of innovation is integrating the mind and heart. This synchronization will bring out the best result on innovation.”

“Innovation is all about to keep questioning oneself and keep on challenging your very own self. The question that arises that how innovation works. How will we embrace innovation in our journey to the next level? The answer is, innovation is a process, habit and it is culture. We say that innovation is a journey toward value creation. If we want to take our people-driven textile and apparel industry to the next level – as everybody is naturally creative – we need to align them into our innovation process. Overall, if we develop a culture of innovation then it will be natural to take our industries to the next level.”

“Innovation is an excellent word. In our daily life, we use this word regularly and it is said that innovation is everywhere. If we want to take our business to next level, if we want to develop processes, if we want to make ourselves more efficient and competitive – then there is no alternative of innovation.”

“Let me give you a small-scale example. Every factory has a storeroom – similarly Masco Group has one in each of its factories. Now, if I ask you the question that how many people do we need to run these storerooms? You will say at least one person in each storeroom. You will be astounded to know that Masco’s stores are perfectly running without a single dedicated person or any kind of automation. How are we making it possible? By only changing the mindset of the people. And you all have to believe and adopt the same mindset to implement real innovation,” Mahbubul Alam Milton added.

Tareq Amin, Founder & CEO, Textile Today in his introductory speech said, “Innovation is an intangible thing, as we cannot touch it. Most importantly among the masses it is not crystalized, clarified nor has it been achieved. So, our aim today will be to crystalized, clarified and identified – this is the aim of this seminar.”

Eng. A. S. M. Hafizur Rahman Nixon, Executive Director, RH Corporation said in his welcome address, “Innovation is indispensable for the industry and especially for the young and future textile engineers. As dyes & chemicals and machine manufacturing are all about innovation and sustainability. Because everybody knows that nobody wants to lose their way in common products. So, it is high time for future textile engineers to focus on innovation and sustainability.”

Md. Eousup Novee, Bablu, GM – Innovation & Strategy, TTIH presented a speech on ‘Innovation and its Method.’ He emphasized, with examples, the systematic approaches to innovations. He showed some process designs for the implementation of innovations for practical cases.

He shared his experience that “some factories and companies want to work with us but they cannot simply find out their problems. Having no problem is the greatest problem.”

There is no right answer to a wrong question; the problem should also be found out systematically.

Eousup Novee lamented that the textile and apparel (T&A) industry of Bangladesh has been poorly branded as ‘competitive’ for its ‘cheap labor and, water resources free of cost. He argued that the industry should be competitive for its innovativeness with the slogan ‘Innovativeness is a new competitiveness.’ Every innovation must have a business case; it should either reduce the cost, help increase the revenue, or, simplify any process of the business operations.

As the guest speaker, Abdulla Al Rumi, Country Manager, Stanley/Stella BLO, shared his long journey and how he overcame career-long challenges through innovation.

At the event, other guest speakers were – Abul Kalam Azad, Lecturer, Department of Dyes and Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Textiles; Irin Akter, Global Technical Manager Materials & Testing, G-Star RAW; Abul Hasnat, Sr. Technologist, Raw Materials; George, Bangladesh (WMGS Bangladesh Private Ltd.); Noman Bin Yousuf, Senior Fabric Technologist The Just Group; Raju Ahmed, Principal, Sheikh Hasina Textile Engineering Collage, Riasat Zaman, Co-Founder and CTO Eco Via Ltd.; Md. Tanvir Hossain, Lecturer, Bangladesh University of Business and Technology, BUBT; Sadman Sakib Tushan, Adjunct Lecturer, Industrial and Production Engineering Bangladesh University of Textiles; Rifatur Rahman Miazee, Executive- All Over Printing, Apex Holdings Ltd.

Around 100 participants from the leading textile universities, and industry leaders attended the seminar. Later in the seminar, panel speakers answered various questions from the participants.