Moshfeq Rafiq
Moshfeq Rafiq has been heading the Bühler Dhaka/Bangladesh office since 2017. Dhaka is no ordinary office, where getting to work can take several hours due to traffic and the monsoon. But for Moshfeq, it is meeting different people that gives him the thrill. And seeing one of the largest flour mills in the world, Rupshi Mill, installed at CityGroup, Bühler’s biggest customer in the country, in record time, during a global pandemic, makes him proud to be part of the Bühler family.
Julia Lyubova, March 31, 2022
Moshfeq Ullah Rafiq was born in the beach town of Cox’s Bazar, in the southern part of Bangladesh. Cox’s Bazar coast has an unbroken sandy beach of 60 kilometers, stretching from Cox’s Bazar town all the way to the border with Myanmar. Moshfeq grew up there and moved away from his parents’ home to pursue his secondary education and university degree. He originally enrolled on an engineering degree but soon realized that it wasn’t his cup of tea. So, after engineering school he got a place at the top business school of Bangladesh, the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka. Moshfeq says it was this MBA (master’s in business administration) degree that helped him define his career.
Moshfeq spent 12 years at ABB in Bangladesh, the Swiss power and automation giant, where he learned a lot and met many colleagues and customers in private and public sectors. Moshfeq started at ABB in May 2005 and worked there until January 2017.
“While at ABB, it helped me to understand the multinational culture, and more importantly the experience I gained while developing a 3-person team to a 60-people organization along with ensuring year on year growth with profit,” he adds.
In late 2016, Moshfeq received a call from an HR consultant, telling him about an opportunity in a Swiss family-owned company, Bühler, which was looking for a suitable Country Manager in Dhaka. “I had a breakfast meeting with Johannes Wick, CEO Grains and Food, and Prashant Gokhale, President Bühler South Asia, where we talked about the economy of Bangladesh, the power sector, private sector investments, etc,” he recalls.
Both gentlemen briefed Moshfeq about Bühler and the Grains and Food (GF) sector, which was an unknown territory to him. After the meeting, Moshfeq took the time to think over the offer as it was a big move in his career and for his family. In January 2017, Moshfeq joined Bühler as the Country Manager for Bangladesh.
In his job, Moshfeq manages many customers in private and public sectors. One remarkable recent project was the installation of the Rupshi Flour Mill for CityGroup, one of the biggest food conglomerates in Bangladesh which supplies one-third of the country’s total demand. The Rupshi Flour Mill, one of the largest flour mills in the world is already in full operation.
The Mill can produce a total of 6,150 tons per day of flour under one roof. The project was executed in a record 24 months since the December 2019 signing of the contract between Bühler and City Group.
Moshfeq says, “managing customers like CityGroup is not that easy, they are very visionary, risk takers, sometimes emotional also. You need to listen to them carefully rather than giving regular sales speeches. Everyday CEOs of top banks and world class suppliers are visiting CityGroup’s Chairman Mr. Fazlur Rahman, so you need to manage the appropriate window to place your submission, as they are multi taskers, they talk and do many things when you are around. You need to invest time, make yourself on his side rather than be a mere supplier.”
Moshfeq was involved in the Rupshi Flour Mill project from the idea stage to the final handover, which took place in January 2022. The ceremony took place at City Group’s production plant on the bank of the Shitalakshya River, 30 kilometers outside of the capital, Dhaka. From the Bühler side it was attended by Johannes Wick, CEO of Grains & Food, Stefan Bürgi, Project Execution Team Manager, and Moshfeq. From City Group it was attended by the Chairman Mr. Fazlur Rahman and his son and Director of the Group, Mr. Md. Hasan, and Mr. Imran Uddin, Director of Planning and Business Development. The ceremony was also attended by the Swiss Ambassador to Bangladesh HE (Her Excellency) Nathalie Chuard.
I visited CityGroup’s head office and the factory every week during the offer, negotiation, supply, installation, commissioning and the handover stage.
Moshfeq Rafiq,
Managing Director Bühler Bangladesh
Moshfeq says, “I visited CityGroup’s head office and the factory every week during the offer, negotiation, supply, installation, commissioning and the handover stage. Even now my visits to CityGroup are a regular task. “Spending time with such a big entrepreneur is worthy and you get a chance to hear of his future investment ideas,” he adds.
As part of his responsibilities, Moshfeq regularly visits customers and factories. Dhaka is a huge capital city with a population of over 22 million people. It has notorious traffic. Moshfeq says, “on a typical day I spend two to three hours in traffic, there are some incidents you will be spending hours without a single inch of movement of your car. On such bad days, you have to browse the net while sitting in the car, listen to music or simply try to enjoy the traffic by drafting your pending e-mails or planning for the next customer visit and calls.”
On a typical day I spend two to three hours in traffic, there are some incidents you will be spending hours without a single inch of movement of your car.
Moshfeq Rafiq,
Managing Director Bühler Bangladesh
In Bangladesh there are long monsoon and rainy seasons. Sometimes it rains heavily continuously for two or three days. Moshfeq says, “at that time, streets are inundated and flooded; however, it doesn’t stay like this for long in Dhaka. In villages where major rivers flow, it results in floods which sometimes last more than 10 -15 days or even higher in some years. On a rainy day you have to plan your work based on weather forecast and sometimes unexpected things happen like your car becomes faulty when you are wading the water in the streets.”
For Moshfeq, the best part of his job is managing different customers and colleagues, he says they are all unique. “You can’t do the same kind of treatment to everyone, meeting people and visiting places is fun. I find it thrilling to see sales maturing, projects progressing well, and products being produced. In the 23 years of my professional career, I came across many good people, entrepreneurs and colleagues and had a chance to visit some countries.”
The COVID-19 pandemic made me see the importance of having good local service and commissioning engineers. My future vision is to see an expansion of Bühler in Bangladesh and to involve our local team in exciting new projects.
Moshfeq Rafiq,
Managing Director Bühler Bangladesh
Moshfeq says he would like to see Bühler Bangladesh to grow bigger. He would like to engage local talents more in engineering and project execution. “The COVID-19 pandemic made me see the importance of having good local service and commissioning engineers. My future vision is to see an expansion of Bühler in Bangladesh and to involve our local team in exciting new projects,” he concludes.
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