Raymond sets up garment manufacturing plant in Ethiopia for export to US, Europe

Silver Spark Apparel Ethiopia PLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of textile major Raymond, has set up its Greenfield garment manufacturing facility in Ethiopia.

Set up at Hawassa Industrial Park (HIP), with an investment of over Rs 100 Crores, the company can produce 600 suits per day for different brands and will employ 2500 people.

This garment manufacturing facility, which will primarily cater to United States of America and European markets, was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn along with Gautam Hari Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, Raymond Ltd.

This capacity expansion will mark Raymond’s entry amongst the Top 5 Leading Suit manufacturers in the world.

Gautam Hari Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, Raymond Ltd., said, "Raymond is one of the world’s biggest comprehensively integrated Textile& Apparel conglomerate. With a clear direction of capacity augmentation, we continue to stay committed to Make in India and have invested in a green field project. It is a strategic decision to set up a garment manufacturing unit in Ethiopia to mitigate our risk as far as our exports are concerned. Reckoned for providing highest quality products, Raymond has earned the trust and respect of eminent brands across USA, Europe and Japan. In our endeavour to ensure price competitiveness, Ethiopia makes a compelling business case and enables us to serve our international customers. Leveraging the skillsets of garment manufacturing facilities on the domestic front, which are acquired over a period of time, this quantum leap into an international location for manufacturing has been triggered by both core competence and business considerations. ”

The company has set a target of annual revenue of about Rs 250 crore within a year from the plant by exporting mainly to the two developed markets.

In order to be globally price competitive for exports market, setting up a garmenting plant in Ethiopia is a strategic move to ensure duty free access in key export markets such as USA and Europe.