Turkish Textile Company To Commence Production In January

Angel’s Cotton & Textile Production Plc – a Turkish textile company based in Legetafo Industrial Zone, 25kms away from Addis Abeba, in Oromia Regional State – is to begin the production of underwear and other textile products in January, 2014.

The Company, which received a 2.5 ha plot from the Oromia Regional State a year ago, has been constructing its factory installing machinery at a cost of close to half a billion Birr, according to a source at the Company who sought anonymity.

So far, 95pc of the factory construction and 20 pc of the installation of machineries is completed, according to figures available at the Company.

Angels will have the production capacity of 150tns of garments a month when it reaches full capacity.

“That means starting with 20tns of garment in January,” Melaku H.Giorgis, manager of the factory, told Fortune.

The Company will devote 80pc of its production to export, with the remainder going to the local market, according to the agreement the Company signed with the Ministry of Industry (MoI), a year ago. Currently, however, Angels is planning to export 97pc of its products.

Despite the agreement, Angel says a much lower amount is adequate for the local market, since the production capacity is high.

“Three percent will be enough for the local market, given our large production capacity,” says Aron Ancel, president of the Company.

This is a bit unusual even for bigger textile companies according to an official at Textile Industry Development Institute, who commends the stance by Angel’s to devote up to 97pc of its production to export.

“Companies including the bigger ones sell much of their products in the local market,” said the official who preferred anonymity. “This ignores the commitment they enter into.”

Every foreign company is expected to export at least 80 pc of its garment product according to the newly implemented investment directive.

Almost all of the exports will be to European countries, according to Melaku.

Angels expects to generate 100 million dollars from exports when it begins functioning at its full capacity. The institute’s target for the 2013/14 fiscal year alone is to gain 500 million dollars from export of garment.

To date, it is Ayka Addis that exports about 80% of the garments that is expected to be exported. This is a Turkish textile company that moved to Ethiopia following an invitation by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi for Turkish companies to invest in Ethiopia during his official visit to Turkey in 2011.

Angels, which currently has about 85 workers, excluding daily labourers, has 42 textile engineers. All of these were recruited by the company’s president from Bahir Dar University.

“We offer them a more competitive price, one step higher than the local market average,” says Aron “We use their skills at a competitive price when compared to the global scenario.”

The Company is now offering technical training to the graduate engineers, whom it hired back in September.

The Company needs even more fresher textile graduates for 2014, according to Aron.

Among the total number of workers, only five of them, including the president, are Turkish nationals, whereas the others are Ethiopians.

As part of its expansion project, the Company has demanded from the municipality an additional 3ha plot.

About 50 Turkish textile companies are also eyeing a move into the Ethiopian market.
Source: Addis Fortune