Fabrics factory in VITA park eyes million metre export target
Fabrics factory in VITA park eyes million metre export target
Chiem Patana (Lao) Co., Ltd, a foreign investor active in the Vientiane Industry and Trade Area Special Economic Zone (VITA Park) plans to expand business after making progress with exports to Turkey proving profitable.
The factory at the park located 22 kilometers from the CBD at Nonthong in Xaythany district currently produced woven fabrics from 30 machines with 40 employees.
It plans to expand to 100 machines within this year, company manager Mr Orisa Samphaongoen told Vientiane Times during a visit the zone last week.
The factory is producing woven fabrics for export to Turkey.
Over the past two months around 1-2 containers a month or 150,000-300,000 m has been exported.
Mr Orisa said when the company expands to 100 machines it should be able to export about 10 containers or more than one million meters per month, he said.
With investment from Thailand, the factory is one of seven companies in the zone now operating and producing their products for export.
The company concession area in the zone totals 21,000 square metres.
The factory currently covers some 3,600 square metres and the company plans to establish a warehouse and dormitory.
He believed that the expansion will help to create more job opportunities for local workers.
The company has invested almost 100 million baht and will spend more on expanding its business.
Mr Orisa said high demand was a feature of the global market.
The factory operates 24 hours per day over three shifts.
The important thing that the company is enhancing is training for new employees as most of local hires have limited experience on using such machines.
This would help to lead to a more stable workforce.
If an employee does not come to work, production and profit will reduce, Mr Orisa said.
The factory has not resolved such problems yet but it would ready itself for the greater challenges in the future when the factory expands.
He said the company decided to invest in this zone due to the special rights and tax treatment on offer.
VITA park is a joint partn ership venture between the Lao Government, holding 30 percent ownership and Nam Wei Development Co., Ltd., holding 70 percent ownership.
A total of 49 companies have registered to invest in the park wit h around US$63.27 million, of which 23 companies have completed construction, three are under way with a further seven in various stages of preparation.
