Sae-A, Korea's largest apparel manufacturing and export company, has officially began bulk production at its state-of-the-art cotton spinning mill in Costa Rica following a successful two month pilot production run.

Located in the Cartago region, Sae-A Spinning has a current annual yarn production capacity of 9 million kilograms, resulting in the manufacturing of upwards of 30 million garments per year.

At the inauguration ceremony, the company has announced plans for expansion that will allow it to more than double its capacity.

Opening ceremony

“Sae-A is honoured to welcome President Luis Guillermo Solis and Minister Welmer Ramos Gonzalez of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce to celebrate the opening of the first spinning mill in Costa Rica,” commented Woong-Ki Kim, Sae-A Chairman.

“Sae-A Spinning will create tremendous opportunities for existing and new businesses across the region. Our commitment to the people of Costa Rica is unwavering and we look forward to continued growth in the coming months and years.”

Expanded operations  

Construction of Sae-A Spinning began in February 2014 and completed in January this year. Leveraging the most sophisticated technology, when operating at full capacity, the mill will be able to achieve annually over 20 million kilograms of yarn production, according to the manufacturer. Consistent with Costa Rica's exemplary record of carbon neutrality, it has a programme in place to offset emissions.

With the addition of this yarn spinning mill, which complements its existing fabric knitting and dyeing capability, the company has expanded its operations to realize near complete vertical integration of the entire garment manufacturing process, from design to spinning, fabric knitting and dyeing, to apparel manufacturing and supply chain management.

Sae-A Spinning is Sae-A's most recent investment in the hemisphere. With operations throughout the CAFTA region, the company strives to further strengthen an already robust manufacturing network of environmentally sound and compliant facilities to quickly react to changes in the regulatory environment.

Sae-A Trading

Sae-A Trading, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is a major garment manufacturing and exporting company recognized internationally, with more than 40,000 team members in 24 office locations and 41 factories in 10 countries around the world, with exports to the major fashion and store brands in the US and Europe.

In 2011, Sae-A established one of the region's largest state-of-the-art fabric mills in Indonesia, which has achieved a stellar reputation for quality. Sae-A's total amount of garment exports exceeded US 1.5 billion in 2014 while overall sales from its other operations exceeded US 2 billion.

www.sae-a.com