Egypt’s largest garment manufacturer has unveiled plans to construct its first knitting and dyeing mill. The plans are part of a wider expansion project, which will see the opening of a new ‘factory of the future’ later this year that will add an additional 10 mn garments to its annual capacity across the country.
Alex Apparels is Alpine Group’s Egypt-based garment manufacturing division and has been recognised by the Export Council of Egypt as the country’s number one exporter of apparel for 2021/22. This comes amidst record growth of 6.5 percent for Egypt’s export economy, and, says the company, signals Alpine Group’s market leadership in the garment export category.
Riding this momentum, Alpine Group – a longstanding partner for renowned fashion brands that include Under Armour, American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch – is continuing to make a series of strategic investments in Egypt to drive forward its global ambitions.
The Group is in the process of securing LEED Gold certification for Alex Apparels’ new facility, which is expected to provide an additional 2,000+ jobs for the local community. The highly anticipated factory will also feature co-creation spaces and an Experimentation Station, facilitating a new level of design collaboration with global brands.
This facility will be followed by the Group’s first knitting and dyeing mill in Egypt – due to be operational in the second half of 2023. The mill will offer polyester filament and blended fabric knitting, producing up to 75 tons of fabric daily, once phase two of the mill is completed. The latest development will bring fabric closer to needle through lean manufacturing, direct process automation, and a fully digital workflow from dyeing to cutting, the company said.
“We are delighted to be named Egypt’s number one exporter of garments,” said Ashok Mahtani, co-Founder and Chairman of Alpine Group. “Our strategic growth plans in Egypt are reflective of the country’s investment in export infrastructure. Additionally, its positioning as an industry-positive hub and duty-free access to the US and EU makes it an ideal location for brands and retailers to diversify their production and sourcing options.”
As part of its expansion drive, Alpine is also set to be the first textile innovation and apparel manufacturing business to undertake the Future-Fit Business Benchmark, a science-based strategic management tool that aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Founded 40 years ago by Ashok Mahtani and Lalu Mahtani, Alpine Group has evolved from a family business into a global enterprise that is aiming to set new benchmarks for the future of fashion whilst also elevating standards of ethical sourcing and production. Supplying numerous global brands, its Alex Apparels business is the largest global exporter of apparel in Egypt, employing 5,400 workers and operating 3,500 machines, producing 24 million garments each year.
The Group also includes United Creations, which is the largest manufacturer of polo shirts in Jordan and has further expanded through the recent acquisition of a new facility that can produce five million garments annually. With 5,400 team members and operating 2,900 machines, United Creations produces 27 mn garments each year.
Alpine also operates Paradise Textiles, the dedicated innovation hub of the Group, which provides research and innovation on sustainable materials, performance, and advanced manufacturing.
