Almeda plans to expand its textile factory five times bigger

Almeda Textile is the biggest textile manufacturing company in Ethiopia having 100 million Birr sales volume. That is 70% sales volume in local market and 30% sales volume in global market . Almeda is benefitting from complete new production lines imported from Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Japan that take up a total investment of US$ 94 million.

However, companies like Fong’s Europe GMBH had a surviving partnership with Almeda Textile Plc. Tesfay G. Egziabher, marketing and sales manager at Almeda textile, informed that the factory has planned to expand five times bigger than what it currently is. At the moment the textile factory is processing 20 tons of garment a day. Five years it will reach the level where it would process 100 tons per day.

The 15-year-old Almeda Textile is situated in the Tigray Regional State some 1000km north of the capital. According to Tesfay, the overall expected investment is estimated to be between six and eight billion birr, depending on the market fluctuations. By then the total number of employees will reach 40,000.

In addition to the five-year expansion plan, Almeda has been in contact with some of the visiting manufacturers to purchase some spare-parts for the dyeing, finishing and spinning machineries. For that reason, Almeda is set to invest some 80 million birr for the spinning parts.

Twenty million birr more is expected to be spent on finishing machineries spares. Currently, Almeda manufactures trousers, polo shirts, military uniforms, T-shirts and bed sheet alongside other line of products. The export business, however, is declining. Tesfay said that some 13 influential customers in the international market turned away due to maladministration the textile factory sustained for years.
The current generation of management is striding to change the reputations of the company. Tesfay noted that Almeda is working to absorb the East African markets soon.

Stephan Kehry, director of sales and marketing at Fong’s Europe GMBH company said that Almeda and other Turkish-owned textile companies are
making progresses for future business deals. He admitted that the German sides are less dynamic to articulate themselves the way the business around the textile market is changing.

According to the delegates, the Ethiopian textile sector has the potential to become one of the best performing sectors in the economy. However, Abadjieff said that the sector needs to be looked at from the point view of logistics, delivery and infrastructure. For such and other reasons, it might take years to reach the point where it can play a major role.

Currently, the textile and garment sector grosses USD 120 million annually. However, the target was to earn half a billion dollars this year and top USD billion by the end of 2015.

Almeda is committed in creating a Hub for excellence in the textile field in Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular.