impahla clothing
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IndustrySA Impahla Clothing articleTRANSCRIPT
IMPAHLA CLOTHING
COMPANY PROFILE
2013
SA’s first carbon neutral garment manufacturer
In the last two decades, South Africa has developed and maintained a strong manufacturing sector, spread across many industries, which has earned a great reputation and shown poten-tial for competitiveness in international markets.
Through manufacturing comes stimulation of other areas of the economy such as services, job creation and economic empowerment. The sector is constantly contributing to economic development and growth, and the industry of textiles, clothing and footwear has been one that has contributed vastly to community advancement.
The growth of textiles, clothing and footwear manufacture in particular has been phenomenal. Technology, communications, infrastructure and
skill-levels have all seen rapid developments and it is reported that since 1994, nearly US$1 billion has been spent on the industry in South Africa, modernising, upgrading and making it globally viable.
Proof of the success and growing influence of the manufacturing sector, namely in the field of clothing, is provided by Impahla Clothing, a privately owned company based in Cape Town with a reputation for world-class production of sport and lifestyle apparel and fabric.
Managing Director, William Hughes, recently told IndustrySA about how the company has built its glowing reputation from the ground up and what the future holds for South Africa’s first carbon neutral garment manufacturer.
COMPANY REPORT
Editorial – Christian JordanProduction – Tonnie Geddes
PAGE 2 APR 13
SA’s first carbon neutral garment manufacturer Impahla Clothing is one of the country’s leading sports and lifestyle garment manufacturers. The company is carbon neutral and boasts a highly skilled and loyal workforce. MD, William Hughes, talks to IndustrySA about the company’s success since its inception in 2004…
“I was previously a farmer in Zimbabwe and I lost my farm to the land redistribution act in 2003. From there I moved to South Africa and had to look for an income. We found a company that was on its last legs, The Cape Town T-Shirt Company, and purchased all the assets. We offered all the staff a new position within our company, this was in 2004. We started with approximately 50 people,” says Mr Hughes.
In nine years the company has increased its staff compliment eight-fold, now operating with over 400 people.
Impahla has strategically positioned itself in a Cape Town, where a cluster of fashion manufacturing companies has emerged over the last 20 years. “When we purchased our original assets, the company was
operating out of a premise and we negotiated with the landlord and stayed there from 2004 to 2007,” says Mr Hughes. “We then purchased our own site and moved into our current facility in Cape Town in 2007.”
PUMAWhen Impahla purchased its original assets in 2004, the company it made acquisitions from had a small relationship with global sports clothing brand Puma.
The Impahla management realised immediately that this relationship was valuable and, if managed correctly, could provide a wealth of opportunities for their new company.
IMPAHLA CLOTHING
APR 13 PAGE 3
“99% of what we do is for Puma. We have a strategic partnership with them. We don’t do work with anyone else and they guarantee our lines. We’re not looking for work from other companies as we know that our lines are guaranteed.
“They were a small customer of the previous company that we purchased the assets out of and we worked hard on the relationship to grow it to what it is today.”
The company produces a full range of apparel for Puma and the sports giant trusts Impahla to create clothing for the SA market, the African market and in some cases, international markets.
“One of the main strengths of our business is that we are very versatile. We can do many different styles. Currently we are doing rugby jerseys, soccer jerseys, tracksuits, shorts, t-shirts, hoodies and many others. It’s mainly sports orientated products with some lifestyle stuff as well.
“The products are sold mainly in South Africa and Africa but we have done orders for Europe and throughout the whole world,” says Mr Hughes.
So why is it that Puma place such trust in Impahla? Mr Hughes explains that the company has brilliant facilities, all highly rated by international standards agencies.
“We have three factories. One does apparel, one does socks and one does fabrics.
“Our factories are A-rated which means we can produce for Puma’s international markets.”
CARBON FOOTPRINTImpahla’s A-rated facilities are not only rated so because of their equipment, quality and safety attributes. “We are a very green company, we are carbon neutral and we have solar panels on the factory rooftops,” says Mr Hughes. The company is an advocate of renewable en-ergy and its factory in Cape Town has been fitted with a high-tech solar energy system consisting of 131 solar modules which reportedly generates approximately 48 mw/h per annum, offsetting 1150 tons of carbon over the lifetime of the system.
It is not just electricity demand that is addressed by the company. Innovative ideas have been implemented including maximisation of natural light usage through translucent roof sheeting to illuminate the factory floor and to provide natural heating during winter months, while employing large roller doors to create a cross-wind cooling effect in summer, thus reducing reliance on electricity to create a favourable working
environment.The company uses energy-efficient light bulbs and
fixtures as well as low volume dual-flow toilets and five-litre hot-water tanks in each of their kitchens.
Plastics, paper and cardboard are all recycled by Oasis, a Cape Town-based NPO which employs mostly persons with mental disabilities and the ink used in screen-printing is PUMA-approved CHT ink.
COMPANY REPORT
PAGE 4 APR 13
IMPAHLA CLOTHING
Independent water quality tests are conducted to ensure that waste water does not contain any harmful chemicals and water quality has been found to be safe for municipal discharge.
Mr Hughes and Impahla are staunchly committed to monitoring their carbon footprint and lowering it each year, something which they have been successful with since 2009.
‘WITHOUT EMPLOYEES WE ARE NOTHING’Like any business, Impahla Clothing relies heavily on a hard-working highly skilled workforce and over the years the company has built up a good rapport with staff, with many remaining loyal and committed for many years.
Mr Hughes says of his staff: “Employees are our most important asset. Without them we are nothing. They are absolutely vital to the success of this business. We put a great deal of value on our employees; we have many long-serving people who are committed to the company.
“We have a promotion from within policy, we recognise skill and we recognise commitment and people with these qualities now make up our management team.”
Respect is also vital explains Hughes, stating that mutual respect between the company and its employees is the most important part of the working relationship.
“People are valued here and they know it. They know that they are not just a number; they know they have a stake in the business and they respect the business.”
It is because of the commitment and motivation of the staff and management that the business has managed to grow significantly since 2004 and while there are more opportunities for growth, the company is currently consolidating and strategising for the future.
“Employees are our most important asset. Without them we are nothing. They are absolutely vital to the success of this business”
APR 13 PAGE 5
Textilaties/Spintex would like to congratulate Impahla Clothing on its entry into the South African Hosiery Industry, with its recent acquisition of the troubled Millennium/Continental group.
Textilaties and Spintex are thrilled at this development, which they feel will bring a new level of stability to the industry in the Western Cape and throughout Southern Africa.
Spintex is a specialist manufacturer of Elastomeric and Spandex Yarns, developed especially for the Hosiery Industry over the last 25 years. The services also include a twisting facility.
Textilaties, which is 40 years old next year, provides spares and accessories,including needles and elements for Sock, Flat and Circular machines. Along with this, they offer a range of machines which could be used by the Impahla Group - these include:
Please visit the Textilaties website for further information on the company and its services.
Tel Local: 012 6548251Tel Int: (+27) 12 6548251
Fax Local: 012 6541396Fax Int: (+27) 126541396
Email: [email protected]
www.textilaties.com
Serving the textile industry
Da Kong Fully Electronic sock machines.
Jin Peng Fully Electronic Collar & Sweater
machines.
Pai Lung Circular Fabric Machines.
COMPANY REPORT IMPAHLA CLOTHING
“We’ve expanded a lot in the last year and we are currently in a consolidation phase. We do get a lot of requests from companies to manufacture new products so there is an opportunity to expand but we are trying to consolidate and then we will see where we go from there,” explains Mr Hughes.
Whatever the plans for the future, the team at Impahla know that now is the time to be especially careful when planning expansion and growth, with the global economic climate in the state that it is. However, Mr Hughes recognises that to date, the Impahla way of doing things has worked exceptionally well.
“We see that the situation is difficult and not what it was, but in terms of the products we are making, we haven’t seen any slowdown. We have not been majorly affected but we are aware that
we need to be cautious.“The industry in South Africa has taken a bit of a
hammering with job losses. With imports from the Far East, a lot of South African manufacturers have fallen away. We have our own strategies and our own models and they seem to work for us.”
With export values from clothing and fabric growing and benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) being felt in the industry, there are definitely prospects for a company with the expertise of Impahla to achieve further expansion.
As the country looks for enterprise to create employment and contribute to the economy, Impahla Clothing is most certainly one of the organisations leading the way when it comes to quality product, innovative facilities and a strong, knowledgeable labour force. .
APR 13 PAGE 7
Textilaties/Spintex would like to congratulate Impahla Clothing on its entry into the South African Hosiery Industry, with its recent acquisition of the troubled Millennium/Continental group.
Textilaties and Spintex are thrilled at this development, which they feel will bring a new level of stability to the industry in the Western Cape and throughout Southern Africa.
Spintex is a specialist manufacturer of Elastomeric and Spandex Yarns, developed especially for the Hosiery Industry over the last 25 years. The services also include a twisting facility.
Textilaties, which is 40 years old next year, provides spares and accessories,including needles and elements for Sock, Flat and Circular machines. Along with this, they offer a range of machines which could be used by the Impahla Group - these include:
Please visit the Textilaties website for further information on the company and its services.
Tel Local: 012 6548251Tel Int: (+27) 12 6548251
Fax Local: 012 6541396Fax Int: (+27) 126541396
Email: [email protected]
www.textilaties.com
Serving the textile industry
Da Kong Fully Electronic sock machines.
Jin Peng Fully Electronic Collar & Sweater
machines.
Pai Lung Circular Fabric Machines.
(0)1603 618 000
East Coast Promotions Ltd, Ferndale Business Centre, 1 Exeter Street.Norwich, NorfolkNR2 4QB
+27 21 510 4201www.impahla.co.za