Financial Times

New $30 million JV with MAS Holdings
A US$ 30-million joint venture has been set up between MAS Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, Elastic Fabrics of America (EFA), and Dogi International Fabrics (Dogi), to establish a warp knit fabric manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka.

The joint venture agreement was signed on February 2 at the Interfiliere Trade Show in Paris, France by James Robbins, President and CEO, Elastic Fabrics of America, Joseph Domenech, Chairman, Dogi International Fabrics and Mahesh Amalean, Chairman MAS Holdings, in the presence of Rohitha Bogollagama, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotions.

The new partnership will put into place a pioneering initiative that will cater to the growing demand for high quality warp knit fabric for the apparel industry in Sri Lanka and the Indian sub-continent, according to a MAS statement.
Construction under the project gets off the ground within a month and is due for completion by December this year. Commercial production will begin a month later with the employment potential being 250 persons.

Warp knit is a specialty synthetic stretch fabric mostly used in the manufacture of intimate wear (bras in particular) as well as swimwear and is sought after because of the stretch factor. The factory would meet at least 50 percent of the country's requirements within three years.

These categories were identified as focus product groups in the 5 year strategic plan announced by the Joint Apparel Associations Forum of Sri Lanka to increase the competitiveness of the industry.

Minister Bogollagama said the government has been projecting the Thulhiriya facility as an investment destination for world-class manufacturers of textiles and are “therefore encouraged to see that MAS Holdings together with partners set up this state of the art warp knit fabric mill as part of their overall plan to develop Thulhiriya as an integrated textile city.”

Dogi, headquartered in Spain, is one of the leading manufacturers of warp knitted fabrics with manufacturing facilities in Spain, Germany, China, Thailand and the Philippines, and commercial offices in 11 countries. EFA is a leading American-based manufacturer of elastomeric warp knits and circular knits.
MAS Holdings is one of the leading providers of design-to-delivery solutions, specializing in intimate apparel, sportswear and leisurewear.

The joint venture will cater to the fast growing global intimate, active and sportswear segments, primarily supplying apparel manufacturers in the South Asian region catering to the North American and European markets.

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