Sri Lankan apparel company Brandix, which has operations in India and Bangladesh, is turning its factories into personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturing units in the battle against COVID-19 as orders for regular clothes dry up, according to Hasitha Premaratne, group finance director of the company who also heads India operations.
Its factories in Sri Lanka are making cotton masks for a global brand. About 9,000 out of over 30,000 workers in its factories in that country are already involved in making PPE and that figure will be ramped up to around 16,000 soon, Premaratne said.Sri Lankan apparel company Brandix, which has operations in India and Bangladesh, is turning its factories into personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturing units in the battle against COVID-19 as orders for regular clothes dry up, according to Hasitha Premaratne, group finance director of the company who also heads India operations.#
In Sri Lanka, Brandix is making masks out of material made at its Teejay Lanka weft knit plant, which is now running at almost full steam. In India, where Brandix has over 20,000 workers, the group has started making protective clothing for domestic consumption. Material for hazmat style suits is produced in India itself.
Brandix has also taken orders for PPE and is making arrangements to farm out production to Sri Lanka’s small and medium apparel exporters who are unable to pay salaries of workers and are about to collapse. The masks are made to comply with to US and European regulations.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)