Solapur garment makers eye global market

The plan come in the backdrop of garment manufacturers from Maharashtra coordinating to set up half a dozen garment parks.

A garment park pilot project, on 30 acres of land, is expected to come up at Solapur which has large number of uniform manufacturers in the country, according to the Solapur Garment Manufacturers Association (SGMA).

“We can accommodate 125 units in the pilot project and we are willing to pass on surplus business to other regions like Pune and Nagpur so that the whole State can benefit,” said Amit Kumar Jain, director, Solapur Garment Manufacturers Association (SGMA).

The plan come in the backdrop of garment manufacturers from Maharashtra coordinating to set up half a dozen garment parks in different parts of the State to capitalise on the growing demand for uniforms from India and abroad.

“Solapur has already established its credentials as a reliable source of uniforms for India and around the world. Now, we are organising a trade fair in Mumbai in December third week to generate additional volume for our members as well for other garment manufacturing regions in the State,” said Mr. Jain.

“The objective is to generate enough volume to have additional 2,500 new units in the State by 2024 so that five or six garment parks can come up in Maharashtra. Our aim is to make Maharashtra the world’s uniform sourcing hub,” he said.

Mr. Jain said these parks will come up through financial assistance from State and Central governments from different schemes. “The State Textile Policy 2018-23 has enough provision and funds can also come from Central schemes,” he said.

He added, “Today, in the uniforms segment (school uniform, corporate wear, hospital uniform, hotels uniform, industrial and government forces’ uniforms), there is no single place in the world which has an organised sourcing platform under one roof and Maharashtra can take this place. This will lead to generation of employment as well and augment new investments in the State,” he added.

Nilesh Shah, director, SGMA, said “Maharashtra will soon be seeing a big garment park supported by State Textile Ministry. For the 2019 fair, our objective is to ensure visits of over 10,000 retailers/dealers from across India and the world who can see for themselves the progress made by the textile industry in the State.”