Hanesbrands Vietnam opens third factory   Hanesbrands Vietnam, a subsidiary of the global leading apparel marketer Hanesbrands, opened its third factory in the northern province of Hung Yen last week. The company’s expansion is partly motivated by the benefit it hopes to enjoy after Vietnam joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership next year. The new $15 million plant, which is situated in Kim Dong district, 10 kilometres from its Khoai Chau factory, covers an area of nearly 85,000 square metres. The plant has recruited 2,000 employees, and the local workforce is expected to expand to 5,500 to 6,000 once the factory becomes fully operational. With the annual capacity of over 67 million units, the new manufacturing facility specialises in bras and woven boxers – two categories that are new to Hanesbrands’ operations in Vietnam. Hanesbrands is a socially-responsible leading marketer of everyday basic apparel under some of the world’s strongest apparel brands in the Americas, Asia and Europe, including Hanes, Champion, Playtex, DIM, Bali, Maidenform and Flexees. The company sells T-shirts, bras, panties, shapewear, men’s and children’s underwear, socks, hosiery, and active wear produced in the company’s low-cost global supply chain. After establishing itself in Vietnam in 2007, Hanesbrands Vietnam has seen stable growth, and has developed two production hubs in Hung Yen and Phu Bai in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue with the total investment capital of $45 million and the total capacity of 400 million units per year. By end of 2014, the company expects to employ almost 10,000 employees in Vietnam, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of Hanesbrands’ global workforce. The new factory in Kim Dong has come about as a result of Hanesbrands’ positive business strategies and its promising outlook in Vietnam. It not only expands Hanesbrands’ manufacturing bases in the country, it also enables the company to better meet the increasing demand of developed markets in America, Japan, Canada and China. “Vietnam is a major part of the group’s supply chain in Asia. The establishment of our third factory in Vietnam manifests our long-term commitment here, and we hope that this Kim Dong plant will further strengthen our presence and help us continue to grow in Vietnam,” said Javier Chacon, senior vice president, global operations, Hanesbrands. Tuan Phan, Hanesbrands’ manager at the Hung Yen plant, said that with the total of over 100 production facilities in 35 countries, Hanesbrands was one of the few apparel companies to primarily operate its manufacturing facilities. “More than 90 per cent of apparel units sold worldwide and in the US are manufactured in our own plants, or those of dedicated contractors. We are happy to operate three production hubs in Vietnam which will be critical links in our supply chain in Asia,” said Tuan. By Nhu Ngoc, VIR