Unifi spreads wings into Vietnam

Unifi Inc continues to expand its global footprint of REPREVE® recycled fibre by entering into Vietnam with support from Century Synthetic fibre Corp., now a licensed manufacturer of Repreve. Century Corp will manufacture, sell and distribute Repreve filament yarn within Vietnam, and Unifi Textiles (Suzhou) Co Ltd (UTSC)—Unifi’s subsidiary in China—will manage sales and distribution of Repreve filament yarn exported from Vietnam. This collaboration will open distribution channels for Repreve in a key apparel-producing region, helping to fulfill increasing demand and shorten lead times to the Company’s customer base.

Headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Century Synthetic fibre Corp is one of the largest polyester yarn manufacturers in Vietnam. Century Corp was established more than 15 years ago and continues to invest in its operations and expand capacity today. “Vietnam has been a region of focus for brands and retailers over the past few years,” said Tom Caudle, President of Unifi. “The growth in the region cannot be ignored, with exports of approximately $27 billion of apparel and textiles in 2015, and expectations to grow to $30 billion in 2016. Within the past 18 months, we’ve grown distribution of REPREVE to include Turkey, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and now, Vietnam.” 

Jay Hertwig, vice president of global brand sales, marketing and product development for Unifi, added, “This is a strategic position in growing the global supply chain for Repreve and will allow us to expand into other Premium Value Added (PVA) products in the near future. A presence in Vietnam will enable Unifi to meet sourcing requests and increasing demand from our customers wherever they choose to do business.”