Sae-A Helps Bring New Day to Haiti

NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sae-A Trading Co., Ltd (Sae-A), a leading global apparel manufacturer and exporter headquartered in South Korea, today marked a new day in Haiti by opening its factory, S&H Global, in the Caracol Industrial Park. The factory opening took place with a ceremony attended by 500 guests from Haiti, the US government, and Sae-A's other partners. The official ground-breaking for Sae-A's kindergarten, primary and middle school, S&H School (l'Ecole S&H), also took place today.

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Attending today's ceremony, entitled 'A New Day in Haiti,' were representatives from Sae-A's partners: the US State Department, The Government of Haiti, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Moreover, key attendees at today's ceremony included US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton; Former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, President of Haiti, Michel Martelly and President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno. Additionally, investors such as Richard Branson, the Head of Virgin Group and celebrities like Sean Penn, Ben Stiller, and Donna Karan attended the event.

'Today truly marks a new day in Haiti,' said Sae-A Chairman Woong-Ki Kim. 'Sae-A's investment in Haiti has been designed to not only create jobs, but to empower Haitians with skills and education. We are grateful for our partners in helping achieve this milestone, and look forward to great success in the years to come.'

Sae-A is the first and largest tenant in the Caracol Industrial Park, and this highly anticipated factory is slated to create 20,000 jobs by 2016. Currently operating 24 sewing lines, the factory will have 288 sewing lines at full capacity.

Sae-A's commitment of technical expertise is expected to elevate Haiti's apparel manufacturing industry to help make it a world class leader. Its training programs are designed to provide valuable skill-sets to the previously unemployed unskilled workforce, and its investment of machinery and equipment will not only accomplish the above, but will also directly support the livelihoods of 100,000 to 120,000 Haitians.

In 2010, Sae-A was approached by the United States Secretary of State to take part in an opportunity to help galvanize Haiti's economy through the Caracol Industrial Park. An MOU was signed between Sae-A and the Government of Haiti, the US Government and the Inter-American Development Bank on January 11, 2011. Ground was then broken on November 29, 2011 to begin construction.

Sae-A Beyond the Factory, In the Community

Today also marks the ground-breaking of S&H School (l'Ecole S&H), which is set to open in October 2013. More specifically, S&H School (l'Ecole S&H) will serve 390 kindergarten, primary and middle school students residing near Caracol. A retired Haitian-American middle school principal from the New York City area, recruited through the City University of New York, has joined the project from early 2012.

The school is being built in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) who helped to assess local Haitian education needs. Sae-A's industrial complex investment and school construction project serve as a dual-purpose model for creating jobs and improving the educational infrastructure in the region.

Medical Support & Training

S&H School (l'Ecole S&H) represents one of many community-oriented initiatives undertaken by Sae-A. In August of this year, Sae-A sponsored a team of 20 medical experts from Chonnam National University Hospital on a 10 day journey to Haiti. This team treated over 4,000 patients across several disciplines including obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics, internal medicine and dermatology.

Believing that investment in talent reaps great rewards, Sae-A donated 120 professional, industrial quality sewing machine-table workstations and sewing supplies to the training institutes set up and run by USAID (INDEPCO) in Trop du Nord and Caracol in June of 2012.

Earthquake Relief

Further to the aforementioned programs, Sae-A has also been active in providing relief services. Immediately following the 2010 earthquake, Sae-A donated over 100,000 garments to the Haitian government as part of international relief efforts. Sae-A also provided 12,000 hygiene kits and a 4.5 ton cargo truck for medical supply transportation in the summer of 2011, when the country was fighting a deadly cholera epidemic and still recovering from the devastating impacts of the earthquake.

About Sae-A Trading Co., Ltd

Established in 1986, Sae-A Trading Co., Ltd is one of the largest apparel manufacturing companies in the world exporting over 1.3 billion US dollars worth of products from facilities in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China. Sae-A employs over 30,000 associates of its own and another 20,000 associates at partner facilities.

SOURCE Sae-A Trading Co., Ltd.