Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency: South Korean Company to Open Cutting-Edge Spinning Mill in Cartago, Costa Rica

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- SAE-A SPINNING S.R.L., a subsidiary of SAE-A TRADING CO., LTD, and the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE) today publically confirmed that the South Korea-based company will open a new thread manufacturing plant in Cartago at an investment of over US$50 million, generating 200 new jobs in direct employment.

With the establishment of this plant, SAE-A Spinning pioneers a mill employing highly automated processes and cutting-edge technology in Costa Rica, repositioning the country as venue for greater value-added activities in the textile industry.

Currently under construction, the plant will produce cotton thread using the latest technology. Spinning involves the transformation of cotton into thread through a series of production processes. The thread produced in Costa Rica will be exported to manufacture apparel, primarily in the American continent. SAE-A Spinning's initial investment amounts to US$50 million, including equipment and the new facilities in Coris de Cartago.

According to an official release from Kwang Ho Yoo, President of SAE-A-SPINNING, the investment is being made with a long-term vision and plan of growth over the next 30 years, in the certainty that the plant and its operations will be successful in the near future.

"If we achieve the yields and success expected, we will even consider exploring opportunity for a second investment to complement the one we are announcing.  Resources invested in Costa Rica, including high-tech machinery, systems, technologies and skills, are planned for the long term, more than 30 years. Thanks to the country's good business climate and the commercial advantages of DR-CAFTA, we trust this plant will be a milestone collaborating in building deeper relations of friendship between Costa Rica and South Korea," added Ho Yoo.

For Gabriela Llobet, General Director of CINDE, the arrival of SAE-A Spinning confirms that Costa Rica offers conditions for capital-intensive firms in the textile industry.

"The operation of this new company confirms for us that Costa Rica is a venue with potential for light manufacturing and textile operations. Privileged access to the North American market through CAFTA is a decisive element for industries of this nature deciding to set up in Costa Rica. Our country is a highly competitive export platform for companies wanting to access the world's main markets, thanks to our network of trade agreements and strategic location," explained Llobet.

According to the official communique from SAE-A Spinning regarding the new plant in Costa Rica, "the decision to establish a spinning mill in Costa Rica was made due to the extensive opportunities that policy on direct foreign investment in the country generates, as well as the talent and capacity of Costa Rica's human resources, making it possible to harbor a technological operation that requires handling sophisticated machinery and capacity for rapid learning and absorption of processes."

SAE-A Spinning has a series of apparel manufacturing plants in different countries, including Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia, with global sales of over US$1.5 billion.

The opening of SAE-A Spinning joins a recent announcement by Canadian firm Gildan Sportwear that it will be setting up a modern textile production plant in Guanacaste.

SOURCE Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency