Univogue – a name that is synonymous with quality has collaborated with Bullmer, a pioneer in the field of cutting room technology solutions to become leaner and more cost-effective. The Group’s strength lies in rapid decision making, superior product quality, good capacity and timely deliveries. Speaking exclusively to Apparel Online, Jagath Priyantha, Director, Univogue Group, Chittagong, explains how automated equipment, in cutting areas will broaden product capabilities significantly.
Counted among the leading garment manufacturing companies in Chittagong, specialized in bottom wear, Univogue Garments Ltd. is catering to some of the world’s leading brands like Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, Haggar Clothing, DXL, Bodek and Rhodes to name a few. A Sri Lanka-based company, Univogue started its operation in Bangladesh with one production unit at the CEPZ in 1985 and today it is operating four production units, including two sewing units, one cutting and storage unit and a finishing unit with wrinkle-free facilities. For this Group, adding capacity is not a one-time affair, but a growth strategy.
“We have continuously added capacity over the years, as we find that in the industry now, minimum of 10 per cent growth is required to sustain, otherwise we cannot meet our cost. In the last three years, we have increased our capacity by about 30 per cent,” informs Priyantha.
The focus today for the company is on adding automation in the cutting room to reduce the labour costs and boost efficiency in cutting. “This year, we have decided to centralize cutting to minimize the cutting cost and also to consolidate the business. Those are the new changes and by centralizing the cutting, we will be able to increase 15-20 per cent capacity for the next year in the cutting areas,” says Priyantha. The efforts for the same are being supported by automated equipment by Bullmer, offering sustainable solutions in cutting areas. “We found that it is difficult to maintain the labour and maintenance costs in manual cutting. For accurate quality, we had been using systems earlier also, but we found that in the current scenario, Bullmer is the most viable solution for us and then we simply went for that.”
Priyantha strongly believes in Bullmer and sharing his experience while working with the very basic machines states, “machines are very work-friendly and the company is offering extensive support regarding the same.” Progressively, Bullmer is also supporting the Group to keep its viability alive. Priyantha further added: “Initially I found that installation was done well. They supported us by giving operators and other workers to train our people. Then we found that systems are not that critical for us to run by ourselves. Now internally, we have trained our people and we also have a technical team that comes in here every month to do the routines and we found that it is working out well.”
The management is very confident of the future and already has an expansion plan under implementation. “In 2017, we will have expansion on sewing and production capacity in place, following centralization of cutting. By the end of this year, we have planned for a turnover of around US $ 70 million and for 2018, our plan is to touch US $ 85 million turnover,” shares Priyantha.
The Group currently is very upbeat; cost reduction with innovative ideas like cutting room optimization, will definitely reap benefits. “The maximum saving comes from the fabric, because in our product, at least 55 per cent cost is of the fabric. We are focusing on optimization front to utilize the fabric to the maximum. The automation basically helps you to discipline cutting room, this will improve monitoring and reduce malpractice,” says the Director of Univogue Group.
The Group is simply looking at cost advantage tactics in its production module to reduce costs, increase revenue and drive profits. Priyantha, sticking to his similar product strategy advocates, “We have more or less set-up our lines for 60 machines. At present, we are having three cutters and four spreaders. The products are chosen to suit our operation.”
