Hyosung Corporation, the largest spandex producer in the world, has announced relocation of Mr. Ernest Lee, General Manager for South-East Asia, to India. He will lead the regional sales team to position the creora brand as the pre-eminent spandex in the Indian market.
One of Korea’s leading multinational conglomerates, with annual worldwide sales of more than $10 billion. Hyosung Corporation maintains a global network of more than 73 subsidiaries and international branch offices around the globe. It operates in seven performance groups: Textiles, Industrial Materials, Chemicals, Power & Industrial Systems, Construction, Trading, and Information & Communication.
“We continue to invest in spandex as we believe market demand will continue to grow and our state-of-the-art facilities will enable creora to deliver the best quality, consistency and value to meet customer needs with our proprietary technology”, stated Mr. Ernest Lee, General Manager. “We have grown to be the largest spandex producer in the world and have just celebrated our 21st anniversary. Today, we are continuing to invest in all dimensions of the business in India, from outstanding technical service, customer workshops, trend presentations, new products, and world class manufacturing assets.”
Hyosung has made significant investments in manufacturing spandex across the globe. The company has seven different manufacturing sites for creora spandex – Vietnam, China, Turkey, Brazil and Korea. Hyosung has been investing in spandex manufacturing for the last 21 years, and the more recent investment has been in Vietnam where the company is planning to double capacity by the end of this year. The Vietnam facility will support the growth in demand for spandex in India. Currently Hyosung’s annual spandex production capacity is 150,000 metric tons.
Hyosung’s major global markets are China and the rest of Asia, together accounting for 70 per cent of total consumption. Europe, Turkey and the Americas are the other important markets. The company caters to the requirements of firms that manufacture hosiery, intimate apparel, swim, denim, activewear, circular knits, wovens, narrows and even diapers. Hyosung offers the full denier range – 20D, 30D, 40D, 55D, 70D, 140D, 420D, 560D, 840D, 1120D, 1400D and 1680D.
In terms of product types, the company offers a higher power product called creora Power fit which is ideal for denim, wovens and circular knit. It also offers a dyeable spandex, and creora Color +, which are ideal for intimates and hosiery. For seamless, the company offers creora Steam-set, and for diapers, creora Comfort. Hyosung’s competitive advantage is that it offers the best quality, consistency and uniformity in an array of products.
Hyosung sees India as a very important growth market for the future. Estimating the current annual demand at 12,000 metric tons, it expects the market to grow by 17 per cent year on year. There is a comfort mega trend that will continue to drive demand for spandex along with the growth in apparel consumption in the Indian market. Hyosung is working with all the leading Indian customers for its creora spandex yarn.
The Hyosung Group’s Indian subsidiary, Hyosung India Pvt. Ltd., is engaged in sales and technical support of spandex yarn, polyester, nylon, tyre reinforcement material, GIS, transformers, motors, pumps, PTA, steel products, ATM machines and gear reducers. There are altogether 30 employees working in India, with total sales volume of approximately $300 million.
The company has a strong, dedicated creora spandex sales and technical service team comprising six managers with cumulative textile industry experience of 76 years.
“Our creora brand positioning is ‘commitment to excellence’ and ‘it is in our every fiber’, which means it is not just in our product but also in our people. Our intent is to become the leader in the Indian market through our dedication to service, quality, consistency, innovation, delivery, plus additional value creation through new fabric development seminars for our customers and/or fabric marketing to support their growth”, adds Mr. Lee.