Alpine Group, a manufacturer for brands including Under Armour, American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch has announced the launch of its “factory of the future” due to open in the fourth quarter of 2022 in Egypt.

The factory of the future will add an additional 10 million garments to its annual capacity in Egypt. Alpine Group is in the process of securing LEED Gold certification for the facility, which is expected to provide an additional 2,000+ jobs for the local community. The factory will also feature co-creation spaces and an Experimentation Station, facilitating a new level of design collaboration with global brands. 

The new facility will be followed by the Group’s first knitting and dyeing mill in Egypt – due to be operational in the second half of 2023. The mill will offer polyester filament and blended fabric knitting, producing up to 75 tonnes of fabric daily, once phase two of the mill is completed. The latest development will bring fabric closer to needle through lean manufacturing, direct process automation, and a fully digital workflow from dyeing to cutting.

A spokesperson for Alpine Group told Just Style, that through the facility, which will produce active, athleisure and loungewear, it is looking to set the benchmark in green manufacturing.

Key initiatives include:  

• Pre-build land assessment – building on a site previously used and developed on. Resulting in the reduction of impact on the surrounding eco-system through utilising the existing infrastructure
• Green building materials – use of green concrete which requires 25% less water versus conventional concrete
• Renewable energy – minimum of 70% of energy will be generated via the installation of solar panels
• Locally-sourced materials – LCAs being conducted on all potential building materials and code of conduct in place to source locally where possible
• Complimentary compressed shuttle buses offered for production floor team members to reduce carbon footprint
• Electric vehicles – usage of electric vehicles onsite, with accompanying charging stations
• Promoting local people into leadership and decision-making roles
• Minimum of 30% of women in leadership roles, which is a key area of improvement for the region

Egypt has been chosen as a location as it has been Alpine Group’s strategic manufacturing group for the past 25 years.

“In that time, we have cemented our leadership and we currently have close to 5,000 team members, producing 20 million garments per annum,” the spokesperson told Just Style adding that the factory will allow it to “partner with brands to accelerate the fashion journey from concept to reality, bringing speed-to-market benefits and agility for the digitised fashion and retail environment.”

The new factory announcement comes as Alex Apparels is named as Egypt’s number one exporter of apparel for 2021/22.

“We are delighted to be named Egypt’s number one exporter of garments,” said Ashok Mahtani, co-founder and Chairman of Alpine Group. “Our strategic growth plans in Egypt are reflective of the country’s investment in export infrastructure. Additionally, its positioning as an industry-positive hub and duty-free access to the US and EU makes it an ideal location for brands and retailers to diversify their production and sourcing options.” 

By Just Style