Ionel strives to make its way to European market

One of the oldest enterprises in Moldova, the garment factory Ionel, aims to earn its spot on the European market, as well as regaining its local consumers, reports Info-Prim Neo The enterprises’ head manager, Tamara Luchian, mentioned at a round-table discussion that the company has undergone several restructuring procedures recently. By switching to outsourcing, i.e. doing foreign orders using foreign materials, the company managed to maintain its employee pool. Meanwhile, familiarizing with the European market’s standards, through the collaboration with these clients, has constituted a premise for the launch of their own clothing lines which are gradually becoming famous on the external market. The brands launched are “Giovanni Primo” and “PrimaBella”. “Presently, 84% of the production is exported to countries like Germany, Italy, Romania, France, USA, Canada, Austria, Poland and Norway. Starting last year we began collaborating with new, internationally known, partners. Little by little, we are also increasing shipments to our company’s stores and their subdivisions on the local market. We also want to get back into the Russian market, where 20-25 years ago the Ionel factory had a massive demand”, stated Tamara Luchian. The head manager of Ionel mentioned that the company’s restructuring process is a permanent one. In the last two years a series of investment projects were implemented, in order to improve the technology used, as well as the work environment. The factory took part in several energetic efficiency projects, as a part of MoSEFF’s program, as a results of which the old windows and equipment were changed, 37 new units of tech were purchased, among which an automated tailoring complex which processes 85% of the details of the garments produced. As a result, net sales have gone up by 14% relative to 2010. Among the issues pointed out by Tamara Luchian, is the training of staff for the garment industry. This issue was emphasized by other participants at the discussion as well. “We pump 300 mil lei out of the budget, annually, for professional training, yet we have no one to work with. We are forced, as the head manager of Ionel mentioned, to drop everything and teach those were “taught”, otherwise we can’t complete our orders”, said Pavel Axenti, head manager of the Condreanca enterprise. “The future of textile companies lies within their own brands, and our task is, through budgetary-fiscal policies, to support the elaboration of these brands, not only outsourcing”, stated Valeriu Lazar, Minister of Economy, who came to the discussions with the Ministry’s team responsible for industrial development. Lazar said he is waiting for propositions from the enterprises on law reforms regarding the customs and fiscal policies for the following year. As to the training of staff for the textile industry as well as other industries, Valeriu Lazar said that the educational system needs to be reformed, because it delivers specialists that are well prepared for production. A proposition on the matter will be made to the Government.