VICUNHA joins the Better Cotton Initiative

21 Apr '11

6 min read

Slimming down its product range has enabled the company today to place its main emphasis on innovation and technology in the area of denim/twill. "Our goal is to become the worldwide market leader not only with regard to volume, but also – through research and development, and continual investment – to establish our position as a producer of quality products with high fashion competence and to continually strengthen our already exemplary international position as a pro-active company with regard to environmental protection and social responsibility," states Ricardo Steinbruch, CEO of VICUNHA BRAZIL, a company belonging to the family-owned corporation under the Steinbruch family listed by Forbes Magazine.

In the last few years VICUNHA was able to keep its prices stable in spite of the crisis in the cotton industry by maintaining high storage capacity for cotton. "The financial background allowed us to buy environmentally and socially responsible cotton in advance in high amounts for six months' production," says Dislich. "In accordance with our policy we keep at least three months' production needs in storage. In this way, last season we were almost completely independent from the fluctuations in the market". However in 2011 VICUNHA will be forced to increase its prices slightly, to maintain its quality levels and the quality levels of its suppliers.

Investments/Capacity
In the next three years another approximately 180 million Euros will be invested in the modernization of the plants in Northeast Brazil. The recently acquired plant in Ecuador is currently being expanded in order to double production capacity for denim there. Another 150 million Euros will go to the new site in Mato Grosso in the next few years. The current 2,000 jobs there will increase in the medium term to 6,000, and around 65,000 tons of cotton will be processed into a planned 72 million meters of denim. At present VICUNHA makes 15 million meters of denim a month and is "thus definitely the largest seller in the Western world and in a few years will being marketing 20 million meters a month," says Thomas Dislich. Overall the company has three production facilities in Brazil as well as one each in Ecuador and Argentina. Each of the seven plants works 7/24.

Internationally the company's goal in 2011 is to continue its growth in Europe and the U.S. Europe, through the branch in Switzerland under the management of Thomas Dislich, has again shown continual growth. In 2010 around 5.5 million meters of Denim and 1.5 million meters of twill were sold in Europe. For 2011 sales of 7.5 million meters of Denim and 2.5 million meters of twill are expected. The company's position in the U.S. will be strengthened by the company's participation in the trade fair in California “The Kingpins Show in Los Angeles”, the epicentre of American hip jeans brands. In the medium term, several branch offices are planned for the U.S.

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With more than 40 years in the market, Vicunha Têxtil S.A. is one of the largest textile manufacturers in the world and a leader in various segments.

With factories distributed in the states of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and São Paulo, in addition to a factory in Ecuador and sales offices in South America (Argentina) and Europe (Switzerland), Vicunha occupies a prominent position in the domestic and international markets.

Vicunha Têxtil S.A.

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