RA Intertrading is the Argentine SME that produces and exports garments for Nike and other global sports brands. It employs more than 800 workers and exports to Brazil, Chile and the rest of Latin America. They seek to increase production for domestic market and export. It recently announced an investment to expand its production plant in Villa Lugano and marked a significant milestone this week having reached one million garments exported since its foundation in 1994. The investment responds to the beginning of the expansion project that the company has through a strategic credit from the Ministry of Productive Development, aimed at generating more employment, increasing exports and replacing imports. Today it has more than 800 workers, of which 43% are women, continues to incorporate staff and grow. The investment will allow them to expand the area and add employees and new machinery.
With an almost exclusive focus on sportswear such as t-shirts, T-shirts, divers, pants and shorts, this SME was adding innovation over the years: it was the first plant in the country to manufacture dri-fit technology and incorporate laser holes, and thus allow garments greater respirability. They were also pioneers in manufacturing with recycled polyester. Much of this technology was used over the years for innovation in iconic collections such as those celebrating the Centenary of Club Atlético Boca Juniors, or the entire collections of Los Pumas, los Jaguares or more recently Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, to name just a few.” We have grown hand in hand with leading brands such as Nike, which have driven us to manufacture more and better, gaining competitiveness and quality and managing to export our products to the world, “said Daniela Rabinovich, second generation of industrialists and today CEO of the company. “We have had the honor of manufacturing and exporting very iconic garments to the most remote corners of the world, such as Singapore, Holland, or Japan and we dream of continuing to grow and employ,” added the board, who learned the trade from her father, the company’s founder. Although today they have reached a production of 10,000 garments daily and manufacture following the most demanding standards of the leading brands in sports, such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Kappa, Fila, Umbro, Converse, among others. Unintentionally, they began manufacturing for Topper and then for Nike, the result of the joint venture under which the pipe brand operated at that time. Then they added technology, machines and customers and went from 150 employees in 2000 to 400 in 2006 (with a hard blow in 2001 as a result of the crisis) and did not stop: today they exceed 800 jobs and continue to hire. Emblem of Lean Manufacturing, AR executives traveled to feed on production methodologies to Asia and managed to incorporate processes to improve efficiencies, shorten manufacturing times, add technology and improve quality. This allowed them to increase competitiveness and export, even to very solid markets in the textile industry such as Brazil, one of the many destinations for their garments today.” The key was to add global manufacturing platforms used by the leading brands: this allows us today to manufacture to more demanding standards, with quality and competitiveness”, adds Rabinovich.La expansion of the plant means adding 5 production lines and 60 new jobs, in 500mts2 that add up from a neighboring land.
