High Point, N.C. distribution center
Keya’s U.S. operation is housed in a 70,000-square-foot distribution center in High Point, N.C., a city known for its massive annual furniture market – but is also in the middle of North Carolina’s traditional textile manufacturing center, which includes the Winston-Salem area, home to Hanesbrands. Keya’s chairman and CEO, Abdul Khaleque Pathan, used to frequently travel to Winston-Salem to sell products to Hanes, which was one of Keya’s largest customers, purchasing about 7 million dozen T-shirts a year. He liked the area and in 2009, when Pathan decided he wanted to introduce the Keya brand to the U.S., he found a location in High Point. The Keya USA division was subsequently launched in September 2011.
Keya USA is growing steadily as it penetrates markets for products for advertising specialty and screen-printing markets. The Keya Group is the largest producer of knitted apparel in Dhaka, Bangladesh, generating more than 8 million dozen garments annually and employing 11,000 people.
Greg Brown, senior vice president of sales and operation for Keya USA, said the key to the brand’s success is providing a ring-spun cotton shirt at a comparable price to an open-end product. Brown said ring-spun is the differentiator from other commodity items because it offers a softer hand and a better print face. Fabrics made with open-end spun cotton have a rougher feel, he said.
“What Keya is all about is ring-spun cotton,” Brown said.
Keya’s Bangladesh manufacturing complex, known as Keya Knit Composite, is vertical and massive. The knitting operation alone covers nearly 200,000 square feet. More than 300 knitting machines are deployed and the operation employs more than 660 people. Capabilities include single jersey, single Lacoste, Double Lacoste, rib and interlock. It has a capacity of 78 tons per day.
The dyeing and finishing department encompasses more than 77,000 square feet and has more than 800 employees. The dyeing operation is well equipped, including high-temperature Fong’s machines. The dyeing lab has a computerized Robolab automatic dispenser. Equipment in the finishing unit includes Navis TubeTex compactors.
But the garment manufacturing area is by far the largest of the complex. More than 277,000 square feet, it houses 3,500 employees and 2,300 machines and has a production capacity of more than 7 million pieces per month.
The Keya Group also has a spinning division comprised of three mills with production capacities ranging from 22 to 25 metric tons. Keya also produces sewing threads for its own consumption.
Keya also operates a European sales division with a warehouse based in Meer, Belgium.
Posted March 17, 2015
By John W. McCurry
A Bangladesh-based producer of 100-percent cotton T-shirts and other knit apparel is finding success in the U.S. market by using a North Carolina beachhead as its distribution point.
Keya growing in U.S. with ring-spun cotton
The Keya brand brings a ring-spun cotton shirt at a comparable price to an open-end product.
Keya produces 100-percent cotton T-shirts and other knit apparel.
The Keya brand brings a ring-spun cotton shirt at a comparable price to an open-end product.
Brown said Keya tries to keep at least 250,000 T-shirts in the High Point facility at all times. Most of these products arrive by ocean freight to the port in Norfolk, Va., and are then trucked to High Point, which receives from two to three containers every 10 days.
Entertainment world, color push growth
Rock and roll has been good to Keya. A lot of the company’s T-shirts wind up in that industry. Bravado, a well-known music merchandising company, is one of Keya’s largest customers.
While the overall T-shirt market seems to be flat at the moment, Brown said Keya is seeing consistent growth. The company finished strong in 2014, garnering nearly $10 million in sales.
“Our business is good and we are growing,” Brown said. “One thing that drives our market is what’s going on in the entertainment world. If Disney introduces a big new movie, that helps drive us. If Garth Brooks starts a new tour, that drives us. The biggest thing is the retail component. If business is good at Wal-Mart and Target, then our business is good.”
Keya's High Point, N.C. distribution center.
A consistent factor pushing growth is color. Keya produces 26 colors. Vibrant colors are trending. “They’re not neon, but brighter colors such as hot pinks, bright yellows,” he said. “Black and white are Nos. 1 and 2 now and reds, royals and navys, along with athletic heathers, are our big volume getters.”
While all of Keya’s manufacturing takes place in its massive vertical complex in Dhaka, the company can say it has a U.S. component. Nearly all of the cotton, about 95 percent, used in Keya’s products, is grown in the southern U.S.
Brown said he also conducts seminars at trade shows to provide information about Keya. E-commerce is also a growing source of business. About 35 percent of orders come through the Internet.
Brown has a dream of one day moving Keya’s U.S. operations to Charleston, S.C., to take advantage of the port there, which is being expanded to handle larger container ships. Looking a few years ahead, he said he believes a Charleston base would be practical and economical.
“Down the road, who knows?” Brown pondered. “We are happy in High Point and it doesn’t cost that much to get products here. We are in an old furniture warehouse and the rent is very good. Three to five years from now, moving is very possible, but for now we are staying.”