MAS Active, Nike on 'exciting journey'

Enterprise development and Investment promotion Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Chairman MAS Holdings Mahesh Amalean and Global Manufacturing Director -Apparel and Equipment Nike Dipayan Dasgupta cuts the ribbon to open Linea AITC.

MAS Holdings and Nike Global Entered into a partnership with over US$ one million as investment to open the Apparel Innovation and Training Centre (AITC) at Thulhiriya,

The first batch of trainees from China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Mexico will arrive in Sri Lanka for a 12 week lean program at the Centre. The Apparel Innovation and Training Centre provides a standardized foundation of training and education to create industry leadership in lean manufacturing, innovation and continued learning that elevates the quality and craftsmanship of the Nike product, said Nike Global Apparel Manufacturing Director, Dipayan Dasgupta.

He said that Nike appreciated the opportunity to partner with strategic suppliers such as MAS Active who show a deep understanding of the positive impact of training and work force empowerment and working towards reducing manufacturing waste , among other qualities.

The Centre was opened following the success of the Nike Innovation and Training Centre for footwear in Vietnam Nike chose to partner with MAS Active , the sports and active wear division of MAS Holdings to setup its global apparel Innovation centre in Thulhiriya.

The facility is housed within a dedicated section of the MAS Institute for Management and Technology located in the MAS fabric park.

The facility is managed and operated by Nike and will be the location for skills development and other classroom training. The centre will be dedicated for the training of Nike employees and members of their key manufacturing partners.

The 12 week core lean programs will provide theoretical and practical knowledge in process innovations which are conducted by experts from USA and South Asia.

The project involves the training centre as well as a manufacturing unit.

To facilitate and support the Nike facility, MAS Active launched the apparel manufacturing facility the Linea AITC, which will be dedicated to Nike.

In addition to normal production Linea AITC will function as a laboratory where students attending the Centre will have the opportunity to experiment and try the innovations and process improvements developed during the study program.

The facility provides employment to over 200 and is the twenty seventh manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka and the fourth to be based within the park at Thulhiriya. MAS Holdings Chairman Mahesh Amalean said that the graduates of the AITC will reshape the apparel industry and are proud to be partners of the transformation process. Managing Director MAS Active said the partnership with Nike has been an exciting journey and are happy to be opening a manufacturing facility which will work closely with the training centre.

SG