The Sunday News
Archer Clothing, once a texile giant, is set to more than double its workforce from 302 to above 800 by year end once its takeover by Harare firm Paramount Garments sails through, an official has said.
Paramount Garments started moves to take over the company in 2012 when the two companies agreed a cut, make and trim (CMT) deal under which Paramount provided clothing material and labour while using Archer’s premises.
The deal later developed into a complete takeover but one of the company creditors, CBZ, has been throwing spanners into the works to stop the transaction.
However, last month the majority of the creditors gave a nod for the transaction that will see Paramount injecting more than $5 million in five years.
Archer Clothing production manager Mr Peter Msimanga said they were now waiting for the Master of High Court to write to them advising them of the results of the voting although it was now official that the takeover was approved.
He said this after a tour of the company by officials from the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce and central bank Governor Dr John Mangudya on Thursday.
“We are waiting for the Master of High Court to finalise everything,’’ he said.
He said the company was now targeting to employ an additional 500 workers by the end of the year.
The company, once one of Bulawayo’s biggest employers had 1 600 workers on its books but was forced to retrench the bulk of them due to operational challenges.
Mr Msimanga said Paramount Garments was keen to up production once the necessary court procedures have been completed.
“Paramount would like to take over Archer and one of the creditors which is owed money by the company, CBZ, is not happy and they want this company to be liquidated. However, others have supported this deal and are saying for continuity’s sake, they should allow Paramount to take over and all these banks are going to benefit in the long run,” said Mr Msimanga.
He said despite the challenges they were still exporting to the Sadc region. The company has been battling operational challenges that saw it being placed under judicial management in 2010 due to shortage of working capital before scaling down operations with dozens of workers becoming redundant.
Dr Mangudya said Archer Clothing has a lot of potential and banks instead of stifling growth must support such companies
The coming back on line of Archer Clothing is a welcome development in the local clothing industry which collapsed as Zimbabwe’s economy declined sharply between 2000 and 2009.
At its peak, the textile sector used to produce about 135 million garments annually, compared to the current 18.7 million. The industry employed 35 000 workers, compared to current levels of just under 7 000. Its demise has also been partly due to the influx of cheap fabric imports mainly from Asian countries.
