Hyde Sails open new production facility in Cebu
by Hyde Sails 26 Apr 2004 13:53 BST
The Hyde Sails Cebu loft © Hyde Sails
Hyde Sails are pleased to announce the establishment of a new production facility in Cebu Philippines
The Loft is situated on Mactan Island, which lies close to Cebu City on Cebu Island. The site was chosen following considerable research. Cebu is the main centre of the garment industry in the Philippines and this ensures a pool of well trained labour. Mactan has three Special Economic Zones sponsored by the Government to encourage foreign investment. Locators within these special areas benefit from tax-free importing and exporting of goods with minimum Customs formalities. Cebu has a deep-water seaport and an international airport, both within 5 miles of the loft. Further to this, English is very widely spoken and is the main language of government; this is a huge advantage in training and general communication, both internally and externally. Another key element in this choice of location is that Cebu lies to the south of the Typhoon belt and rarely suffers from extreme weather apart from the ubiquitous heat of the tropics. There are also no volcanoes! The political climate in Cebu is also much less volatile than in the other main islands of the Philippines.
Hyde Sails began production in October 2003, concentrating on small boat sails in Cebu whilst maintaining their UK production at their Benfleet Essex HQ. The Cebu loft is currently on track to have delivered half of the company’s turnover by the end of its first year of production. A combination of air freight and sea freight have been used to deliver over 6000 sails so far.
The new facility is made up with a combination of new and existing equipment sent from the UK including its most powerful laser cutter, which was developed for fast, accurate cutting of air bag parts. The loft currently employs 45 staff and will reach 55 by late summer. As well as its state-of-the-art cutter there is also an Instron tensile cloth tester. This sits in a temperature controlled environment and is an essential part of what Hyde does to check the quality of materials and maintenance of agreed standards – Hyde tests every roll of cloth before use.
The project is headed by Hyde’s Managing Director, Mike Lennon and Cebu Loft General Manager Ian Flanders, both are veterans of sail-making working for Hyde Sails for nearly 40 years between them. “I am here to assist Ian with the set up” said Lennon, “ I am not a production specialist, my key area is design and specification. As I have designed and specified most of the sails being made in Cebu I am well qualified to see that we get the quality and specification right from the outset. Quality is the watch word and we are introducing methods and systems to improve on the already high standards that we set ourselves in the UK.” Ian Flanders is heading up the production organisation, which is based on the successful Benfleet model, using similar methods. Ian played a central role in the switch from hand cutting to laser cutting over the last 15 years or more and his knowledge and expertise are second to none.
The new loft is situated in a brand new facility which has been fitted out to an exceptional standard, cool bright décor and suspended ceilings are designed for an airy, light environment, with 9 huge air-con units which have the ability to cool the building below 20 degrees. Hyde Sails takes the working conditions of its staff very seriously and is committed to the best possible practices.
This new manufacturing facility will provide the same high level of quality and service that Hyde Sails has provided to its customers over the past 35 years, ensuring that the Company enjoys a prosperous and successful future.
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