Apparels firm expands in Clark

CLARK, Pampanga – With the booming success of the Clark Special Economic Zone, a garment factory is again expanding its operations to meet the growing demands in the international market.

In a recent discussion with Clark Development Corp. president Emmanuel Y. Angeles, Smart Shirts Phils. Inc., maker of the world famous line of apparels such as Nautica, JC Penny and other men’s woven shirts is presently hiring about 2,500 factory workers this year to further boost its export production.

According to Michael Ilagan, Smart Shirts communications officer, the addition of new employees is expected to improve not only export production of the firm, but also the business climate inside the economic zone.

Earlier, Smart Shirts president JG Cheng told Angeles that the advantage of the Filipino workers among the Chinese and other nationalities in the Asian region is the ability to speak English which has been the advantage in their operations.

Filipino workers could easily adopt and could learn instructions written in English with ease, Cheng said. At present, one of the biggest garment firms inside CSEZ, Smart employs about 2,200 workers.

Ilagan said the garment firm has been tremendously improving and providing quality jobs to thousands of employees who live in Pampanga and other nearby provinces.

Smart Shirt has been CDC’s tenant for seven years since operating in 1995. In embarking on an expansion program, the company intends to infuse millions of dollars in their operations here.

Angeles said Smart Shirt, a subsidiary of Kellwood in USA, has transferred its operations from Hong Kong to Clark due to the availability of highly skilled workers and the prevailing sound economic condition adopted by the CDC in response to President Arroyo’s call for an improved investment climate in the country.