Colombia, Central America and the needle trade

Two Colombian companies in the textile and apparel sector are expanding in Central America, with the expectation of some new 1,700 jobs, mostly in a Nicaraguan apparel operation, the result of an $8 million investment by Cali-based Supertex.

A subcontractor for sportswear brands, which include Adidas, Nike y Under Armour, Supertex expects to hire 1,500 garment workers within three years of operation.

The company, established in 1983, has two facilities in Colombia, with a total of 2,000 employees, and a monthly capacity of 900.000 units, and two in El Salvador with 2.400 workers and a capacity of 1.1 million.

Bogota-based Proquinal for its part will hire 160 employees, as part of a $24-million expansion of its plant in Alajuela, Costa Rica, which since 2004 has been producing vinyl-coated fabrics for the automotive and marine industries.

Proquinal is part of United States-based Spradling Group, with sales in 70 countries.

As of last year, Colombian investment abroad was valued at some $50 billion, of which nearly a quarter went to Central America.