Jungwoo Group

Investment to expand production base in Guatemala following Vietnam

Exceeding Regional Optimized Production Base

Respond efficiently to customers and buyers around the world

equipped with world-class technology and eco-friendly production systems

View of the factory in Vietnam, Jungwoo Vina
 

Jungwoo Textile Seongsu-dong Office Building

Founded in 1982, Jung Woo-fiber (Chairman Oh Byung-chul) and Jung Woo-binna (Chairman Oh Byung-chul, President Lee Bok-hwa) have established a knitting factory in Guatemala in 2004, a factory in Vietnam in 2005, and a vertical factory in Vietnam in 2013, pioneering the path of Korea's leading textile and fabric companies. 

 

Starting in 2022, the company is accelerating its strategy to efficiently respond to customers around the world based on regionally optimized production. 

 

With the aim of creating the best quality that customers and buyers can satisfy together, it has become a company with world-class technology through active R&D development. 

 

The bases of Korea, Vietnam, and Guatemala play specialized roles and are operated organically with each other. Korea is a small-scale production hub and R&D-centered hub that can produce 1 million pounds per month. It is characterized by digesting various knit tissues and developing fabrics of various materials, and it is possible to respond quickly to technology-oriented development. 

 

The plant in Vietnam, Jungwoo Vina's main production base, is equipped with a vertical integrated production system that can handle the entire process from knitting, dyeing, printing, and post-processing in one place, boasting not only production efficiency but also competitive inspection and fast lead time. It has a production capacity of 11 million pounds per month in the yarn knitting section and 200,000 kilograms per day in the dyeing section, and boasts a production capacity of about 7 million pounds per day and 120,000 kilograms per day in the dyeing section. It is the largest single plant in the world to produce knit fabrics. 

 

In the printing section, it has a capacity of 3 million yards per month, and the post-processing section boasts a production kepa of about £5.5 million. As such, the Vietnamese factory has all the processes of fabric production, making it a very preferred key base for global buyers.

Jungwoo Textile Guatemala factory under construction.

Investment to expand Guatemalan factories free from U.S. tariffs, using them as key bases 

Guatemala, which Jung Woo-Vina recently used as an expansion base, has a knitted production capacity of 3.3 million pounds per month and has the geographical advantage of being able to deliver quickly to the U.S. market, enabling efficient logistics for the North American market. With tariff issues emerging as a major risk in the global market recently, Guatemalan factories can benefit from free trade with the U.S. based on the CAFTA agreement. This is expected to serve as a major strength of the supply strategy targeting the North American market as it can minimize the burden of tariffs when supplying products. 

 

This is expected to act as an important factor in quickly delivering to the U.S. market at a competitive price. 

The Guatemalan plant is building a vertical plant on a site of about 260,000 square meters.

 

Starting with the groundbreaking ceremony on July 7, 2024, construction began in December 2024, and production is expected to begin in earnest from the second half of 2025. Guatemala's investment plan is divided into two stages. In the first stage, 5.5 million pounds of knitting and 2.2 million pounds of dyeing can be produced per month, and when the first facility operation is stably completed, the second stage of facility investment is expected to proceed. 

 

When the second phase is completed in 2027, the total knitted production scale will expand to 7.2 million pounds and dyeing to 4 million pounds. In addition, it plans to strengthen its high value-added production capacity by introducing special post-processing facilities such as Raising, Peach Brush, Compact, and Tumble.

It is expected that once the entire setup of the Guatemalan plant is completed in the future, it will further strengthen its responsiveness to North American demand. 

 

Vietnam/Guatemala plant's global production and eco-friendly certification system is unique 

As such, factories in each region of Vietnam and Guatemala are operating organically while sharing other roles, and have global production systems that can respond quickly and flexibly to various customer needs. Jungwoo Vina meets quality and sustainability standards through various global certifications. It has secured a number of eco-friendly certifications that meet international standards, which prove that it is operating environmentally throughout the process and does not use harmful substances.

 

It also meets customer needs for sustainable fabrics such as recycled fabrics and organic, which are major trends in recent years. Through this certification, it is not just manufacturing, but building trust as a sustainable production partner. Jungwoo Vina operates Fast Lab inside its factory in Vietnam and has a test system that has been officially certified by major global brands.

 

Global partners such as GAP, Target, Walmart, Victoria's Secret, Carter's, and Kohl's can conduct their own tests for official certification, enabling fast and efficient progress. Recently, all buyers are aiming for speed models and demanding fast delivery, which is a great strength. Through this, it is possible to quickly respond to the market and efficiently manage the quality of the buyers. 

 

Jungwoo Vina's color authentication system is also unique. Color matching accuracy is very sensitive to brands, and we are building a digital color system that can respond to it. X-RITE, DATA COLOR, and NATIFIC are all systems that ensure accurate color matching and consistent quality in line with color standards required by global brands.

 

One-stop partner with overall certification and trustworthiness, from quality to eco-friendly colors 

Jungwoo Vina is competitive as a one-stop partner with its own overall certification and trust system, ranging from quality to eco-friendly colors.
 

The reason why we can maintain long-term deals with large brands is because of their stable quality, lead time, and solid technology and reliability. 

 

In recent years, sustainability, which values environmental protection and social responsibility worldwide, has become a core value of corporate management.

Jungwoo Vina is also making various efforts. First of all, in order to improve working conditions and increase the sustainability of production, it introduced a two-shift operation system from 2023. In addition, it further strengthened production efficiency by introducing rotary printing machines and CCM machines in 2024. In addition, it led the knit market by developing eco-cell thickening products and introducing sand wash facilities, and succeeded in developing items considering the environment. 

 

Jungwoo Vina is also actively engaged in energy saving. In order to improve energy efficiency, a heat exchange system was introduced and a new facility was applied in the dyeing process to reduce water consumption by about 14%. In addition, by the end of 2025, it plans to build solar power facilities to reduce power costs and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality goals. With these efforts, Jungwoo Vina is building a sustainable production environment through smart process design in consideration of the environment.

 

Fuel is also converting from existing charcoal to biomass to reduce carbon emissions, and it is conducting a CbD+ project and a carbon leadership program with VS&Co. It is operating a recycling system in cooperation with Hyosung for spandex bobbin, plastic, and boxes that remain after production. This use of cyclical resources is increasing the efficiency of the entire plant operation.

 

In addition, Jungwoo Vina continues to carry out various social contribution activities to fulfill the social responsibilities of the company. For about 20 years, it has been cooperating with Asan Medical Center to support treatment of children with heart disease, and in Vietnam, it is running a welfare project to support orphanages and nursing homes. In addition, in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), it is actively carrying out activities to improve the local environment with various organizations, such as supporting ecosystem improvement projects. 

 

Chairman Jungwoo Textile and Jungwoo Vina Oh Byung-chul said, "Jungwoo wants to take a leap forward as a global professional company with both technology, quality, and eco-friendly values by responding flexibly to the ever-changing market environment. Through continuous investment and innovation, we will create a faster market response and a sustainable future for the textile industry." 

 

Source: Korea Textile Newspaper (http://www.ktnews.com )