The eye-catching blue and cream building is imposing. Thanks to these sober colours, the new Beachwear factory in Coromandel is fresh, modern, spacious and bright. The place is attractive and pleasant. According to Girdar Toolsee, the manager of Beachwear, quality demands a decent working environment for people producing the swimsuits. “Workers have to be comfortable to be able to produce high-quality products. This is why we have invested in a building where the 250 employees feel at ease. People often believe that a factory has to be unpleasant; here is the proof that it is not.”

Beachwear is not really suffering from the crisis in the textile industry. “There are few swimwear producers in Mauritius and even fewer exporters. As our products are of high standard, big companies around the world have relocated their production here. As a result, we produce for major brands such as Arena, Galeries Lafayette, Quicksilver, Billabong, Intersports, to mention but a few.”

The local market absorbs less then 10% of their production. Products in their shops in Mauritius – Beachwear and Infidèle – are not the same as those meant for export. It even provides other swimwear shops with its own products but all its overseas customers have the exclusivity of their models.

<B>Customer loyalty</B>

The company has invested a lot in modern technology. Workers use the latest high-tech machines, which make the products even more reliable. “These machines work with an unbelievable precision, which is very important in the swimwear field. The clothes stick to the body and a cutting error for instance means that the product is unusable. But with the machines, this doesn’t happen,” Mr. Toolsee explains.

Since its establishment fifteen years ago, Beachwear is proud to have secured customer loyalty. “We have succeeded in attaining 0% defect in our products, which is rare in this field.” Customers are confident and the new building is another way of gaining more confidence from customers. “When they come to the factory, they will see that the atmosphere makes people happy to work. As a result, the products can only be of good quality.”

Each level of the building is dedicated to one production level. On the ground floor, workers cut the Lycra with huge machines. Everything is computerised, so the workers must have a minimum of education to work with the machines. On the first floor, the work demands even more precision; workers deal with the sampling. It has to be perfect for the customer to accept the product but also because the whole production will be done according to this sample. The third floor consists of a huge room with five production lines. After the swimwear has been cut, sewn and quality-controlled, the packing is done by other women on the same floor. Then the clothes are packed in small plastic bags and put in big cartons, ready to be dispatched overseas by plane or by ship.