Apparel Summit of the Americas

US Apparel Industry to Convene in Honduras

On November 27-29, 2018, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, a Who’s Who of US activewear brands will assemble for the Apparel Summit of the Americas. The core event is to tour the grand opening of the new United Textiles of Americas, or UTEXA, synthetic yarn spinning operation.

The UTEXA synthetic yarn spinning mill is being built in Choloma, Honduras. It is 500,000 square feet in size. As of this date, new state-of-the-art equipment, most of it of European design, is being installed to produce, texturize and finish massive amounts of yarn.

The event is being organized and promoted to the US industry by the Americas Apparel Producers’ Network (AAPN). As of the date of this release, 230 people from 115 organizations have registered to attend, including nearly 20 US brands and retailers.

The Summit was initially inspired by the Honduras2020 plan, presented at the AAPN Annual Conference in 2016. This aggressive and comprehensive Five Year economic plan was so solid, forward-looking and inspiring that it ignited high interest in Honduras.

After that conference, Chuy Canahuati of Elcatex convened meetings in Honduras of producers from El Salvador and Guatemala to clearly coordinate the goals of Honduras2020 and how the results would significantly increase capacity for the exploding market in activewear in the US.

As forecast by the plan, today Honduras is attracting many millions in foreign investment; creating thousands of new jobs; improving infrastructure and ports; enhancing education; building safe affordable housing; generating stable renewable energy; and above all else increasing the capacity for apparel production in the Americas.

What has attracted investment has been the political stability and productive institutions of Honduras, especially the industry group Asociacion Hondureña de Maquiladores (AHM). In preparing for this complex event where three hotels will transport attendees to the Copantl Convention Center and other locations, coordination in-country has been extremely productive.

The Copantl agenda will the morning of Nov 28 and the afternoon of Nov 29. Late the first day and early the next will consist of bus tours of a wide range of locations of production in and around San Pedro Sula.

The keynote speaker is Simon Mainwaring, a proven specialist in the critical topic of sustainability and ‘purpose driven brands’. The overall purpose and unique visionary plan of Honduras2020 is perfect for analysis by Mr. Mainwaring.

Other speakers include Ed Gribbin, Senior Advisor, Alvanon; Kurt Cavano, Founder & President of GT Nexus, an Infor Company; and Anthony Anzovino, Chief Sourcing & Merchandising Officer, Haggar Clothing Co.

Walter T. Wilhelm, CEO of WWA Advisors will moderate a panel of Steve Cochran, CEO, Tegra Global; David Ha, CEO, TexOps; Aaron Ledet, VP, Americas Sourcing, VF Corporation; and Ricardo Pettenati, CEO, Pettenati Industrias Textil S.A.

On Wednesday evening, Nov 28, there will be a Fashion Show, Reception and Gala Dinner at the Club Hondureño Arabe. The fashions will all be produced within Honduras and neighboring countries.

Registration is open to all textile/apparel supply chain executives doing business in the Western Hemisphere.  Click here for more information.

Factory/Mill Tours – October 31st Deadline to Sign Up

Summit attendees will be able to visit area factories and mills on Wednesday afternoon (November 28) and Thursday morning (November 29).  Click here to see your options. You must be registered to attend the Summit to participate in this part of the agenda.  The deadline to sign up is October 31st.  Click here to sign up.