ByLuAnqi
Ifyouthoughtemptyplasticbottleswerenomorethananenvironmentalhazard,thinkagain.ASouthAfricanfactoryisgettingreadytotransformthesepollutingirritantsintoglossyblanketsandstuffingforpillows,duvet,andotherproducts.TheChinese-investedeco-friendlyfactorywillalsoprovidemuch-neededjobsinacountrystrugglingwithgrowingunemployment.
OnachillyautumndayinBoksburg,acitysome30kmsoutheastofdowntownJohannesburg,theblanketfactory,locatedinthelocalindustrialpark,iswarmandbuzzingwiththevibrationsofindustrialloomsandknittingmachines.
Thirty-year-oldPrettyZulustandsbytheloomwatchingattentivelyastheyarnonoverheadspinningconestravelsrapidlytotheknittingmachines.Periodically,shepicksupabrokenyarnandreconnectsitswiftlywithpracticedease.
RecruitedbytheprivatelyownedYiLiDaSAManufacturingCo.,Zuluisamongthefirstbatchofskilledworkersatthefactory.
Jobopportunities
“Ilikethisjobverymuch,”Zulusaid.Beforeshefoundworkatthefactoryshemadealivingasastreetsnackvendor.
“ThisismyfirstjobandIearnmuchmorethan[Idid]sellingfoodon[the]street.Also,Ihavelearnedalotfromthisjob,”shetoldChinAfrica.
WiththeopeningoftheblanketfactorylastDecember,morethan200localpeoplelikeZuluhavebeenrecruited.Aftersometraininginknitting,weaving,polishing,printing,sewingandotherblanketmanufacturingskills,manyofthemhavebecomeskilledworkers.
Thefactorycurrentlyhas267workers,ofwhom246areSouthAfrican,accountingforapproximately90percentofthetotal,accordingtofactorydirectorLeonShen,whoheadsuphumanresourcesandsales-relatedbusiness.
“OnlylocalSouthAfricanswillbeemployedinthefactory.Thisistheprinciplewehavebeenadheringto,”Shensaid.Heexplainedthatthelocalworkersaremorestableandfacilitatetheenterprise’sintegrationintothelocalcultureandsociety.
Newlyrecruitedemployeesreceivetrainingbeforetheyareputtoworkindependently.InNan-tong,acitywithawell-developedtextileindustryineastChina’sJiangsuProvinceandhometoYiLiDainvestors,askilledworkercanoverseeupto10knittingmachinesorlooms.Employeesinthenewlyset-upSouthAfricanfactorycantakecareoffourorfiveaftertrainingthoughforsomeoftheproficientonesitcouldgouptosix.
Shensaidthefactorywillneedmoreworkerslaterintheyearwhenthebusinessisexpanded.Atpresent,itfocusesonknitting,weavingandprinting,usingfiberimportedfromChina.Butwiththeintroductionoffiber-processingmachinesandtechnologyfromChina,thebottleswillbeprocessedforfiberatanadjoiningplant,whichiswheretheextrastaffwillbeneeded.
Greenmanufacturing
YiLiDainvestedinarecyclingplantinNewcastle,KwaZulu-Natal,in2007.Atthisplant,bottlesarerecycledintoshortpolyesterfiberstoproducestuffingforpillows,duvetsandcushionsaswellasshoppingbags.ButknittingandweavingblanketsattheYiLiDafactoryrequireslongpolyesterfibers.
Thegreenproductionprocessstartswiththecollectionofplasticbottles,whicharefirstpressedandthentransportedtorecyclingplants.
Afteradozenprocessingprocedures,suchassteaming,washingandpolishing,thewhiteplasticfibersbecomefluffy,softandglossyblanketswithcolorfulpatterns.Today’strashbecomestomorrow’stextiles.
AccordingtoQianYong,chairmanandoneoftheinvestorsofYiLiDa,theblanketmanufacturingproject,withatotalinvestmentof$20million,hastwophases.Thefirstphaseistheblanketweavingandmanufacturing.Inthesecondphase,theywillsetupanadjoiningplanttorecycleplasticbottlesintopolyesteryarn,producingthelongfibersrequiredforweavingblankets.
Withtheimplementationofthesecondphaseoftheproject,morejobswillbecreatedforlocalpeople,productioncostswillbereduced,andtheproductionprocesswillemitlesscarbondioxide.
Thewastewaterinthefactoryiscollected,treatedandrecycledinsewagetreatmentpoolsinstalledoutsidetheworkshopstoensureitsimpactontheenvironmentisminimized.
Mutuallybeneficial
LaunchedonDecember11,2015,theblanketfactoryinBoksburgwillcreateapproximately1,000directjobsandsignificantindirectemploymentopportunities,accordingtoSouthAfrica’sDepartmentofTradeandIndustry(DTI).
TheunemploymentrateinSouthAfricahasaveraged25.29percentsince2000,accordingtoStatisticsSouthAfrica.Tohelpreducethisfigure,thegovernmentisencouragingthedevelopmentofthelocalmanufacturingsector.
TheDTIcitedChinesecompaniesasanexampleofthoseleadingthewayinAfricainmanufacturingandexpandinglocalization.
OpeningthefactoryinSouthAfricaenablesYiLiDatoproducebetterandmoreprofitableproducts.Comparedwithimportedproducts,locallymanufacturedblanketsaresofterandsellatabetterprice.
DuetotherecentdepreciationoftheSouthAfricanrand,manufacturingcostsarealsoreduced.
Challenges
“YiLiDaisgettingontrack,”Qiansaid.“Ourdailyoutputisnow10tonsandwecansupplyregularcustomers.Withtheincreaseofbasicproductionvolume,wewillstarttomanufactureblankets[for]ahigher-endmarket.”
Despitetheprogress,YiLiDaalsofaceschallenges.Themanagementfeelspressuredduetoitsunfamiliaritywithlocallaws,cultureandcustoms.Knowingtheseisveryimportantforamultinationalcompany.
“Someofourworkershadneverworkedinafactorybefore,”Qiansaid.“Theycameonedayandwereabsentthenext,sowehavehadtotrainthem.”
Chineseinvestorshavetoalsolearntodealwithlaborandcapitalissues,whichdifferentfromthesituationinChina,Qianadded.CA
Producingfluffyblanketsfromtrashedplasticwaterbottles