T & FG Group wins All Star Award 2007

Sri Lanka’s T & FG Group became an All Star Award winner in 2007, placing the company among the top 10 apparel manufacturers in the world.

All Star Awards are presented to 10 apparel industry high performers from across the globe each year by the Apparel Magazine, a leading US based apparel industry business-to-business publication. Companies from around the world are nominated for the All Star Award by industry executives, All Star Award partner associations and others. The winners are selected based on the four core criteria of innovation, excellence in management, a track record of growth and corporate goodwill that reflects positively on the industry.

This year’s winners were recognised at an award ceremony on November 07 in New York. The T & FG Group from Sri Lanka was among the 10 international apparel companies to walk away with an All Star Award.

Speaking about the All Star Award, Mr Arshad Sattar, Managing Director, T & FG Group says; “It is a great honour to have been selected for this award because it puts us among the top companies in the world. It is also a great marketing tool because around 450 major US and European companies, that are potential buyers, are present at the award. So winning the award builds your reputation and makes the company name known.”

The T & FG Group was nominated for the All Star Award by the apparel industry product development solutions provider, Tukatech. T & FG Group is the first dress manufacturer in the world to start using the ground breaking ‘e-fit’ software by Tukatech in its apparel manufacturing process. E-fit technology is about using computer simulation to design and develop clothing samples. The adoption of this innovative software put Timex in the forefront of garment industry innovation, helping the company to qualify for the All Star Award.

The group also scored high on other criteria such as good management, growth and corporate goodwill, to become an All Star Award winner.

Since its beginnings in the early 60s, T & FG Group has shown a track record of prudent management and consistent growth. The family owned company is among the oldest garment manufacturers in Sri Lanka. The group began its journey in 1963 as a single garment factory called Fergasam Garment Industries manufacturing men’s shirts. The first export shipment, a shipment of men’s shirts to Sweden, was in 1972. The company acquired Timex Garments in 1982.

Today the group is made up of 18 garment manufacturing factories and a workforce of nearly 8,000 people. The group is represented in major international clothing and textile markets through marketing offices in New York and in UK and through fabric and accessory sourcing hubs in Hong Kong and China.

Since its small beginnings in the 60s manufacturing men’s shirts, the T & FG Group has made an internationally recognised name for itself as a high quality producer of women’s dresses and intimate apparel. The group caters to leading brand names in the US, the UK and Germany.

Despite large scale expansion over the years, the group maintains sound environmental practices and a high standard of working conditions at all of its factories.

Its nearly 8,000 strong work force is considered the company’s main asset.

“We believe that our employees are our greatest asset and we do whatever possible to look after our employees. As a result we have quite a few people who have been with us for as much as 15 years and longer,” says Mr Sattar.

All employees are also provided with training and development opportunities.

“We have many training and development opportunities. So there are people that began at the bottom, at the factory floor or as a peon, and made it to management level,” says Mr Sattar.

As part of its corporate social responsibility, the group involves itself in many community and social service projects such as assistance to tsunami victims and internally displaced families in war affected areas. The group also regularly provides cash and material assistance to schools, hospitals and public and private welfare institutions.

All of the manufacturing facilities of the T & FG Group are also environmentally friendly and comply with all environmental standards of the country.

The All Star Award recognises the performance excellence of the T & FG Group and is an encouragement to reach even greater heights.

Wining NCE Export Awards 2006

The shipper’s Academy Colombo together with Technical Corporation from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and with the concurrence of Export Development Board and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority are of the view that T & FG Group should be recognized for its efforts in the apparel industry for almost three decades.

During the hard times the business community continued to place trust on the country and its people to contribute immensely to the growth of the country.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka will present T & FG Group with the “Global Commerce Excellence Award” in recognition of their dedication to the country.

NCE Export Awards 2006 – Fergasam Garment Industries (Pvt) Ltd was placed Second in the Extra Large category in the Garments sector and was presented the Silver Award on 28th September, 2007 in recognition of export performance.