ATM moves into customised textile manufacturing

In order to beat persistent influx of textile materials from Asian countries, which often makes it difficult for locally manufactured products to thrive, the African Textiles Manufacturers (ATM) Limited has come up with a strategy of producing customised textiles for customers on demand.

“We now produce customised clothes for our customers who have to place their order. We do so for churches, wedding celebrants; those who wish to throw parties or have other ceremonies,’’ said a senior staff member of the company, who did not want his name in print because he was not authorised to speak.

“Initially, we produced and sold in the market en masse. But the market situation, particularly imports from China, made it difficult for us, because our products were often more expensive, given that our cost of production was always high,’’ he said.

ATM, located in Kano, North-West Nigeria, is in the business of producing African and wax prints, with brand names such as Crowntex, Duniya, Queentex, Festac, Wazobia, and Abada Real Wax.

Information obtained from the company’s website showed the establishment had large divisions for textile production such as spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing and wax prints. The plant had been sourced from the leaders in the textile machinery industry: spinning plant from Rieter, Zinser, and Murata & Schlafhorst; weaving plant from Beninger, Sucker Muller & Sulzer; processing plant from Stork, Bruckner, Wakayama, Kyoto, and Hisaka, among others, said the firm.

ATM’s major raw material is cotton, which is ginned in its own ginning factory. Lint produced in the process is used in spinning for manufacture of yarn, while dyes and chemicals are often imported, Real Sector Watch gathered.

“We have no problem with cotton, because we are in the North. If you have money here, you can have cotton in abundance. But our problem is poor power supply. We produce to suit the tastes of Kano residents and people from other palaces. Currently, we operate at full capacity. But imports must be cut down, while local players should be encouraged with adequate funding,’’ the source stated.