HONG KONG: US-based INVISTA, one of the world's largest polymers and fiber producers, plans to expand its operations on the mainland by opening a new research facility in Shanghai next month.

Michelle Rice, INVISTA's global segment director for intimate apparel and swimwear, said the mainland is a very important market for INVISTA for a number of reasons.

The country has displayed its ability to maintain a high level of economic growth, its economy outperforms that of the world's economic superpowers and consumer spending remains robust in spite of global recession.

"Demand for apparel is dropping in many parts of the world. However, our sales on the mainland are still growing by 10 to 15 percent," she told China Daily in an interview.

She said INVISTA will open a textile research center in Shanghai next month and collaboration is ongoing with fiber producers on the mainland.

The group currently has two other research facilities, one in Taiwan and the other in the US.

Rice said the Shanghai research complex will help INVISTA respond better to the needs of its customers on the mainland and anticipate the market's demand for innovations in fiber and fabric applications.

"We have to bring innovations to the market much faster. Consumers need speed in the delivery of innovations and new products and services," she said.

Despite differences in customer preference in colors, style and fashion in Asia from that in the US and Europe, INVISTA's clients around the world have the same expectation of garment products, Rice said.

"They expect their garments to perform. They also want them to be very elegant and of top-flight quality," she said, "The performance needs are the same although styles may vary from one type of garment to the other."

Rice said Asian customers are relatively more interested in fashion and innovation, while their customers in southern Europe often go for fast-moving and trendy garment products.

She said INVISTA is putting increasing importance to its Asian operations.

Over the past few years, new facilities have been established in various parts of the region and many of the group's production facilities are now based in Asia.

"This strategy makes a lot of business and economic sense," Rice said.

The speed of textile innovation is very rapid in Asia, and the company's expansion in the region will facilitate its textile research development, she added.

As global recession has had an adverse impact on INVISTA's overall business, the group now puts greater premium on the value and merits of innovation and the need to develop new products, she said.

"We need to prioritize which products are the most important and get them to the market quickly," she said."If we are not able to this today, I don't think we will be ready for tomorrow's market."

(HK Edition 04/25/2009 page5)