WESGRO has announced a R2.5 million investment in the province's clothing and textile industry with the establishment of a bedding manufacturing plant in Bellville South, Cape Town.

Joyce Cheung, from the trade and investment promotion agency's investment promotion department (WESGRO), said it strongly believes that the investment will have a positive impact in a sector severely affected by factors such as the strengthening of the rand and the removal of quotas on clothing and textile imports.

She said despite these adverse conditions, the recent R2.5m investment by a Chinese investor had demonstrated that the Western Cape is still an attractive investment location for foreign investors.

Dolphin Bedding Manufacturers owner Peter Chen decided to invest in a company after identifying a niche in the bedding manufacturing market for quality low-cost bedding and short turnaround times.

He has been operating since May and said business was booming and he would soon have to consider expanding his operation to meet customer demand.

"Due to the size and bulky nature of bedding, importing these products often incurs high transport freight costs," he said.

But by producing his bedding locally he said he was able to eliminate these costs, thus allowing him the opportunity to supply his clients with quality bedding at competitive prices.

Cheung urged other entrepreneurs to be innovative in their thinking and change their focus from trying to compete with cheap clothing imports to manufacturing quality niche products.

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