MAS Holdings teams up with Nike :

Apparel Innovation and Training Centre to be set up

Chairman MAS Holdings Mahesh Amalean, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, Global Manufacturing Director, Apparel and Equipment for Nike Dipayan Dasgupta inspect a garment. Picture by Saliya Rupasinghe

At a glance

* Region’s largest supplier of intimate apparel and sports/active wear

* New facility to offer 12-week Core Lean programs

* Nike partnership an exciting journey

MAS Active, a subsidiary of MAS Holdings, entered into a partnership with NIKE, Inc. to launch the Apparel Innovation and Training Centre at the MAS Fabric Park, Thulhiriya.

MAS Holdings is the region’s largest supplier of intimate apparel and sports/active wear.

Operating in five countries with over 44,000 people, it is a vertically integrated design-to-delivery solution provider working in partnership with global brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Speedo, Marks and Spencer, and NIKE Inc., the world’s leading designer, marketeer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities.

Following the success of the Nike Innovation and Training Centre for footwear in Vietnam, Nike has chosen to partner with MAS Active, MAS Holdings’ Sports and Active Wear Division to set up its global Apparel Innovation and Training Centre in Thulhiriya.

“The new Apparel Innovation and Training Centre provides a standardized foundation of training and education to create industry leadership in lean manufacturing, innovation and continued learning that elevates the quality and craftsmanship of Nike product,” said Nike Global Apparel Manufacturing Director Dipayan Dasgupta.

“We appreciate the opportunity to partner with strategic suppliers such as MAS Active, who show a deep understanding of the positive impact of training and workforce empowerment and working towards reducing manufacturing waste, among other qualities.”

The new facility is housed within a dedicated section of the MAS Institute for Management and Technology in the MAS Fabric Park. The facility is managed and operated by Nike and will be the location for skills development and other classroom training. The centre will be dedicated to train Nike employees, and members of their key manufacturing partners.

The new facility will offer 12-week Core Lean programs that provide sessions on theory and practical hands-on-experience in driving process innovations, conducted by an expert faculty from the USA and South Asia.

This initiative involves a new Training Centre and a manufacturing unit. To facilitate and support the Nike facility, MAS Active will also launch an apparel manufacturing facility - the Linea AITC which will be dedicated solely to Nike.

In addition to normal production, Linea AITC will function as a “laboratory,” where students attending the centre will have the opportunity to experiment and trial the innovations and process improvements developed during their course.