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The garment industry, with a turnover of over 2 million Brazilian reais (US$ 1.1 million) a month, generates 17,000 work posts in the northeastern Brazilian state of Piauí and is in constant growth. It involves the production of clothes, shoes and accessories. The figures were supplied by the Association of the Textile Industry in Piauí (Sindivest).
The sector is investing in training for the state to become a fashion hub. Sebrae (Brazilian Service of Support for Micro and Small Enterprises) Piauí has been executing a Garment Project for some time, developing a series of actions to make the sector more competitive.
"The garment production sector has exclusive dynamics, can grow, move the state's economy and generate 17,000 jobs, but it must be in constant qualification. It is necessary to invest more and more in training, always focusing on the quality of products and in expansion of markets. That is precisely what the Sebrae and its other partners in this project have been doing, investing in knowledge, in design, for the garment producers of Piauí to have access to new markets," stated the chairman of the Sebrae Deliberative Council for the State of Piauí, Ulysses Gonçalves Nunes de Moraes.
From January to August this year, four groups of training in modeling took place, one for industrial machinery operators, as well as consultancy in design and shop floor. In the month of September, two courses specifically for the sector will be offered in Teresina. The first in modeling of knit, between the 9th to the 25th. The second will be training for production supervisor training, to take place from September 28 to October 9.
"The great differential of the garment production sector in Piauí is that our priority is on quality rather than production volume. That is, we are engaged in producing quality garments, not being concerned in producing more. It is necessary to produce better," said the Sindivest president, Francisco Marques de Melo.
The constant search for professional qualification has been improving the sector's performance, be it in better products, be it in the access to new markets, be it in the expansion of the industrial park to other cities in Piauí. According to Marques de Melo, apart from Teresina, other cities in the state stand out in the production of fashion, as is the case with Piripiri, Parnaíba, Campo Maior, Picos and São Raimundo Nonato.
"Teresina is responsible for 82% of the garments produced in Piauí. Another city that has been prominent in the production of clothes is Campo Maior," said the president at Sindivest. In the capital there are currently 328 enterprises turned to the garment sector. In the whole state there are almost six hundred businesses in the area, producing around 790,000 items a month.
Fashion produced in the state is not consumed only there, but has won the market in other states and regions of the country, like Maranhão, Pará, Tocantins and the southeast of Brazil.
"Piauí has a natural talent for the garment production industry, mainly because this sector of the economy has a very private characteristic: job generation. That is, the sector has a capacity for rapid generation of income. It is betting on this sector profile that the Sebrae and its partners invest in knowledge, in professional qualification, in trade strategies and in technological consultancy," said the technical director of the Sebrae in Piauí, Mário Lacerda.
The Garment Production Project developed by the Sebrae in Teresina, Piripiri, Parnaíba, Campo Maior, São Raimundo Nonato and Picos has been presenting surprising results. "The sector has been growing and we have helped several micro and small formal and informal businesses with the objective of guaranteeing greater knowledge about the garment production sector. The sector has also been becoming more professional and those who do not appreciate the talent in each enterprise are losing market share," said the manager of the Teresina Garment Project, Vanessa Alencar.
The Sebrae project in Teresina supplies 55 micro and small companies installed in the Piauí Center Modas, located in the southeastern region of the capital. Both in Teresina and in other cities benefited by the Sebrae actions, the promotion of courses, training and consultancy to improve the qualification of entrepreneurs and their collaborators has become an almost daily activity.
An example of the good results is company Via Corpus, from Campo Maior, 78 kilometers away from Teresina, which has been on the market for 15 years, producing 10,000 pieces a month, generating 74 work posts and trading its products in Piauí, Maranhão, Pará and Tocantins.
"The Sebrae is very important for my company, mainly because we have been through several consultancies, in market and participation in fairs and events. Before that, we worked with knit and denim, and the Sebrae courses brought to our attention that it would be better to decide on denim, in a more organized manner. All of this improved the quality of our product," said the owner of Via Corpus, Zulmira Rodrigues Alencar.
To the owner of D'Dan, Daniel Judvan da Silva Souza, what contributed most for the growth of the brand was the leveling of production. "We started controlling our stock, purchases and production better after Sebrae consultancy. Before that, we purchased much raw material without knowing what to do with it. We have now balanced that out. Another positive change is that we learnt not to centralize company control too much. Now we delegate activities to other collaborators," explained the businessman.
D'Dan has been operating on the Teresina market for three years, working in denim and casual fashion. Production is 4,000 items a month. The company generates 45 work posts and trades production in Piauí, Maranhão, Ceará and Pará.
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