Juapong Textiles goes up again

President Kufuor is on Friday,May 11,2007 afternoon, expected to commission the revamped Juapong Textiles Company, to be known as the Volta Star Textiles Company.

The re-opening of the factory, which was closed down some two years ago due to operational difficulties, has been hailed by residents of Juapong and surrounding towns as a good move that would help improve their economic fortunes.

President Kufuor says government is concerned about the livelihood of the people and that is why it has stepped in to revive other projects such as the Pwalugu Tomato Factory in the Upper East Region.

He announced at the recent May Day celebrations that full operation of the textiles factory would begin today.

The resuscitation has come about as a result of a Government of Ghana/Chinese partnership agreement.

There are concerns however, about the timeliness and sustainability of the factory.

This is because the revival comes at a time when the nation is facing difficult energy crisis that has significantly reduced the ability of industries to produce at full capacity.

The alternative use of generators as a source of power supply would reflect in higher production costs and render products from the Juapong plant less competitive, relative to imported textiles from China and other countries.

Additionally, competition from cheaper sources remains a real threat as textile dealers freely flood the market with the less expensive substitutes.

When the company closed down, the Vilsco Company of Holland, the parent company for Juapong Textiles Limited cited low production levels and high debt stock as some of its principal reasons.

It explained that the lack of market for its textiles, compounded by the competition it faced from imported textiles particularly from China and Nigeria made it difficult for the company to continue in business.

In June 2005, about a thousand workers bid farewell to what had been the source of their livelihoods for years.