COLOMBIA—When Alex Vega was sent to Columbia by CESO to share his expertise and passion for garment production with small family-run clothing factories like Johan Castañeda’s, the company improved significantly in productivity and profit.
Castañeda’s mother sewed the first stitches of their garment business when he was a toddler. She learned how to make sufragios, elaborate condolence cards, and by the time Castañeda was 15 the business had expanded into a popular children’s clothing brand, employing 250 workers and exporting to eight countries. But in the early 90s the Colombian government reduced import restrictions, forcing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) like the Castañeda’s to complete with larger, better-organized multinationals like Tommy Hilfiger.
Vega had decades of managerial experience in the apparel industry under his belt when he worked with the Castaneda’s in 2007. He collaborated with 32 other Colombian companies over the next two years and gave recommendations that led to huge improvements in quality and productivity. Just as Castañeda’s mother had examined the original sufragio to figure out how it was made, Vega had a knack for seeing the big picture through small details.
His first assignment was with Industrias Nissi, a company where Castañeda is now sales manager, which specializes in pajamas and casual wear for children and ladies. All designing and cutting is done at the main site and the cut material is sent to a group of “satellites,” small shops that sew the material into clothes. Vega pointed out that more table space for cutting fabric could save a lot of time at the main site and recommended hiring another shift of six employees who could work overnight.
Vega also noticed that satellite shops were still using a traditional tailoring system where each worker made one garment at a time, which wasn’t efficient for mass production. He taught chain production techniques to owners and employees and divided sewing into four steps: small parts, such as pockets; the assembly of the front leg; the back leg; and the final assembly. Employees learned to work through sequences and timed every task before moving on to the next.
Within two days of implementing Vega’s recommendations, production levels tripled, and they were able to double the salary paid to their employees and to the satellites, while seeing profits rise.
Since then, Castañeda has accompanied Vega as a translator at other SME projects, gaining production expertise and developing a strong friendship with Vega. He believes that Vega’s love for the business makes him a great advisor. Once, when shopping for groceries at a huge market, Castañeda remembers Vega bee-lining to the clothing section. “He picks up a t-shirt and says ‘Look, this stitch is double needle; that machine is not working,’” Castañeda says, laughing. “That’s what I call passion!”