SAE-A Spinning, South Korean company plans to start a cotton yarn manufacturing plant in Coris, west of Cartago province which will involve an investment to the tune of $50 million. The cotton yarns produced at the Costa Rican plant will be exported to several clothing factories in America.

The investment is part of a long-term vision with a growth plan for the next 30 years, and with the certainty that the establishment of the Costa Rica plant will be profitable in the near future. On achieving the performance and the expected success, the company will consider expanding operations with a second investment in the country, as per the company president Kwang Ho Yoo.

SAE-A Spinning currently has 17 subsidiaries in the U.S., Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia, and last year it tallied global sales of over $1.4 billion.

According to the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), the venture will create 200 new direct jobs for local workers. It also the new investment proof that Costa Rica offers suitable conditions to host businesses in the textile industry.

The company already has begun construction of facilities in Coris, west of Cartago, some 22 kilometers east from the capital, and the site is expected to be fully operational by the first quarter in 2015.

CINDE’s General Director Gabriela Llobet said that in recent years several textile companies have closed operations in Costa Rica and moved to other countries in the region. Costa Rica’s privileged access to the U.S. market, thanks to CAFTA, is crucial to attract companies like these. Their country is a highly competitive export platform for companies looking to access key markets worldwide, through their network of trade agreements and strategic location.

Canadian Gildan Activewear has also announced that it will open a textile manufacturing plant in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, after SAE-A Spinning decision to set up cotton yarn manufacturing plant.