“Our shipments increase as Macedonia's textile industry grows”
InterEast is increasing traffic to and from Macedonia with departures every week. The country's history, infrastructure and extensive experience in textile production combined with a favourable geographical location, makes Macedonia an attractive producer for the fashion and clothing industry across Europe.
"We're counting on many new customers now that an increasing number of garment manufacturers are shifting production to Macedonia. The textile industry is growing, and we already have guaranteed departures every week, naturally with total responsibility for transportation and logistics,” says Peder Törnqvist, CEO at InterEast.
As part of the former Yugoslavia, Macedonia was a leading off-the-peg clothing supplier in Europe during the 1980s. With industries such as spinning mills, textile mills and garment making, the region supplied clothes and textiles to the world's leading ready-to-wear manufacturers. InterEast's CEO Peder Törnqvist was already then working with off-the-peg clothing transportation to and from Makedonien and often visited the country.
“Following the war in the Balkans, major parts of the industry moved to places like Portugal and the Baltic states. But textile manufacturing know-how and experience remains in Macedonia, which is a major reason why the country's off-the-peg production has once again begun to grow.”
German and Dutch manufacturers have been producing clothing in Macedonia for several years, and companies from Sweden and other European countries are taking ever bigger strides into the market. In addition to know-how and experience, the country has several advantages as a ready-to-wear clothing exporter.
“It's both simpler and more time efficient to transport goods from Macedonia than from e.g. Southeast Asia. What's more, the country's free-trade agreement means that goods entering the EU from Macedonia do so free of duty. As a logistics partner, we take care of all administration, both import and export customs clearance.”
InterEast has had a local office in Romania since 1998 and possesses extensive experience of both ready-to-wear clothing and working with East European countries.
"Macedonia will continue to grow as a textile supplier to many European countries, not least Sweden. Having been established in the Macedonian market for quite some time means that we' ve been part of developments since the beginning," says Peder Törnqvist.
For further information, please contact:
Oscar Törnqvist, Deputy CEO InterEast, +46 31-69 53 60, oscar.tornqvist@intereast.se
Magnus Sjöbäck, press contact InterEast, +46 704-45 15 99, magnus.sjoback@greatness
InterEast offers logistics services and transportation of goods to and from Eastern Europe and Asia, particularly for manufacturing companies in the engineering and textile industries. The company has 30 people employed in Romania, Turkey and at headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. InterEast has annual revenues of approximately SEK 70 million and was founded in 1992 by the Törnqvist family, which owns and runs the company. http://www.intereastgroup.com/en/
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