Work to start on new Santana denim plant

Construction on Santana Textiles’ new denim mill in Texas – the company’s first venture in the US – is due to begin this month after being delayed by the economic downturn.

The US$171m investment in the 775,000sq ft facility in Edinburg, Texas, was first announced in 2008, but was put back because of the recession and changes made to the project.

South America’s largest denim fabric manufacturer, Santana has benefited from $1.65m in funding from the Texas Enterprise Fund to aid the plant’s construction.

The company said it had selected Edinburg because of its proximity to cotton growers, as well as to key denim markets in Mexico and Los Angeles.