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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Czech textile companies report continuous growth in sales

According to the annual report by ATOK, Czesh Association of Textile, Clothing and Leather Industries, in 2018, fibers, clothing and textiles worth 56.5 billion crowns were sold by Czech companies which is an increase by 3 percent compared to the previous year.

However, in the industry wages have been growing much faster, by 8.5 pc which will affect profits.

Mr Jiří Hlavatý, head the country’s biggest textile company Juta said, “We recorded sales of over 7.7 billion crowns last year. It was a decent year, but we worked under great pressure. Growing wages have put Czech companies at a growing disadvantage against Asian companies, which profit from the lower cost of labor.”

The company, which produces unwoven textiles for the building industry and agriculture, currently employs around 2,300 people and exports its textiles to 66 countries in the world. According to the head of ATOK, Mr Jiří Česal, wages in the textile industry will grow by at least seven percent this year. That is what the association guarantees in a collective agreement signed with the trade unions.

Workers in textile companies last year received an average wage of 25,900 crowns. Despite the salary growth, the employment rate in the textile industry continues to drop, due to other industries offering better wages. Last year, the number of people employed by the textile industry fell by around 1.6 percent to 32,200.

The shortage of workers is forcing textile companies to invest more into automation. According to Mr Hospodářské noviny, Juta is set to invest tens of millions of crowns into automation this year.

Other companies are trying to attract employees by various perks, such as an annual bonus, or by introducing better conditions for mothers with children.

The growth of the textile industry is being fuelled mainly by the focus on technical textiles, which are used in the automobile industry, agriculture, health care and aviation. According to Mr Jiří Česal, eight out of the country’s top 10 textile producers manufacture technical textile.

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