“Bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. is something that really motivates people,” said James Michael Aiken, CEO of Santana Textiles.

In August, Brazil-based Santana is slated to begin producing 15 million meters of denim at its huge plant in north Edinburg. By the time phase IV is completed in 2016, Santana Textiles expects to be manufacturing 60 million meters of denim annually. That will certainly make it the largest denim producer in the Texas and possibly the biggest in the nation.

If you thought textile companies’ time in the Valley had come and gone, be advised that Santana is, as they say, not your grandmother’s sewing plant. Santana Textiles is a capital intensive, highly automated producer which takes in raw cotton, weaves it into denim and sells the finished rolls to cut-and-sew plants. While Santana is in no way labor-intensive, even the most high-tech robots need skilled employees to operate them, feed in raw cotton, repair them and check quality control while the plant operates 24 hours a day.

To bring the initial workforce up to speed, Santana Textiles in May received a $600,133 Skills Development Grant from the Texas Workforce Commission to train 330 employees. South Texas College will coordinate the training in advanced manufacturing best practices, which covers Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, supply chain management and total productive maintenance.  An equal skills grant will kick in as the manufacturer climbs to its projected workforce of 800.

Ten years ago, Aiken was among those helping manufacturing companies move to Asia. At age 16, he had worked as a janitor in the Georgia textile plant where his father was a supervisor. Since then he has accumulated 27 years of manufacturing experience in Peru, China, Mexico and the U.S.  Santana Grupo began as a hammock maker in Horizonte, Brazil 50 years ago. In 1995, the company diversified into spinning and started producing denim. With five factories, the closely-held company is now the fifth largest denim producer in the world.

Nevertheless, the questions remain: Why textiles? Why did Santana choose Edinburg for its $171 million investment?

Aiken, who has an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, discussed Santana’s business model and the global trends that brought Santana to Texas in its first North American venture. China is losing its appeal to manufacturers, Aiken said, because productivity is dropping while wages are rising. Transportation costs have gone up with fuel hikes, the dollar is weak and imports must pay U.S. duties.

But for textile manufacturers, two other factors forecast a sea change. First, in fashion, manufacturers at all levels must respond quickly to changing trends, so speed to market is crucial. The shortest supply chain will triumph. Secondly, U.S. denim retailers want American-made denim in their clothing. The U.S. denim market is valued at one billion dollars.

Aiken explained that Santana views Edinburg as a strategic location. When the business objective is to produce high quality denim for the designer market, “you couldn’t pick a better location,” he said. Cotton is the major cost when making denim, and Texas grows 25 percent of American cotton, with the Valley contributing a tenth of that. Fortunately, Valley cotton storage facilities are available for just-in-time production methods. Electricity costs much less in Texas than in Mexico.

“The bottom line is the U.S. will be attractive as a manufacturing location for American consumer products.”

For more of this story by Eileen Mattei, pick up a copy of the June edition of Valley Business Report, on news stands now, or visit the “Current & Past Issues” tab on this Web site.