<p>Chennai: Taiwan’s Hong Fu, which makes shoes for popular global brands like Nike, Puma, Adidas, and Reebok, on Monday laid the foundation stone for a massive footwear manufacturing facility in Panapakkam in Ranipet district, in yet another boost to the Tamil Nadu government’s push to position the state as a hub for non-leather footwear sector. </p><p>The facility will come up at the SIPCOT Industrial Park in Panapakkam, which will also house Tata Motors-JLR’s state-of-the-art car manufacturing unit, at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore, providing jobs to 25,000 people with a promise of recruiting 85 per cent women. </p>.Road work from Ranipete Junction commences.<p>Hong Fu, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of non-leather athletic footwear, produces approximately 200 million pairs of sports shoes annually, generating USD 3 billion in revenue. The company supplies to </p><p>brands such as Nike, Converse, Vans, UGG, Puma, Adidas, Reebok, HOKA, Under Armour, Puma and ON (a Swiss sportswear brand).</p><p>Chief Minister M K Stalin laid the foundation stone via video conferencing, almost a year after Hong Fu and the state government signed a MoU in this regard. </p><p>“With operations across Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, and other countries, India’s rapid economic development and growing global influence made it a natural choice for Hong Fu’s latest investment,” said TY Chang, Chairman of Hong Fu.</p><p>The Group’s entry into Tamil Nadu and the Indian market was facilitated by Aqeel Panaruna, Joint Venture Partner and stakeholder in the project. </p><p>“The Panapakkam project is a great addition to the footwear manufacturing ecosystem of the country. The slew of investments coming into the footwear sector in India is a testimony to the confidence shown by Brands and Footwear Manufacturers in the Make in India initiative and also the huge growth potential of the footwear sector,” R Selvam, Executive Director, Council for Leather Exports, said. </p><p>The state already accounts for 45 per cent of exports in the leather footwear sector and will now be part of the global supply chain for brands like Nike, Adidas, Timberland, and New Balance. Industry experts feel Tamil Nadu has a natural advantage over other competing states like Telangana, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh due to the thriving leather footwear industry here</p>
<p>Chennai: Taiwan’s Hong Fu, which makes shoes for popular global brands like Nike, Puma, Adidas, and Reebok, on Monday laid the foundation stone for a massive footwear manufacturing facility in Panapakkam in Ranipet district, in yet another boost to the Tamil Nadu government’s push to position the state as a hub for non-leather footwear sector. </p><p>The facility will come up at the SIPCOT Industrial Park in Panapakkam, which will also house Tata Motors-JLR’s state-of-the-art car manufacturing unit, at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore, providing jobs to 25,000 people with a promise of recruiting 85 per cent women. </p>.Road work from Ranipete Junction commences.<p>Hong Fu, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of non-leather athletic footwear, produces approximately 200 million pairs of sports shoes annually, generating USD 3 billion in revenue. The company supplies to </p><p>brands such as Nike, Converse, Vans, UGG, Puma, Adidas, Reebok, HOKA, Under Armour, Puma and ON (a Swiss sportswear brand).</p><p>Chief Minister M K Stalin laid the foundation stone via video conferencing, almost a year after Hong Fu and the state government signed a MoU in this regard. </p><p>“With operations across Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, and other countries, India’s rapid economic development and growing global influence made it a natural choice for Hong Fu’s latest investment,” said TY Chang, Chairman of Hong Fu.</p><p>The Group’s entry into Tamil Nadu and the Indian market was facilitated by Aqeel Panaruna, Joint Venture Partner and stakeholder in the project. </p><p>“The Panapakkam project is a great addition to the footwear manufacturing ecosystem of the country. The slew of investments coming into the footwear sector in India is a testimony to the confidence shown by Brands and Footwear Manufacturers in the Make in India initiative and also the huge growth potential of the footwear sector,” R Selvam, Executive Director, Council for Leather Exports, said. </p><p>The state already accounts for 45 per cent of exports in the leather footwear sector and will now be part of the global supply chain for brands like Nike, Adidas, Timberland, and New Balance. Industry experts feel Tamil Nadu has a natural advantage over other competing states like Telangana, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh due to the thriving leather footwear industry here</p>