New MASCOT factory

    Laos - 2013 - MASCOT
    Sun, 22 Dec 2013

    Denmark’s largest manufacturer of workwear, MASCOT, earlier today inaugurated a newly built factory in Laos. MASCOT constructed the 9000 m2 building and the new production unit becomes the fourth in a series of MASCOT factories in Southeast Asia.

    The opening took place with the participation of the Danish executive board, the Board of Directors, the management for Vietnam and Laos, and included ministers and other official representatives of the government of Laos.

    An important milestone in the development of MASCOT

    The capacity expansion is a natural result of the good performance that MASCOT has experienced. Owner and CEO Michael Grosbøl denotes MASCOT LAOS as a very important milestone in the international development of MASCOT. “This is great news for MASCOT customers,” said Michael Grosbøl, “MASCOT remains first and foremost extremely competitive. At the same time, we also provide customers with workwear with a clear conscience. The new, efficient factory will also contribute further to maintain MASCOT’s high delivery rate of just over 98% within 24 hours.”

    MASCOT – made in Laos

    Choosing Laos for the establishment of the new factory was very natural considering the close geographical proximity to the existing factories in northern Vietnam, "Laos has an excellent business environment, and the government and local authorities have been very helpful. Since we obtained the investment license, it has taken less than a year to complete the project, and I am very much looking forward to seeing the first “made in Laos” MASCOT-products," says Michael Grosbøl. In the new year, an increasing extent of workwear will be produced from the new production in Laos. In the course of 2014 it is expected that the workforce in MASCOT LAOS will reach about 800 people.

    Own factory in Laos: - Michael & John

    MASCOT’s good reputation can attract more investors

    The Laotian Minister, Bounpheng Mounphoxay is responsible for the industrial zone where MASCOT has built the new factory. During the inauguration, she congratulated MASCOT and said, “MASCOT represents exactly the kind of foreign investors we would like to attract to our country. We are fully aware of MASCOT’s international reputation as a socially responsible investor that takes all efforts to create good jobs and development opportunities for employees. It is also my hope that MASCOT's CSR policy can inspire other investors."

    Social Responsbility the entire way

    MASCOT intends to integrate all aspects of the CSR policy in the new facilities in Laos. "Decent wages and good working conditions are important aspects of running a professional business," said owner Michael Grosbøl, who emphasises that there will be a comprehensive security set-up for all activities in MASCOT Laos. "We will document the social responsibility we take, with SA8000 certification, as we have already done in our Vietnamese factories," said Michael Grosbøl. MASCOT LAOS' senior management team consists of both expats and Lao nationals, all led by managing director Thomas Bo Pedersen. Thomas Bo Pedersen has extensive experience in Asia, and hehas, since 2006, served as the managing director for MASCOT VIETNAM.

    Thomas Bo & Michael Grosbøl - 2013

    Production can quintuple

    MASCOT's new factory is 22 km from the Laos capital of Vientiane and thus relatively close to the Vietnamese MASCOT factories. MASCOT LAOS will have a close collaboration with MASCOT VIETNAM and with the logistics centre in Denmark. MASCOT established itself in Vietnam in 2006 and since then has established three manufacturing plants that operate with very high efficiency and provide quality workwear to customers in Europe as well as Australia, South America and the United States. In the event that there is a need for additional capacity, the new site in Laos is prepared so that the factory buildings can be expanded up to five-fold.