Nylon Knitting, a world leader in its field, is set to invest e43 million in Malta between 2008 and 2011 after a memorandum of understanding was yesterday signed with the government.

The company, which employs 322 people, was set up back in 1963 – one of the first companies to set up shop in Malta.

The announcement of the investment was made

by the Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt together with Nylon Knitting chairman Luigi Pezzoli during a visit to the plant at Qormi yesterday.

Thanks to this investment, the company undertakes to retain the present 322 employees until 2017 and intends to increase the complement to 400 employees by December 2011.

Throughout its 45 years of operations in Malta, Nylon Knitting has had to face various challenges in order to remain competitive as the global market for its products changed and as the cost of production in Malta increased in parallel with the standard of living on the island.

There were difficult moments, the management said. In 1997, with 189 employees, Nylon Knitting was just surviving and was not generating any profit. At that point the shareholders faced a major decision, in the face of growing competition as well as opportunities to shift its production base elsewhere. The company decided to invest in order to remain competitive. In fact, in 1998, Nylon Knitting expressed its confidence in Malta and invested e0.7 million in machinery and equipment and another e0.55 million over the following 10 years.

They are now one of the world leaders in production of material used in nappies.

The investment announced yesterday is another turning point for Nylon Knitting. The investment of e43 million will be in three phases, that include the expansion of the knitting department, the complete substitution of the old technology including a substantial investment in machinery and equipment.

The investment by Nylon Knitting shows that the company has a prosperous future in Malta, said Minister Gatt.

TMID asked Dr Gatt what the difference in this factory and ones that have shut down, such as Denim, was. “The product made here has a market, dependent on continuing investment. This company has designed a production line which is more competitive than any other in the world,” he said.

Dr Gatt said the economy was growing, as was job creation. “We have 4,000 new jobs coming along in the next two years. With the investment at the Malta Freeport and Smartcity, we will see 10,000 jobs being created in Malta in the next few years,” he said.