Guangdong-based Alion produces 500 tons of knitted fabrics and garments each year and registered total sales of US$18 million in 2003. Established in 1998, the ISO-certified company is a joint venture between three Hong Kong-based companies and the China Textile Machinery (Group) Co. Ltd, a conglomerate of machinery manufacturers, scientific research organizations, and non-industrial and share-holding enterprises distributed throughout 12 provinces and municipalities in the mainland.

T-shirts and polo-shirts make up 78 percent of Alion's total sales at a value of US$14 million, and the rest comes from sales of outerwear, trousers and skirts. Although exports account for only 19 percent of total T-shirt and polo-shirt sales, this percentage has already increased 12 percent over the past year and is expected to grow by up to 20 percent in 2005.

Alion's main export market is the United States, absorbing 40 percent of the company's shipments. The European Union is next with a 25 percent share followed by Asia with 20 percent. The remaining exports are shipped to Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Forty-three percent of export orders are produced on an OEM basis. Some of Alion's clients include Tomen Corp. of Japan and Chickeeduck of Hong Kong.

Products
Alion produces low-end to high-end T-shirts and polo-shirts, which are mainly sold to the domestic market under the company's in-house SI+ brand name. Export models are priced from US$1 for low-end styles made from pure cotton fabric, with basic round neck and print, to US$15 for high-end versions, using modal blends with quick dry functions. The company's best-selling models are the midrange mercerized shirts with quick dry properties priced at about US$8.

Men's models account for 70 percent of Alion's total polo and T-shirt output, and more than half of this percentage is polo-shirts.

Alion's 32-member R&D team focuses product development on improving the features of polo shirts and T-shirts using anti-sweat and quick dry fabrics. The team also coordinates with the sample production group to produce counter samples, and the cutting group to optimize lay out and fabric cutting using CAD systems.

Manufacturing
Alion produces 80 percent of its fabric requirements using circular knitting machines installed at its 10,000sqm factory in Foshan, Guangdong. Printing, dyeing and other finishing processes are subcontracted to neighboring factories.

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