Established in 1997, Helios produces children's garments, casual wear for adults and sporting goods. The company's total sales amounted to US$6 million in 2004, with children's wear accounting for 60 percent, or US$3.6million. Export sales of children's garments grew 20 percent last year to reach US$2.5 million.

Since this Shanghai-based company is a joint venture between investors from Japan and China, all of its exports are currently shipped only to Japan. Seventy percent of orders are produced on an OEM and ODM basis, with clients including Itochu and Sumikin Bussan. The company has recently been licensed by England's BBC to produce and market the Teletubbies line of children's wear.

Running on 50 percent of its installed capacity, Helios produces 1.2 million pieces of children's garments a year.

Products
Helios manufactures both knitted and woven children's wear. Toddlers' designs dominate exports at 50 percent, school children's garments account for 30 percent, while baby clothing makes up the rest. The company releases collections for spring/summer and autumn/winter. Tops and bottoms each make up 40 percent of exports, while sets take up the remainder.

Prices of children's wear depend on the size and material used. T-shirts, short pants and outerwear for babies range from US$2 to US$4 per piece, and toddlers' clothing is priced betweenUS$2.50 and US$6. Casual wear and jackets for schoolchildren start at US$5, and go up to US$12.50 for an insulated water resistant jacket. Helios will keep prices stable until the end of 2005.

The company's 12-member R&D team develops more than 2,000 designs annually. Illustrator and CorelDraw are used for designing, while GGT and CAD systems are used for patternmaking and grading. The team mainly focuses on improving the overall quality of clothes, coming up with innovative prints and developing functional garments such as those with detachable sleeves.

fabric used by the company conforms to environmental standards set by JIS and GB of China. About 5 percent of materials including polyester, nylon and cotton are imported from Japan and South Korea. Accessories such as buttons, zippers, labels, elastic bands and beads are sourced locally.

Manufacturing
The Global Sources team visited Helios' factory located in Changzhou city in Jiangsu province. The10,000sqm facility has separate workshops for cutting, sewing, ironing, and packing and inspection.

The company has 500 workers and a full range of garment-making equipment that includes five computerized, 175 lockstitch and double-needle, and 25 overlock sewing machines. The facility is also equipped with numerous bartackers, buttonholers, fusing machines, cutting machines and steam irons.

Helios has 45 QC staff in charge of examining fabric as it comes in, conducting in-process inspections and checking finished garments visually and with the help of needle detectors.

And more... To see the full Helios Textile & Apparel Co. Ltd profile and 14 other in-depth profiles order now.