1. Product: Towels are essential household items that are also used in home, hotels and restaurants. They are used as bath towels, wash towels, hand towels etc. Towel is made from terry fabric or cloths in more than one design and types.
2. Rationale: Towels are important items for washing and cleaning and up keeping of health by drying a wet body. It is used daily in every household by each person. It uses domestic raw material of cotton yarn, which is produced in the region and manufactured in textile mills. Medium quality towel type is made town from either bleached/dyed cotton yarn or gray cotton yarns, which can be beached/dyed after weaving. Towels can be manufactured by small and medium enterprise and create employment to many people. The establishment of small-scale towel making plant has to be encouraged by the regional government.
3. Market: Currently demand for towels is met from domestic production by big textile mills like Kombolcha textile mills. There is a large amount of smuggled towels in the market. Demand grows with growing urbanization, growing exposure of the rural sector to urban goods and rising income of urban and rural households. There will be sufficient demand for the production of small-scale towel making plants.
4. Supply of Raw Material: The main raw material, which are available locally are as follows:
- Cotton yarn (of specific count)
- Bleaching agent and dyes (if the material is bleached or dyed at the plant).
- Sewing threads
- Silk screen with designs (if dying/ printing is done at the plant)
- Packing material
5. Production Process and Equipment: (a) Process production of towels involves basically the process of cotton yarn bleaching/dying, drying, rewinding, preparation for weaving (yarn classification), sectional working, tying, reaching-in-etc), weaving, inspecting of cloths, bleaching/dyeing (if yarns woven are not already bleached or dyed) drying, finishing (cutting, lock or overlook stitching, that is edge sewing) and packing.
a) Machinery and Equipment
- Winding and rewinding machines
- Bleaching/dyeing and rinsing vats (if bleached) dyed yarn are not bought.
- Drying machine (if yarn bleached/dyed at plant)
- Power and water treatment equipment (if yarn bleached/dyed at plant).
- Weaving preparation equipment (wrap tying, reaching in etc).
- Power looms
- Inspecting equipment
- Stitching/sewing machine
- Other (laboratory and workshop equipment, accessories etc) machinery and equipment are assumed improved.
6. Estimated Investment: The total investment outlay that includes building machinery and equipment and working capital is estimated to be Birr 450,000.
7. Location: The location of a small-scale towel making plant is in one of the major towns of Gonder or Bahrdar.