São Paulo, Brazil — Coteminas and Springs, manufacturers of home furnishing textile products based in South America and North America respectively, have formed an alliance they believe will benefit customers on both continents. Under the agreement, Coteminas will be supplying finished bed linen and towels to Springs. The companies hope to offer better prices, quality and service to consumers and to reap the benefits themselves of greater turnover.

"It was thinking of our customers that we decided to join forces," said José Gomes da Silva, chief executive director of Coteminas. "After doing business together for so long and gaining a mutual familiarity with each other's companies, products and values, we realized that this alliance would be a great business potential for both companies. Our annual turnover is about 780 million Reais per year. However, this year we expect a turnover of one billion Reais."

Coteminas is a 50-year old vertically operated manufacturer of home furnishing fabric and knitted apparel, founded by Brazilian entrepreneur José Alencar. The company, the largest and one of the most successful companies of its sector in Brazil, manufactures an average of 240 million pounds of textile products per year, including threads, textiles and finished products such as towels, bathrobes and bed linens.

Today Coteminas distributes both in Brazil and abroad, supplying 12.5% of the Brazilian cotton consumption and exporting approximately 32% of its production all over the world.

Da Silva is optimistic about the market for home furnishing textiles. "I believe there is a migration in production," he said. "The flow is slowly changing from East/West to North/South. I believe that the tendency is to transfer from the Orient to the Americas."F&FI