Blanket company hopes to cover Africa

China's Zhejiang truelove company grows sales in the continent and may expand its presence in Tanzania

A Chinese company is spreading its horizons as it tries to blanket Africa with its product.

Exports to the continent by China's Zhejiang Truelove Blanket Technology Co Ltd have increased by 25 percent to $11 million in the year to September and full-year sales look set to break records, customer manager Yu Juxian says.

A customer manager of Zhejiang Truelove Blanket Technology Co Ltd briefs African journalists. Provided to China Daily

Business surges in the last quarter of every year as temperatures fall, she says and global exports by the company hit $45 million in the first eight months of this year.

The company would like to cover the globe as it strives "to be the worldwide blanket king".

Egypt is by far their biggest export market in Africa while business is growing in Tanzania, South Africa, Tunisia and Algeria, Yu says.

In 2013, their Africa market grew by 19 percent to $15 million while global exports hit $78 million.

The company also exports to Russia, Japan, the Middle East, and South America.

"We believe quality wins market", Yu says, "and we pay great attention to product quality".

The blanket, made with polyster and yarn, is manufactured under ISO9001 and ISO14001 specifications, a set of international standards ensuring quality.

Tanzania may be a future hub for the company as it expands in East Africa.

Yu says that they started to export blankets to Dar es Salaam, the biggest city in Tanzania, last year and already market share has jumped to 5 percent of the African total.

"We are considering opening an office in Tanzania and should the business continue to pick up, we might consider opening a factory there," Yu says.

According to the company, a 20-foot container can carry 4,400 blankets, each weighing on average 3 kilograms.

The company's factory produces blankets for all ages and sizes and for various temperatures.

Founded in 1995 in the city of Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province, about 250 km south of Shanghai, TrueLove Blankets produces about 15 million blankets a year. The firm, owned by Zhejian Truelove Group, is also active in home textiles, fibers and real estate.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/17/2014 page22)