Spain 2011 - Day 4 - Socks!

yarn that will be knitted into fabric for socks. 

Day 4 of our visit to Spain began with breakfast at our hotel and then out to our bus for a ride to our company visit at Punto Blanco (www.puntoblanco.com). Punto Blanco is known for premium socks and underwear for both men and women. For this visit, we traveled by bus through Spanish countryside about an hour from our hotel to Igualada, Spain. Punto Blanco is one of the typically family owned Spanish businesses that still employs locals for their premium product in their production facilities in Spain, but also outsources additional product to Asia.  Our instructor from IQS, Dr. Antoni Olive, formerly worked for Punto Blanco and knew it very well inside and out. He guided us through the facility where they make premium socks. From a manufacturing perspective, it was very interesting to get to see the production of clothing articles (socks) from the very beginning. The socks made in this factory are much better quality than those I typically purchase, in bulk, for the cheapest price possible in the US. They begin with synthetic fabric, or from yarns that they then knit into the final sock product. It was very interesting to see the process from start to finish.

vat used for dying fabric.

     The people here seemed to enjoy their work, waving and saying hello to us as we came through the facility. The were even willing to let us take a try at the steam machine where newly made socks were expertly slipped over a mold to be run through the steam machine.

synthetic fabric used to make socks

fabric inside the machine being pressed.

     Our visit to Punto Blanco was to cover the topic of innovation as it pertains to business. The model for this Spanish company involves production based on actual orders in house and a longer time stretch for design through delivery of product. According to the current model, it takes a full 18 months to put a new sock design on the shelves of the store. Our discussion was based on our business school perspective where students questioned why 6 months is needed to create new designs, why there was not a forecasting system, and other questions surrounding the distribution channel of the product. The questions also surrounded the question of outsourcing entirely the production of the product. The answer was that the company is a family owned company and they would not eliminate the jobs of those people working for the company to outsource product even though labor here is more expensive. They were once one of the largest sock producers in Spain, now other more mass market brands have entered the market and are able to move much more quickly with market trends.  The social structure of the economy lends itself to taking care of its employees as much as possible. We also discussed options on the horizon for updating the business model, so that the company is not just breaking even, but so that they can remain competitive in the future. At this time, they are happy to just break even, no profit, but not actually losing money for the sake of the people who work there.

   After a siesta, we went out to the main city area to find a place to eat dinner. We came upon Pirineus restaurant and checked the menus outside before heading in the door. Once they saw our group of about 10, they set us up in a separate area of the restaurant that would provide enough space for our group, down in the cellar area of the restaurant. We were greeted by a jovial older gentleman who is quite the character. Everything he makes at this restaurant is the best in Spain, therefore the best in the world. Some of us split dinners and tapas and others had their own. Each restaurant makes their own recipe of sangria and we tried it here. Of course, it was the best in all of Spain according to our server! He encouraged us to come back, which we will do, because we had so much fun here and the food was good!