New life is being breathed into the premises of the formerTextil Flandria operation at Jauregui, 76km from Buenos Aries, Argentina, which in its heyday provided employment for 3,000 workers.  In 2001, the factory was bought for $1.5 million by Algoselan S.A., a family textile business with strong links to the footwear industry and which is currently managed by second and third generation members of the Diforti family. It is from here that the company operates as ‘Algoselan Flandria.’ 

The original Textil Flandria was founded by Belgian Julio Steverlynck and the old building was constructed in 1932. A philanthropic man, Mr. Steverlynck, worked with his employees to create a village around the factory complete with schools, sporting clubs and even a village band that still plays today.  With the economic and governmental upheavals of the 1990s, however, the Steverlynck family was unable to continue its support of the factory, and closure followed in the mid-nineties.

Unable to fully occupy the 36 acre compound, the Difortis dynasty embarked on the challenge to turn it into an industrial estate. Unsurprisingly, given the current parlous state of manufacturing in Argentina, their proposals for a footwear manufacturing cluster were warmly received by both the local community and the local authorities.

Tax exemption and other incentives were secured and the manufacturing zone is now seen as offering an attractive proposition to footwear manufacturers both at home and abroad.

Some idea of the political and economic significance attached to the development is provided by the fact that the recent inauguration of the Algoselan Flandria industrial estate - attended by all the people of Jauregui - had Argentina's president Néstor Kirchner as main guest. Carlos Diforti asked old ex-workers to start the machines that only they could operate.

In his speech, President Kirchner spoke of his "Argentina at Work" project that shall generate policies "for the welfare of the majority and not the business of a few".  He added he wanted "to rule a country without thieves or corrupt crooks who have filled us all with shame".

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