A team from Taiwanese footwear manufacturer, Apache Footwear, recently visited Chennai, India to explore the possibilities of setting up a shoe manufacturing facility on 200 acres of land on the outskirts of Chennai. According to local media reports, the company plans to construct a plant to produce 20,000 pairs of sports and brown (casual) shoes per day for adidas.

The new facility is set to cost Rs. 2,000 to 2,500 million ($44 to $55 million), but could go up to as much as Rs. 5,000 million ($111 million) if Apache decides to make it an integrated facility to include other production lines such as shoe components. The unit will initially employ about 4,000 to 5,000 people, which is expected to rise to 10,000.

Apache Footwear already has a facility in China that produces some 60,000 pairs per day. It will soon establish a new facility in Vietnam as well as the one that is planned for India.