Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) India gets its new Chairman!
Dr. A. Sakthivel has become the first apparel exporter ever to be sworn-in as the Chairman of the AEPC for the fourth time.
Honoured with Padma Shri in 2009, he was first elected to the Board of Directors of AEPC in the year 1982.
Assuming the office of Chairman of AEPC, Dr. A. Sakthivel shared the concern that for the past 3 years, the industry has been struggling to survive and the growth of apparel exports has been stagnant.
He assured to work with full commitment and dedication to bring positive growth in apparel exports, and promised that he will put efforts to find new and potential markets for India’s garment exports.
It is worth mentioning here that he also served as Managing Committee Member of Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation (FIEO) for more than a decade.
Dr. A. Sakthivel along with some exporters was instrumental in establishing Tirupur Exporters Association, widely known as TEA, back in 1990. He was the first President of TEA and held the post continuously for a period of 27 years.
During his tenure as the President of TEA, he toiled hard to develop the industry as well as Tirupur. The export numbers justified his efforts, as the export turnover of Tirupur Industry during his tenure rose to a whopping Rs. 27,000 crore in 2016-17 from Rs. 270 crore in 1990.
Born in a simple agricultural family in 1947, Dr. A. Sakthivel did his Diploma in Automobile Engineering and started his career as a service engineer in TELCO at Jamshedpur. He was also the founder of leading apparel export company Poppys Knitwear, Tirupur.
Incorporated in 1978, AEPC is the official body of apparel exporters in India that provides invaluable assistance to Indian exporters as well as importers/international buyers who chose India as their preferred sourcing destination for garments.
