International Luggage Manufacturing Company

completed

The Project is to expand the operations of Boscan Jordan Group (BJG), a Jordanian manufacturer of soft-side luggage products. BJG''s existing facilities, International Luggage Manufacturing Company (ILMC), consist of 20 production lines for soft-sided luggage. The new investment will add 40 additional production lines in two new companies, ILMC II and ILMC III, to be located adjacent to the existing operation. The Project is located in the Al-Hassan industrial park in Irbid, Jordan''s third largest city, in the north of the country. The Company''s products are manufactured and sold under brand names by major US retail chains. The total cost of the expansion project is expected to be US$31 million. The proposed IFC investment is a US$12 million loan and a US$1.0 million equity investment in BJG.The project is expected to have a significant development impact, creating two and half thousand jobs in Jordan, at least half of which are for women. The Jordanian workforce will be trained to take over the specialized operations in the manufacturing process which will initially be carried out by an qualified expatriate workforce. This process, together with training initiatives to be undertaken with local colleges will lead to a significant skill transfer and promote the development of new skill based light manufacturing industry in Irbid. The Boscan Group is rapidly expanding its investments in Jordan including in garment manufacturing, textiles and IT.