The Western Hemisphere is heating up as a sourcing destination, as American companies seek out production closer to home. Nearshoring ticks numerous boxes for brands. Firstly, it shortens lead times, enabling quicker replenishment and allowing for more responsive production runs. By reducing the distance that goods must travel, importers simultaneously minimize logistics and transportation risks. Additionally, working with nearby partners in similar time zones improves collaboration.
For American brands, one of the key nearshoring regions is Central America, which is covered by the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Per the United States Fashion Industry Association’s 2024 Benchmarking Report, 52 percent of companies said they planned to expand sourcing from CAFTA-DR member countries in the next two years, up from 40 percent in 2023.
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Responding to this increasing interest, textile and garment manufacturing group Hansae has made Central America a key investment area. Headquartered in South Korea, the company has factories in eight countries, including Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Haiti. Hansae is continuing to enhance its facilities in the region to better serve Western Hemisphere customers with more capacity, verticality and technology.
“Through strategic investments and operational upgrades in Nicaragua and El Salvador, Hansae is further strengthening its position as a trusted manufacturing partner for leading U.S. brands,” said Jun Chung, vice president of strategy and planning at Hansae.
Hansae’s longest foothold in Central America has been Nicaragua, which it entered in 1998. Expanding its capacity in the country, Hansae will be adding 60 sewing lines to its plant in SEBACO by the second quarter of 2026.
A key focus within Hansae SEBACO is automation. The facility leverages technology and innovations from Hansae’s factories across the globe, particularly Vietnam. In addition to automated sewing and cutting machines, the plant incorporates automated hanger systems, guided vehicles, box-making machines and box-folding machines for efficiency.
Further streamlining production, the SEBACO plant has a partner print mill in the same complex as the garment factory, allowing high-quality embellishments like printing, dyeing and embroidery to be added to garments on site. Although the infrastructure for embellishments is developing in Central America, capacity remains tight and certain specialized capabilities such as flocking and multi-layered screen printing are still largely concentrated in Asia. With this co-located print mill, Hansae is helping to expand the capabilities available in Nicaragua and the region.
While Hansae has been in Nicaragua the longest, the company’s youngest base in the region is in El Salvador. Established in 2024, the group’s presence in the country spans an owned facility with 22 sewing lines and a partnership with an outsourcing factory in the Sam-Li Industrial Zone, which has 25 lines.
Hansae had multiple reasons for entering the nation. “El Salvador offers excellent logistics connectivity, including a regional airport hub, and it benefits from a strategic partnership with the national investment agency,” said Chung. “With a growing economy and improving infrastructure, El Salvador presents strong synergy potential for future verticalization and sustainable manufacturing investment.”
At a country-wide level, El Salvador is also undergoing reforms. President Nayib Bukele—who took office in 2019 and was re-elected in 2024—has cracked down on crime and gang violence. Despite some controversy surrounding the methods used, they have resulted in extreme reductions in violent crimes, with annual reported homicides declining from over 1,000 in 2021 to 114 in 2024.
Another attraction for El Salvador is favorable duty rates, since the nation has not been a target for the Trump administration’s widespread reciprocal tariffs. Compared to heftier duties placed on some nations’ U.S.-bound exports, El Salvador-origin goods are only subject to the baseline 10 percent tariff.
Hansae’s latest investments in Central America complement its wider Western Hemisphere expansion. Adding verticality, Hansae acquired California-based fabric mill Texollini last year. With capabilities including in-house knitting, research and development, dyeing, printing and finishing, the Long Beach mill will provide synthetic fabrics for Hansae’s activewear, intimates and swimwear manufacturing in the Western Hemisphere.
In other vertical moves, Hansae linked up with Imperial Group in Guatemala to provide a pipeline of locally sourced textiles for its factories in the region. Additionally, Hansae will be opening a factory in Michatoya Industrial Park in Guatemala in the third quarter of 2026, growing its production hubs in the region.
“Hansae continues to expand its multi-country manufacturing model, anchored in regional vertical capabilities and innovation-led investments,” said Chung. “With ongoing investments in automation, embellishment and synthetic fiber integration, Hansae is building the foundation for its next phase of competitive manufacturing leadership.”
Click here to learn more about Hansae.
