Akshaya Apparel International

Shed 17 at the Tekic Teanagar complex in Mudali Palayam is where we spend all our time. Akshaya Apparel International might sound like a big name, but we are really just a bunch of people in a shed making clothes. The industrial estate gets pretty hot in the afternoons, especially with all the ironers and sewing machines going. We’ve got a system where the fabric arrives at the back door and moves through the different tables until it’s packed up at the front. It’s a bit messy sometimes with thread scraps on the floor, but we sweep up every evening before heading home. Mudali Palayam is a busy hub, so there are always trucks coming and going nearby. We deal with a lot of international orders, which means we have to be careful with the packing lists and the shipping marks. It’s a lot of manual labor, lifting heavy rolls of cotton and moving crates around. Some of the machines are old, but they still run fine if you know how to handle them. We don’t have a fancy office or a showroom here. It is just the production floor and some desks for the paperwork. Most of us have been working in the apparel line for years, so we know how to fix a jammed needle or a crooked seam without thinking much about it. It’s just how we make a living and pay the bills at the end of every month.