glued on by hand. At each stage there are
rigorous quality control procedures
to ensure that any faulty products can
be identified and rejected. So much
confidence does the brand have in its
products that it offers a lifetime guarantee
on its needles and hooks.
Currently KnitPro products are available
in 70 countries, and the portfolio has
expanded to include ranges for all tastes.
The brand has been widely credited with
transforming the image of knitting needles
with its stylish, high-quality tools.
The KnitPro knitting needle range is
the largest in the world, but the brand
doesn’t rest on its laurels. “Our product
development team is always looking at
different materials, and talking to knitters
and crocheters around the world. We try to
anticipate customer needs and adapt to the
changing retail makeup,” says Jain.
Empowering women
The KnitPro factory employs around 900
people, and nearly 400 of them are women
- a much higher proportion than in most
businesses in India, of which the company
is extremely proud. “We believe that
empowering women can have a profound
effect on their communities,” says Jain.
“We are a relatively small business, but
the small changes we can make have an
important impact.”
KnitPro’s determination to effect
changes extends to its recruitment policies.
Any woman who turns up at their factory
asking for a job is given one. Just think
about that for a moment: every woman.
More than that, KnitPro provides them all
with transport to and from work for free,
so that they don’t have to negotiate the
perils of public transport.
This care for their staff extends to the
men who work at the factory. When they
join KnitPro, each of them is given a bicycle
so they can get to work, no matter how
remote their homes are. There is also a
free crèche at the factory and a medical
centre to make life a little better for the
staff. “We believe that looking after our
workers shows our loyalty to them and
means that they will take pride in the
products they are making,” explains Jain.Education matters
KnitPro also funds a school in a remote
village. At the turn of this century, the Jain
family which owns KnitPro were looking
for a community project to fund. They
noticed one of their workers was a bit
down. He was worried about his two
children, he explained, because they had
no access to education - there weren’t even
proper roads to his village. Jain takes up
the story: “Education is such an important
opportunity for children and canfundamentally change communities, so we
travelled to his village to find out more and
speak to the elders.”
KnitPro hadn’t run a school before, but
was passionate about education, and the
team worked with the villagers to find out
how they could help. Jain explains: “They
gave us space in their community centre
and we found the teachers. It wasn’t easy,
but it is part of our commitment to the
people who work with us.”
The school opened with just 10 pupils,
but today there are more than 900 from the
age of three to 17 years old. “In our country,
girls will often finish their education at
the age of 13 so they can help in the home.
So we worked hard to encourage the
community to allow their daughters to stay
until they graduated at 17. Our team
worked with parents, and we had meetings
with villagers and volunteers, so the
families could understand the benefits of
an extended education for girls.
“When I ask our staff what they would
like knitters to take from our brand, they
want KnitPro to delight its users. We want
our brand to be what happiness looks and
feels like, and we are proud of what we
have achieved so far,” says Jain.- Read more about KnitPro’s story,
discover its products and find stockists
at http://www.knitpro.eu
IMAGE
S^ COU
RT
ESYOFKNITPRO5 KnitPro’s factory is in Jaipur 6 The range includes the popular
interchangeable birch needles 7 KnitPro employs 400 womenThe team now makes
a wide range of
needles and hooksThe school
provides vital
education for
girls and boys6
5
7Knitting indu stry
The Knitter 79 Issue 141