Arad Textile Industries - formerly Arad Towels - has signed a major supply deal with hotel company Marriott International (NYSE:MAR). The three year contract is estimated at NIS 252 million. The order will make Arad the exclusive towel supplier to Marriott in the US and Canada.
Under the contract, Arad Textile Industries will supply a total of between 15 million and 18 million towels to Marriott hotels in the US and Canada. The contract will allow Arad Textile Industries to hire more employees in its factory in Arad in the Negev.
Two years ago, Arad parent company Standard Textile signed a NIS 105 million deal to supply bed linens to all the hotels in the chain. Those products were not produced in Israel, though the towels in the current contract will all be produced in Israel.
Arad Textile Industries is a subsidiary of Standard Textiles. According to Standard Textile founder and CEO Gary Heiman, "We weren't the lowest priced bid but we were definitely the highest quality one."
Marriott International has over 3,000 hotels and 538,000 rooms in 68 countries. The company operates and franchises hotels under fifteen brands including The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Renaissance and Marriott.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 23, 2008