Arvind Ltd., the $1.7 billion textile-to-retail conglomerate, has announced the launch of its largest garmenting hub in Gujarat, as part of its capacity expansion strategy, with two manufacturing facilities at Bavla near Ahmedabad. A third facility will commence operations soon.
These manufacturing facilities, set up at an investment of Rs. 350 crores, will further strengthen Arvind’s leadership position in the global textiles and garmenting market as an integrated fibre to fashion and solutions provider to global retailers and brands. They will add a capacity of three million garments per month to the company’s current garmenting operations and generate additional revenues of Rs. 1,000 crores.
These new facilities will employ 12,000 people as operations reach optimal capacity. Many more ancillary jobs are expected to be created around these facilities. The textiles and garmenting sector is being seen as a significant provider of employment in the near term in India as the country ramps up its capacity in this sector. Gujarat has always been at the forefront of the textiles value chain. Its progressive textile policy has seen the State become the leader in cotton, spinning and fabric production.
Applauding Arvind for its forward-looking approach, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr. Vijay Rupani, said: “Setting up of the garmenting hub by Arvind is a progressive development for the State. These facilities will help in creating employment opportunities for inclusive development of the State. The Government, through its new garment policy, aims to attract Rs. 1 lakh crore in investment and create 10 lakh jobs in the next five years. Our Government will continue to provide support for all initiatives towards fulfilment of this goal.”
Speaking on the launch, Mr. Sanjay Lalbhai, Chairman and Managing Director of Arvind Ltd., said: “At present only 10% of the fabrics we produce are converted into garments. Our aim is to convert 50% of our fabrics into garments over the next 5 years. The Bavla facilities are a step in this direction. These facilities will also contribute to the company’s foray into performance and functional wear (active wear) and synthetics. These new facilities are one of the several we are planning to create over the next few years. We are grateful to the Government of Gujarat for a favourable garment policy that has created a conducive environment for business.”
Garmenting operations are the largest employment generator in the entire textiles value chain. They also provide a high return on investment. An investment of Rs. 350 crores, coupled with trained manpower, is expected to provide an additional Rs. 1,000 crores to Arvind’s top line from these new operations.
Arvind is busy transforming its textiles business by developing three large garment clusters in Gujarat, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. Each of these clusters will employ over 10,000 workers. Arvind’s current manpower of over 45,000 is expected to more than double as these clusters become operational and reach optimal scale.
All these clusters are being planned in rural and semi-urban localities and will provide employment to locals in the adjoining areas. They will employ a significant number of women, thereby impacting the social and economic fabric of the regions. Arvind will further extend its established programs under its women empowerment, education and socio-economic development initiatives to each of the new hubs. It will also deploy its world-renowned sustainability practices across all hubs.
Arvind recently received the approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for its scheme of demerger of its branded apparel and engineering businesses into separate entities. The company plans to invest Rs. 500 crores per annum for the next 4-5 years with an aim to double revenue from its textile business to Rs. 12,000 crores.
Ranchi garmenting facility launched
Arvind Ltd. has also announced the launch of a large greenfield integrated garmenting facility in Ranchi, Jharkhand, as part of its national capacity expansion strategy. This manufacturing facility, set up at an investment of Rs. 300 crores, will further strengthen the company’s leadership position in the domestic and global textiles and garmenting market as an integrated fibre to fashion player and solutions provider to retailers and brands. This facility will add a capacity of 16 million garments annually to its current garmenting operations and generate additional revenues of Rs. 700 crores.
This garmenting facility will employ 7,500 people as operations reach optimal capacity. Many more ancillary jobs are expected to be created around this large-scale facility.
Jharkhand’s textile policy has created the right kind of environment for the sustainable growth of textiles and garmenting. The State’s progressive textile policy, along with the futuristic approach of the Chief Minister, is helping to put the State on the road to leadership in textiles & garment manufacturing.
While inaugurating the facility, the Chief Minister, Mr. Raghubar Das, said: “Jharkhand wants to establish itself as a leading State in the textile and garmenting sector to drive economic growth. We are doing this by strengthening the entire value chain of the textile industry through capital infusion, technology transfer, skill upgradation and handholding. The State is poised to become a large garmenting hub as this part of the textile value chain becomes large. The State Government, through the new garment policy, is looking to create 2 lakh jobs and will continue to provide support for all initiatives towards fulfilment of this goal. We are pleased to welcome Arvind Ltd. to the State of Jharkhand to partner with us in realizing these goals.”
Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Kulin Lalbhai, Executive Director of Arvind Ltd., said: “At Arvind, we are realigning our business to address the growing domestic and global demand in the garmenting space. We aim to convert 50 per cent of our fabric into garments over the next 5 years from the current capacity of 10 per cent. We believe Jharkhand will play a significant role in achieving this target. This will be another step towards making India a leading provider of integrated garmenting solutions for domestic and global markets and move up the value chain in a sustainable manner. We are grateful to the Jharkhand Government for giving us the opportunity to operate in the State.”
Arvind aims to become a strategic end-to-end partner for global fashion houses by deeply integrating into their supply chains. It is also striving to further strengthen its position as a leading provider of integrated garmenting solutions to domestic fashion brands.
The company has charted out an investment of Rs. 500 crores per annum for the next 4-5 years and aims to double revenue from its textile business to Rs. 12,000 crores.
The latest launch is part of this capacity expansion strategy where Arvind will be developing three large garment clusters in Jharkhand, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Each of these clusters will employ nearly 10,000 workers.