Establishes strong presence in the denim range
By K. Gopalakrishnan
India’s leadership in the global textile industry is common knowledge. One would assume that the leadership is restricted to yarn, fabrics and garments and, to an extent, in the spinning machinery and component space. But the situation is changing fast. Even within the textile machinery segment, which continues to be dominated by European manufacturers, Indian machinery manufacturers are steadily making their mark, and some have established leadership in specific segments. One such company is Dhall Enterprises and Engineers Private Ltd. which is emerging a global player providing the complete range of machines for the denim industry.
Established in 1959 and with more than, 40 years of experience, Dhall offers a comprehensive range of textile processing and finishing machinery. The company’s product portfolio includes continuous bleaching, washing and mercerizing, pad dry and pad steam ranges, cold pad-batch dyeing ranges with S-roll padder, S-roll dye and finishing padders, jigger, drying ranges, stenter and relax dryers, shrinking ranges and vacuum foam finishing ranges. The group also offers Dhall rotary nickel screens developed with the technology from Zimmer of theUS.
Mr. Satish Chopra, Managing Director of Dhall Group, says: “We are emerging as a global player in denim industry competing with the European manufacturers. We have some good references and acceptability in the top segment. Our sizeable business comes from the range of machineries that we offer for the Denim industry. We have installed more than 100 machines in the Denim industry, till date in markets likeIndia,Bangladesh,Peru,TurkeyandThailand”.
Till 2000 most of the machines for the denim industry were being imported by Indian companies. In May 2000 Dhall supplied its first set of machines to Arvind. This set off a new trend in the denim industry inIndia, and subsequently the company started supplying to all major brands, including Raymond, Mafatlal, Oswal, Nahar, Aarvee Denim and all others. It has 15 machines in Aarvee Denim and received repeat orders from Arvind.
Another segment which the company is aggressively working on is decentralized processing units. In 2005 the company executed a complete project in Ahmedabad for Pradeep Overseas Ltd. This was a turnkey project executed by Dhall wherein the company installed the bleaching and dyeing plant.
Mr. Chopra says: “We hope to be able to modernise the decentralised processing sector. The payback period for our continuous bleach range is just 12 months. There is potential for more than 500 such machines inIndia”.
Dhall has done an important innovation in the continuous bleaching range machines. For the first time in the world the company has developed a machine which can successfully run two ends superimposed on each other. For upto 150 gsm weight of the fabric, the bleaching results on both the layers are the same. This would result in increased capacity of 2,00,000 metres per day in a machine. “This is the biggest revolution in the Indian industry making our machines economical. We will be able to sell this technology for the next 10 years in modernising the decentralised processing sector”, says Mr. Chopra.
“When the denim industry started inIndia, all the machines were being imported from Europe, but now most of the machines are available inIndia. A similar trend will happen in the bleaching range. We hope to replicate the success that we had in the denim industry in the woven sector also”, he adds.
Dhall clocked a turnover of Rs. 60 crores in 2011-12. The company is confident of reaching the magical figure of Rs. 100 crores in turnover in 2012-13. Growth is expected to come from both the domestic market and exports. Longterm target for the company is to achieve a turnover of Rs. 200 crores turnover in the next 4 to 5 years.
An interesting diversification that Dhall made was that of acquiring the nickel screen business of Zimmer (USA), including the brand. The company has moved the entire production facility toIndia. Mr. Chopra is quite happy with this decision and is planning to double capacity next year. “We have few more diversifications lined up, including some acquisitions, which we will announce shortly”.
In terms of the manufacturing facility, Dhall has established a modern facility. The company has continuously invested in upgrading its manufacturing facility to match global standards. “Our facilities are state-of-the-art with no human interference in manufacturing. We are the only manufacturer in the world to offer the complete range of processing and finishing machines at an affordable cost”, adds Mr. Chopra.
Dhall has managed to bridge the technology gap. It is working on complete turnkey projects globally. It has supplied machines to mature markets likeJapanandAustraliawhich would’ve normally preferred European brands.
Mr. Chopra is very confident about the future growth prospects when he says that “the textile industry has great future and we forsee that we will be a global player in this segment”.