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The Textile Magazine
August 2012
According to Mr. Ravi Jhunjhunwala, Chairman, RSWM, the year 2011-12 was
one of the most challenging in living memory where circumstances external
to the company eroded profitability. The result was that despite a marginal
topline increase, there was a net loss of Rs. 21.79 crores – one of the few
such instances in the recent past. It would not be out of place to indicate
that the company finished the year under review better off than others in
the industry.
This decline was largely due to sharp fluctuations in raw cotton prices,
high inventory cost, depressed economic conditions and reduced US and
European consumer spends. However, it would be important to re-
iterate that the long-term prospects of the Indian textile industry
(yarn, fabric and denim) remain bright.
Factors that will accelerate demand
One is optimistic of the prospects of India’s textile sector
for some good reasons:
Population growth: India’s population rose 181 million
to 1.21 billion in the last 10 years. Based on the existing
trend, India will cross China’s population by 2030.
Increasing affluence: According to data of the
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementa-
tion, India’s urbanisation is expected to increase
from 30 per cent to 40 per cent over the coming
decade. The 2.4 per cent CAGR is among the
fastest urbanisation rates in the world.
Growing youth: Half of India’s population
is below 25. Interestingly, the working age
Mr. Ravi Jhunjhunwala, Chairman, RSWM Ltd.
nology Upgradation Fund Scheme
(TUFS).
Yarn business
RSWM offers one of the broadest
range of products in terms of fibre
blends, counts and shades. Fibres
processed by the company include
polyester, viscose, acrylic, cotton,
wool, rayon, nylon, silk, polyamide
and linen. In addition, it produces a
range of speciality items made out of
both unorthodox fibres such as soya
protein, milk protein, bamboo, bam-
boo-charcoal, and branded fibres
such as Tencel, Greenplus, Protex,
X-static, Beltron, Huvis FR Polyes-
ter, Trevira CS, Coolmax, Coolplus,
Birla Modal, Excel, Viloft, Cupro,
Lycra, Clima, Seacel, Dupont’s
Sorona, Teijin Conex, Tworon and
Ingeo (PLA). Many of these yarns
have been developed for specific ap-
plications and have functional quali-
ties such as natural stretch, flame
retardance and industrial usage.
Currently, the company’s yarn
business accounts for 82.80 per cent
of the total turnover. Yarn produc-
tion has increased primarily because
of better plant management and
commercial production from expan-
sion taken up and completed during
this financial year.
It may be noted that the yarn pro-
duction figures do not represent pro-
duction from Cheslind Textiles Ltd.
(CTL), which operates as a sub-
sidiary of RSWM. The current yarn
portfolio of RSWM can be classified
into three main categories – greige
yarn, dyed yarn and mélange yarn.
Greige yarn
Greige yarns are produced from
different synthetic fibres such as
polyester and viscose, blends of
synthetic and natural fibres and
pure cottons. Greige yarns are pro-
duced at the company’s Banswara
and Rishabhdev and partly at the
Kharigram plant. Although greige
yarn constitutes a relatively lower
value-added segment vis-à-vis dyed
and melange, it is by far the largest
in terms of volume and is crucial to
corporate