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The Textile Magazine
August 2012
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97
In conversation with
Mr. Dilip Jiwrajka, M.D., Alok Industries Ltd.
Alok Industries is undoubtedly India’s largest tex-
tile company with its turnover crossing Rs. 12,000
crores in 2011-12. Textile exports alone crossed the
one billion mark during the same period. In an in-
teresting one-to-one session with Arvind Singhal of
Technopak, Mr. Dilip Jiwrajka took a walk down the
memory lane.
Alok Group started as a trading house in the 1980s
and quickly understood that to make it big in this in-
dustry, it has to move from trading to manufacturing.
It is interesting to note that Mr. Dilip Jiwrajka started
his career as a trainee in Bombay Dyeing in its finance
department before he ventured into the trading busi-
ness.
He recalls the initial years of manufacturing as a
very challenging phase with lots of government regu-
lations and the quota regime which remained a stum-
bling block. With the launch of the TUFS by the Gov-
ernment in 1999, the company took full advantage of
it. Since then there was no looking back.
With the world population estimated to touch
8.5 billion by 2020 from the current 6 billion,
Mr. Jiwrajka feels there is enough opportunity
available for textile companies, particularly
Indian manufacturers. What is important is to
invest in technology, modernize equipments,
become more efficient, focus on innovation
and ensure that the cost per piece is the lowest
possible.
To take advantage of the growing demand,
Alok is planning to double its capacity across
the board from spinning to garmenting in the
next 3 to 4 years. In fabric, from 11 lakh me-
tres, the company is planning to double its ca-
pacity to 22 lakh metres. Mr. Jiwrajka says:
“India is on the threshold of a golden era in
textile industry, which would last for another
20”.
Efficiency, faster delivery and flexibility will be the
most important factors that will differentiate the win-
ners from the losers. Alok, for example, has the flexi-
bility to weave 70 gsm to 700 gsm fabric, 44 inches to
132 inches width size. Having large-sized units under
one roof also helps cut costs.
Alok has its spinning facility with a capacity of
4,75,000 spindles all under one roof. The company
which is planning to double this capacity still contin-
ues to be managed by one person. That cuts manage-
ment cost and saves a lot of money.
Mr. Jiwrajka says: “I want my factory to bring down
cost by 10% every month. Those companies which
don’t invest in technology and change with times will
fall by the wayside. Companies which keep modern-
ising and developing new products will be more suc-
cessful in the future. We need to innovate and not wait
for your buyers to ask for it. We need to invest on
R&D in developing new products and also actively
work on bringing down cost”.
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