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The Textile Magazine
SEPTEMBER 2011
As they believed that ‘well begun
is half done’, they looked around
for state-of-the-art machinery that
could produce such high quality
fabric. Their search ended in Eng-
land. With the aim of manufac-
turing high-end superfine fabrics,
Arvind invested in very sophisti-
cated technology of that time. It
acquired it at the most attractive
price. And soon, a company called
Arvind Ltd. was born.
Arvind Ltd. was started with a
share capital of Rs. 2,525,000
($55,000) in 1931. With 52,560
ring spindles, 2,552 doubling
spindles and 1,122 looms, it was
one of the few companies in those
days to start along with spinning
and weaving facilities, in addition
to full-fledged facilities for dyeing,
bleaching, finishing and merceriz-
ing. The sales in 1934, three years
after establishment, were Rs. 45.76
lakhs and profits were Rs. 2.82 la-
khs. Steadily producing high qual-
ity fabrics, year after year, Arvind
carved a niche for itself among the
foremost textile units in the country.
It seemed to be a smooth sail till
the textile industry faced another
major crisis in the mid-1980s. This
was the age of powerlooms that
churned out vast quantities of in-
expensive fabric. This resulted in
many large composite mills losing
In 1930, the Swadeshi Movement championed by Mahatma Gandhi was at
its peak. Fabric was the point of discussion everywhere. While fine and super-
fine fabrics imported from England were being boycotted everywhere, khadi
was being woven like never before. But the fact remained that the comfort
and ease of superfine fabrics were still in great demand. That’s when the La-
lbhais reasoned that any Indian company that met this demand would surely
prosper. The three brothers, Kasturbhai, Narottambhai and Chimanbhai, de-
cided to set up a mill to produce superfine fabric.
history
Kasturbhai Lalbhai