Garware-Wall Ropes Ltd. (GWRL) is a prominent manufacturer of technical textiles for a variety of applications in sectors ranging from fishing and aquaculture to industrial applications, infrastructure development and sports. The company produces world quality nets, ropes, yarn and geosynthetic textiles for different specific purposes. Each product is the result of close understanding of customer needs, coupled with rich expertise in design & engineering and stringent processes deployed in state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities at two locations in Western India.
Marked by superior quality, GWRL products are known the world over through established brands like Garfil STR, Sapphire and Olivene nets, Maxiflex and Maxigold ropes, Plateena, Sportiva sport nets and Garlon polypropylene multi filament yarn. The products are distributed all over the world, including the highly demanding and competitive markets like North America and Europe.
The company’s mission and forte is application-focused innovation and its product innovations meet critical needs of customers and end-users and add value in a number of ways by improving cost-effectiveness, enhancing operational life, increasing speed and ease of operations, and providing safe and environment-friendly alternatives.
In 2011-12, the company took significant strides in product innovation. Apart from launching solutions for its existing business segments like fishing, aquaculture, infrastructure and defence, GWRL further pursued its well-thought-out entry into two new business segments: agritech and coated fabrics. Despite several external challenges, the company maintained the growth momentum and expanded its customer base across the world.
GWRL recorded revenue of Rs. 580.82 crores, which marked an increase of 15.9 per cent over the previous year. Compared to the previous year, export sales rose by 38.2 per cent and accounted for 42.3 per cent of the total revenue. Noteworthy growth was achieved in the extremely competitive North European and North American markets.
Mr. V.R. Garware, Chairman & Managing Director, observed: “Providing innovative, application focused solutions to enhance value of customers globally is the company’s mission, and in FY 2011-12, we took significant strides on this front. For example, for the fishing industry, we introduced several innovative products that will help customers net higher returns by saving fuel and increasing catch. For the aquaculture sector, we developed pioneering solutions for customers in India and abroad. Our solutions have helped our customers in Canada and North America meet environmental requirements and reduce their operating costs. In the sphere of geotextiles, we introduced solutions for ensuring the long life of roads and expressways. Working closely with defence research organisations, we developed many solutions for specific requirements of the nation’s armed forces”.
He added: “Leveraging our expertise in various kinds of technical textiles, we also made a well thought-out entry into two new business segments: agritech and coated fabrics. We expect good growth in these segments, which will increase our resilience to cyclical depressions in other markets. Overall, we expect product innovations made in 2011-12 to bear good dividends in the years to come”.
While its products have been dominant leaders in the Indian market for decades, the company has steadily increased its international market share. In the last decade, it made significant inroads into demanding overseas markets, from New Zealand to Norway, and from Scotland to South America. At present, the volume of business done in India and overseas is almost equal.
GEOTextiles
GWRL is a pioneering developer of geosynthetics solutions for a variety of applications across industry sectors and geographical locations. One such innovation, Garmat is a high performance product specifically engineered to solve problems related to soil erosion due to wind and water, coupled with lack of vegetative cover, leading to formation of rills and eventually to the sliding away of a slope. Garmat, a composite geo-mat, prevents this through innovative materials engineering.
The mat has a layer of biodegradable mulching material made from coir, which is sandwiched between two layers of polymer netting. The mulching material by itself provides a high level of protection to slopes. Simultaneously, it promotes growth of vegetation by retaining moisture and by conditioning the soil below.
The polymer nets provide a good support system for roots of grasses and other plants that grow through the mat. As the root system grows, it intertwines with the nets and the intertwined root-net system effectively prevents soil erosion. This ingenious solution, installed along the Kundali-Manesar-Palewal (KMP) expressway in Haryana, has proved to be an excellent alternative to conventional methods of slope protection like stone pitching and shotcreting. It is faster and easier to install, and in the long run, it is technically and economically superior. Importantly, it is also eco-friendly.