GIMAtex: A journey of visionaries through the century

Founded in 1898 out of the first wave of industrial revolution, GIMAtex has been a significant player in the textile industry long enough to witness the dynamicity of the market and the evolving consumer base over the last few decades. The company has gathered immense knowledge and expertise over these years, and has utilized it in the best way to provide the market with quality products and customers with an inclusive environment.

Mr. Vineet Mohota, Director, GIMAtex

The company started as a small spinning mill at Hinganghat, which was a blooming industrial area at the time. Today it has become an integrated textile conglomerate with five divisions covering all sectors of the textile industry, i.e., ginning, spinning, weaving, processing. The company has also ventured into scientific cotton seed processing with a fully-owned Gossypol-free cotton seed protein meal plant with an integrated cotton oil refinery. GIMAtex has not only excelled in the market in terms of the reputation it has established, but the numbers say nothing less. The company generated a turnover of Rs. 920 crores in 2017-18, and is progressing with an efficient strategy to increase this number.

Moreover, the company is also a promoter of the first cohesive private textile park project at Vidarbha spread over an area of 32 acres with two fully functioning units, whereas the establishment of three more units is ongoing. The region being fully devoted to cotton farming and rich in minerals ensures adequate supply of raw materials and fuel. Also, through the government promotion and incentives the area will develop into one of the most productive textile parks in India and will generate significant employment for the locals. The company has a vision to develop this area into a textile hub.

GIMAtex has a tremendous production capacity. The ginning unit produced around one lakh bales per season; the spinning unit, which encompasses 1.5 lakh spindles by LMW and Rieter (including airjet, vortex and open-end spindles) is responsible for producing 75 to 80 tons of yarn; 280 weaving machines by Toyota, Itema and Picanol that produce more than 1 lakh meters of fabric per day.

Besides this, 200 tons of cotton seeds are processed in a day along with 100 tons of refined cotton oil. The company purchases its raw material directly from the farmers to ensure adequate quality of cotton and reduce the cost on suppliers and middlemen. The ‘Bunny’ cotton that the company uses is even superior to ‘Shankar-6’ of Gujarat.

The company is mainly focused on corporate RMG sector and export garmenters, mostly shirting. Almost 30% of the products manufactured are exported to different countries across the globe, hence they majorly work between 20 to 60 counts on weaving machine and deal in fabrics like dobby, stretches, viscose & modal fabric, pc & blends, etc., it aims to enter the denims segment in the near future.

Mr. Vineet Mohota, Director at GIMAtex, entered the textile industry in 2004 after completing his graduation and doing MBA at SP JAIN, Mumbai. He is presently heads the finance division and the weaving & ginning units of the company. Under his supervision the company has achieved great heights. Being an excellent financial planner and strategist, he has been able to handle and develop the weaving and ginning units to their full potential.

One of the most crucial parts of an integrated unit is selecting the right technology that can last long and provide the desired results. Especially in a company like GIMAtex where one unit is connected to the other the right kind of machinery is needed to make the most out of the potential of other resources and the strategies of the management. The company has succeeded in selecting the right technology and is associated with some of the most leading brands.

All the units at the company work at virtually 100% 24×7 for 360 days in a year. The company is operating at maximum utilization and focused on energy efficiencies and is able to utilize the various Government schemes to maximize profits. This is one of the reasons why GIMAtex operates at a higher return on investment compared to the competitors.

Mr. Mohota’s brain child, the weaving unit of the company was set up in 2006. His aim was to integrate all the textile processes to ensure the best product quality and highly reduced delivery time. As he mentioned, “the delivery time is very crucial in the textile business. Also, integrating all the processes can provide the right synergies to run such a business”. Along with providing the company and the customer with a comfortable and the correct vibe, a company also has to be flexible according to the customer’s demands. One need to have the correct set-up along with the capability to accommodate the customer’s order, and the knowledge and ability to understand the requirement correctly. Then only can one claim to be truly integrated and deliver the best to the customer in an optimum time span.

As Mr. Mohota mentioned, GIMAtex is a customer-devoted company. Overtime, he has expanded the company and gathered the best technology and team to set a firm foot in the weaving sector. Along with being able to utilize all the resources to the optimum, he has been able to lay down a good systems and operating guideline. He and his two brothers work together on their core competencies. Every unit of the company is a profit house in itself and has been growing steadily.

Although, Mr. Mohota did not mention any specific expansion interests in the near future, he did mention an interest in growing, the company, since its inception it has always progressed in terms of numbers and volumes. It has also been constantly modernizing and adapting to the evolving market. Similarly, the weaving unit has also been subject to innovation and upgradation.

The company has a huge workforce of 3400, many of whom have been working for more than 40 years. That is the beauty of family-owned corporates. The work culture at GIMAtex is such that the staff is given equal importance as the management. There are standardized policies for the management and staff alike.

GIMAtex is not only one among the oldest and most successful companies in the textile industry in India but has a remarkable growth potential. With its ongoing expansion and turnover targets and a competent management, the company is set to attain greater heights.

Gimatex impressed with Schoch reeds performance

GIMAtex has played the textile pitch long enough to thoroughly understand the market demographics and devise powerful strategies to face the hurdles. The company uses quality raw materials and adopts state-of-the-art technology to turn out its products. To avoid any quality mismatches, it has set its foot in four major verticals of the industry, namely, ginning, spinning, weaving and processing, and is associated with major machinery manufacturers, including Schoch reeds.

Mr. Vineet Mohota, Director, GIMAtex, and Mr. Anjan Banerjee, VP Weaving, Gimatex Industries Pvt. Ltd. (Wani Unit)

As Mr. Vineet Mohota, the Director of GIMAtex, said in an interview: “Reeds are critical in a weaving unit, choosing the best reeds, therefore, not only becomes a choice but a necessity”.

The kind of reeds that are used in a weaving unit not only determine the time of manufacturing but the number of orders one can take at a time. With good reeds the delivery time improves significantly, and the unit can take orders simultaneously. There are only a few good reed manufacturers in India who can deliver a quality product.

Schoch reeds

GIMAtex’s association with Schoch started even before the company ventured into the Indian market. GIMAtex used the reeds manufactured by it through OEMs. The two companies share a very strong relationship with their commitment to quality.

Schoch’s reeds and other products are performing very well with weaving looms. Its state-of-the-art ultra DLC dents, which are an ancillary to reeds, have been one of the highlights at GIMAtex. Mr. Mohota said: “The product has delivered what it had promised. With the use of Ultra DLC dents we could increase the reed life substantially against the groove formation issues. Also, they have modified our 20 number Picanol airjet looms with new energy saving reed application which is saving 15% air on our weaving machinery. We are also planning to modify the balance 20 Picanol airjet machines in the second phase with Schoch ESR”.

The company’s services have also been highly appreciated by Mr. Mohota. By having a local manufacturing unit in India, Schoch is able not only to reduce the product delivery time from one month to one week, but has also opened an easy gateway for any problems or modification, etc., its clients might need.

GIMAtex is not only utilizing Schoch’s products but its ancillary services as well. Schoch has not only been a product partner but an advisory partner to GIMAtex. With the best possible service and products Schoch is working its way up the industrial ladder, as the quality and service along with support are all essential to attain success in this industry.