Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Ltd. was incorporated on April 1, 1953, in Pakistan with state-of-the-art machines at its spinning unit and the most modern yarn dyeing, weaving, processing, digital printing, embroidery and stitching units, the company is making everything from cotton yarn to finished products. Besides, Gul Ahmed has its own captive power plant comprising of gas engines, gas and steam turbines, and backup diesel engines. It has also set up a waste water treatment plant to treat 100% of its effluent.
Gul Ahmed is playing a vital role not only as a textile giant but has its strong presence in the retail business as well. The opening of its flagship store – Ideas by Gul Ahmed – marked the group’s entry into the retail business. Starting from Karachi, Gul Ahmed now has an extensive chain of more than 100 retail stores across the country, offering a diverse range of products, from home accessories to fashion clothing.
The production of textiles is a mix of technical expertise and the creative art required to make products acceptable to valued customers. At Gul Ahmed, efforts are made to strive and grow through learning, continuous improvement and innovation. The company is also equipped with the most advanced technology that enables it to cater to a vast spectrum of product varieties.
Yarn produced by Gul Ahmed is exported to a number of countries around the globe. It exports yarn to different regions, including China, other Asian, Middle East countries and Europe. The variety of yarns produced are carded, combed, compact siro, fancy, plied, core spun, slub, package dyed/cone dyed, gassed mercerized/dyed yarn.
Gul Ahmed has the facility to dye and print the whole range of home textile and apparel fabrics. In addition, it also have the set-up for back coating and flock printing which gives it an added opportunity to serve the needs of customers. The products under the fabric category are plain fabric, sheeting fabric, poplin, canvas, oxford, duck, bedford cord, herringbone, ottoman, twill, sateen, rib stops, slub fabric, stretch fabric and mélange fabric.
Made-ups
The company’s fine textile products represent a unique fusion of the centuries-old traditions of the East and the latest textile technology of the West. The made-ups can be in white, dyed, printed or yarn-dyed form and in different styles of confectioning.
Home textile products cater to all home and office decoration needs and are designed to set new trends and fashion vibes. This section includes sheets and pillowcases, comforters, quilt/duvet covers, decorative pillows, curtains and upholstery fabrics.
Future outlook
Pakistan’s economy will continue to grow to reflect an upturn in private investment on account of better energy supply and improved security. With the CPEC taking shape and a possible end to the power crisis, the economic outlook is positive. The FMCG sector is also confident of growth being fuelled by rising consumer confidence and expenditure.
However, economic indicators suggest that pressures are mounting for both fiscal consolidation and external balances. The current account deficit is on the rise and so is the circular debt. Maintaining macro-economic stability and further progress in structural reforms will be necessary to accelerate growth and ensure it is sustainable.
The textile industry, one of the major contributors in LSM, needs to focus on value added products as there is potential in the international market. However, this would only be possible with the support of the Government with commitment to policy implementation, improved energy supply and helping exporters to build competitive cost advantage.
For the company, investment in the balancing and modernisation of production machinery and measures to control costs will bear fruit in the next financial year as well. Production efficiency would improve further, and the general expectation is the focus on retail and yarn segments will help boost revenues.