Sutlej’s roots date back to pro-independence India (1934). The Company is one of the flagship companies of the multi-business conglomerate promoted by the visionary, the late Dr. K.K. Birla. Across the years, the Company has evolved as one of the largest integrated textile manufacturing companies in India, manufacturing synthetic, natural, mélange and blended yarns, all types of spun yarns and home textiles.
Today, Sutlej has state-of-the art spinning mills that are located in Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Through the years, the Company exponentially scaled its capacities across all units. Sutlej’s total spinning capacity was nearly 4.21 lakh spindles at the close of FY 2021-22; daily effective production was 288 tonnes of dyed synthetic and blended yarns, cotton mélange and cotton blended mélange and dyed yarns, as well as yarn from specialty fibres (Modal, Tencel, Bamboo, Coolmax, fancy yarns like Siro Spun, Siro Compact, Lycra Twisted, Core Spun, Double Core yarn, etc.) in single ply, double ply and multi-fold. The Company is a one-stop textile solution for all kinds of spun dyed yarns manufactured from natural or manmade fibres across any blend and any shade in the count range of 6s-50s.
The Company’s esteemed clients comprise Jockey, Westside, Marks & Spencer, Arvind, Raymond, Donear NXG, Siyaram’s, Arrow, Grasim Bhiwani (GBTL), Digjam, JC Penney, Monte Carlo, Brandix and Pantaloons, among others.
The Company seeks enduring relationships with an extensive network of agents and dealers in India and across the world. The Company is one of India’s largest exporters of value-added synthetic and blended yarns, enjoying a presence across 62 nations. The Company has developed a strong reputation among textile fabric manufacturers in key markets such as USA, EU, UK, Turkey, Bangladesh, Latin America and Africa, among others.
Green Fibre
The ‘green’ fibre product manufactured by Sutlej is positioned more than just value-addition designed to generate a superior margin. The product has been positioned to transform the brand of the Company.
FY 2021-22 was the first full year of operations of the Company’s ‘green’ fibre unit. The Company manufactured polyester fibre utilizing PET waste. Besides, the initiative addressed a growing consumer need to buy garments utilizing recycled fibre. As prominent garment labels the world over replace synthetic fibres with ‘greener’ alternatives, a wider market has emerged for green fibre.
Sutlej’s manufacture of green fibre resulted in almost 97% capacity utilization by the end of the year under review; most of the fibre produced was consumed within, the Company strengthening value-addition and resilience to a challenging price environment. More importantly, the backward integration enhanced the Company’s respect as a responsible and reliable manufacturer.
Home Textiles
Sutlej launched Nesterra as a B2B and B2C initiative, the first retail brand in its existence, in 2020-21. The Nesterra brand was positioned to achieve some derived outcomes.
One, the brand was directed towards attractive value-addition, strengthening realizations and margins. Two, the brand was positioned as consumer-facing, which would create the traction for the Company to create an internal driver of yarn and fibre offtake. Three, the brand would leverage and enrich the longstanding pedigree of the House of Sutlej.
The last financial year was the first full year of the Nesterra brand of home textiles to perform in the marketplace. The brand carved out respect for weaving excellence, quality consistency, design aesthetics and timely service. By the close of the year under review, the brand was servicing almost 300 retailers; the Company launched eight collections comprising almost 1,100 SKUs.
During the current financial year, the Company intends to launch another eight collections, widening and deepening its presence across India and creating a platform for the Company to double sales throughput per day. By FY2025, the home textiles business is expected to account for more than 10% of the Company’s revenues.