Rs. 2406 cr. expansion plan well on track
As the Greek philosopher Epictetus says: “The trials you encounter will introduce you to your strengths. Remain steadfast…and one day you will build something that endures.”
“The saga of Kitex is undeniably an expression of this quote, as the company has gradually evolved to today’s state-of-the-art 5500 plus employees manufacturing plant, having a global influence. Kizhakkambalam, a small Village near Kochi, where we are located, has endorsed our progression, in terms of both economic growth as well as social responsibility. Encountering various impediments with a tough stance has been our forte and we have always dealt with challenges with a bottom-up approach”, says Mr. Sabu Jacob, Chairman and Managing Director, Kitex.
Kitex Garments Ltd. (KGL) is the world’s second largest manufacturer of cotton and organic cotton ready-to-wear garments for infants and children in the age group of 0-24 months. The company was established in 1992 and has, since then, grown exponentially. Steering the track of ‘Yarn to Garments’ since its inception, KGL is a 100% export-oriented unit, which caters to prominent and renowned conglomerates in USA and Europe markets like Gerber Childrenswear LLC, Carters, Carters brands, H & O Fashions, Buy-Buy Baby, Ross Stores, Amazon, Target, Sam’s Club and Walmart.
In FY 2022, Kitex decided to implement Rs. 2406 crores expansion project in the state of Telangana, for which the company has floated a subsidiary, Kitex Childrenswear Ltd. The said expansion project will be at Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, Warangal District and at Integrated Textile Cluster, Sitarampur, Rangareddy District which involves setting up of a vertically integrated fibre to apparel cluster constituting manufacturing unit related to spinning, knitting, processing, garments manufacturing, packing and associated activities. I expect that first phase of expansion would be completed by June 2023, Mr. Sabu Jacob added. The investment project will be implemented through the new company in the name Kitex Apparel Parks Limited with a joint investment along with Kitex Childrenswear Limited in the ratio 70:30 investment ratio.
At the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, Kitex is investing Rs. 1,113 crores. This projects is expected to start commercial production by June 2023 and achieve full capacity by December 2024. The Sitarampur project is at an investment of Rs. 1, 293 crores which is expected to start commercial product by June 2024 and achieve full capacity by December 2025. Kitex’s existing manufacturing capacity is 432, 000 units per day. The company is running at 100% of its capacity. The proposed expansion with add a capacity of 18 lakh units per day.
Kitex Garments is well known for its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities with latest and automatic machineries such as Automatic Mixing & Dispensing of Dyes, Chemicals & Printing Pastes, Cold Pad Dyeing, Fully automatic Robotized Yarn Dyeing, Digital Light Exposing – Screen Engraving System, Computerized Precision Cutting, Modern Sewing Machines, EDI capabilities, Bar coded tracking of garments & Biological ETP & Waste Management.
The company has its primary manufacturing plant at Kizhakkambalam near Kochi, Kerala, which offers it a logistical advantage, opening doors for direct sea and air connectivity with major international locations. The Kochi International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICTT or Vallarpadam Terminal) is the first transhipment terminal in India and South Asia as well and is the best positioned Indian port with regard to proximity to international sea routes. Kochi also has direct flights to South Asian and European nations. Thus, KGL harnesses the dual benefits of its strategic location.
Marque Clients
The world’s leading apparel and retail brands outsource manufacturing to KGL. With limited players in the specialised infant garment manufacturing sector in the world, KGL is among the global leaders and the apparels manufactured by the company are available for sale in the world’s leading retail outlets as well as through various online retail platforms in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Liberia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, UAE and USA. It has a licensee for Lamaze Organic brand of Childrenswear in USA, and has also registered its own brand “Little Star” in USA.
With a strong clientele having international presence, Kitex has been reshaping the contour of infant garment exports from the country. Having a ‘preferred supplier status’ for our global clients is a jewel on the crown, especially since it is a rural India grown brand, reaching all corners of the world, representing “Brand India” globally.
Manufacturing Infrastructure
Kitex Garments is a leading global player in the infantwear known for its state of the art manufacturing facility in compliance with world’s leading manufacturing quality standards. The Company’s agile production planning and manufacturing capabilities allows to manufacture a wide variety of infant garments competitively. The Company’s effective supply chain management ensures that the product manufactured are delivered on time, supporting a large number of MNC retail and infant garment brands in the world. Having an integrated and traceable value chain which meets various global standards at various stages of the product supply chain is the key global differentiator at Kitex.
The value chain at Kitex primarily consists of an external and internal value chain. The company purchases yarns, dyestuffs and chemicals from approved sources and are tested as per Oekotex Standard 100 Class-I and GOTS Organic standards. The dye recipes, dye dispensing and yarn dyeing are done using robotic technology for accuracy and quality. Kitex uses the most advanced knitting machinery including fully robotised yarn dyeing machine to convert yarn into greige fabric which is bleached using advanced German machinery and further dyed using colour pad technology. Dyed fabrics are washed and printed on modern rotary printing machines. The fabrics thus produced confirms to all product safety standards and meet strict international quality norms (CPSIA). Fabrics are further cut by using automated spreading and cutting machines. Advanced embroidery machines, cutting-edge- IT enabled sewing procedure takes the process to the final product stage which confirms to Oekotex Standard 100 Class1, GOTS and CPSIA.
In FY 22, Kitex clocked turnover of Rs. 81,521.91 lakhs as against Rs. 45,970.11 lakhs for the previous financial year, a growth of 77.34%. Profit before tax was Rs. 17,258.29 lakhs and net profit after tax was Rs. 12,512.14 lakhs.