Plant expansion, modernisation underway
Kústers Calico, established in 1997 as Kusters Calico Machinery Pvt. Ltd. (KCML), was a joint venture between Eduard Kusters Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG of Germany and Calico Industrial Engineers of India. Both the entities, even prior to this historic union, had achieved significant fame in their homeland. The former set up in 1946 in Krefeld, Germany, was the pioneer in textile processing machines. It employed over 1,300 people and developed ‘S’ Rolls marking a milestone in the textile industry. Calico had formed its roots in 1946 in India as Calico Industrial Engineers and soon shot to fame in its area of operation.
KCML supplied state-of-the-art machines to several reputed textile mills in India such as Arvind Mills, Premier Mills, NSL Textiles, Dinesh Mills, S.Kumar’s, Bombay Dyeing, Raymond Ltd., Century Textiles, Bhilwara, Soma Textiles, Hanung Textile, Asarwa Mills, LNJ Denim, and many more. It also exported machines to Turkey, Thailand, Brazil, Egypt, Iran, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh and other countries.
Kusters Calico German products inspired markets worldwide with the company focus on international sales. This eventually led to the establishment of the Vadodara unit of the company.
Mr. Sushil Verma, Managing Director of KCML, is the torch-bearer of the new paths the company has now explored. A Mechanical Engineer and Business Administrator, Mr. Verma has immense knowledge in the field of development and sales of capital equipment, with his association with reputed companies like Electronica Machine Tools Ltd., Godrej & Boyce, Tata Motors, Aichelin Unithern, etc.
The past three years with KCML have not been any less eventful either. Mr. Verma states that the Capital Equipment business is a very difficult line as it is very dynamic but uncertain in nature. However, fortunately enough, his specialty lies in turning the tables for companies and steering them to the optimal level of utilization and profits. Business standards, decisions on manufacturing or buying, redressal mechanisms and internal dialogue have skyrocketed with upgrades since he began his tenure. All this is reflected in the various dynamics of the group.
The place of origin
Spread over 5 acres of land in Vadodara, KCML has an astounding capacity of an additional 37 acres for expansion in future. This establishment justifies its reputation by registering a turnover of Rs. 80 crores annually with a potential to raise it to Rs. 120 crores with the existing infrastructure. KCML has divided its operations into 50% of Textile Manufacturing and 50% of Converting.
In February last, Jagenberg AG, Germany, acquired 100% shares of Kusters Calico and started an extensive expansion and modernization plan. The year gone by witnessed an upgrade worth Rs. 10 crores and more Rs. 5 crores are estimated as the next upgrade investment this year.
The Vadodara unit now houses four sheds of 90×25 mts. that accommodate VMC, HMC, Boring, Double Column Machining centre, Lathes, Plano Milling, Press Brake and Shearing m/cs, etc., all are CNC machines. The micro quality requirements are now easily met, owing to these upgrades over the years.
The Converting Division of KCML is manufacturing import substitute coating and lamination machines in India with designs from the group company, Polytype Converting, Switzerland.
Change and upgrade are the unavoidable demands of the fierce markets across fields. Adhering to these unwritten rules of competition, KCML has 20 Design Engineers at its plant who not only upgrade the decade-old German inventions but also resolve and innovate on consumer demand. Keeping their machinery synchronized with the latest technology and trends is one of the most important functions of the R&D team.
Wet processing machines like washing, bleaching, mercerizing, finishing, pad steam, dyeing, cold pad batch and singeing are a few of the services provided under the Kusters Calico umbrella. Just like the various services provided, KCML also has different USPs to boast of. The foremost of them is the German designing of the machinery. The second is quality retention with superior inputs imported from Germany, Switzerland or other European countries. The third is in-house manufacturing of the quality parts with complete MS & SS fabrication, machining, glass blasting, painting, panel wiring & testing, software writing facility, etc., to ensure production of state-of-the-art machinery both for Indian and export markets.
The brand KCML caters to the long-standing customers of both its constituent companies. Hence it maintains customer-seller relationships of over three decades.
A team of 20 Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Vadodara work tirelessly to provide installation, commissioning, after-sales services and AMCs across the globe. The associated agents of KCML also provide technical support and engineering services to the customers whenever needed.
The converting part of KCML’s business is on a constant rise, which subsequently leads to high value orders ranging from Rs. 10 to Rs. 30 crores for national and international markets. There is a time gap of 8-10 months in the manufacturing and delivery period of these orders, which demands availability of ample storage and assembly space.
Kusters Calico has another group company called Kusters Zima based in the US. It manufactures plants for treating industrial and municipal wastes. Owing to Government policies for protection of the environment, waste water treatment is a very promising market despite the existing competition. Kusters Calico aims at entering this market by initially manufacturing only consumable components and later complete plants. A market survey is currently underway.
KCML is known for its sustainability model. Religiously conducted meetings for upgrade suggestions and issue resolutions, unwearyingly maintained quality and affordability to ensure the validity of this article even after decades.
The past fiscal year has witnessed a 10% rise in the KCML Group turnover which authenticates their estimate of having a Rs. 300 crores turnover in 2023. The immense success achieved after the introduction of the converting business, which now comprises 50% of the total business, has only made the Waste Water Treatment aspirations of Kusters Zima more ambitious. KCML has employed solar panels and LED lights all over factory to have its share in environment sustainability. It is an ISO 14001:2015 certified company, with this grandeur of perseverance and responsibility, a company goes nowhere but only farther ahead!