The textile industry of the city of Vapi in Gujarat dates back to 1967 when the first industrial estate was started by GIDC. Vapi has played an important role in Gujarat’s and India’s success story. Another striking feature of Vapi is the common effluent treatment plant (CETP). This is the largest of its kind in Asia and one of India’s biggest effluent treatment plants in terms of capacity to treat the pollutants from industries before the effluent is released into the river.
With an exponential growth of other industries in this area and stringent environmental norms enforced by the State Government, more and more textile companies are slowly shifting their focus to greener technology. One such classic example is Oracle Home Textile Ltd. of Vapi, a young terry towel manufacturer with a global vision, which has replaced its traditional machines with the newer greener FONG’S high temperature towel dyeing machine with loading capacity 1,200 kg to emphasize a cleaner tomorrow.
Oracle Home Textile, initially a trading company, was established in 1992 under the guidance of the textile technocrat, Mr. Sanjay Balakrishna Dave. The company soon became a prominent player in the terry towel yarn dyed jacquard segment and home textiles. The company soon managed to establish foreign contacts and executed the first order for cotton terry towels & kitchen napkins to West Africa. From then on, there was no looking back for Oracle.
After carving a niche for itself within the jacquard terry towel segment within a short time, the company decided to take it forward by having its own manufacturing unit. In 2002, Oracle started its first production facility mainly for weaving at Vapi.
The company started its manufacturing presence on a small level with a few weaving machines and the rest outsourced. Within a few years, the company started expanding by adding more processes and investing on cutting-edge technology for the dye house.
Today, Oracle stands among one of the top players in yarn dyed jacquard towel manufacturers in India in terms of capacity and range. The company is vertically integrated with all manufacturing departments under one roof, with activities ranging from warping, weaving, dyeing, sewing to finishing and packing. With a mixture of Indian and international brands, the line-up is made of Dornier and SMIT weaving machines of widths ranging from 280-340, sectional warper from Prashant and a brand new FONG’S towel dyeing machine.
Mr. Abhishek Shrivastava, Plant Head of Oracle, shared his views with The Textile Magazine in an informal chat at the production facility in Vapi. He said: “The decision of moving to FONG’S from the previously used indigenous dyeing machine was the best decision we have taken so far. The new machine has really helped us to achieve stringent international quality norms and 24/7 production with latest lint collection system without changing the filter This is a high temperature, high pressure machine and when compared to other machines in the market, this machine has zero limitations.”
The new machine installed at Oracle can be used for pre-treatment, dyeing and after-treatment of towel, high pile fabric, heavy curtain and decorative fabric for both home and the automobile industry.
FONG’S towel dyeing machine is designed for very large quantity production without any compromise on efficiency. Customized with large nozzle for smooth and hassle-free transaction of fabric, optimum lifting height resulting in lower tension and a minimum liquor ratio of as low as 1:5 to run it are some of the major advantages of this eco-friendly machine. The highly efficient workforce at Oracle is directly responsible in achieving the whole process, from design to production, for large quantity orders, within a short lead time.
Mr. Abhishek Shrivastava is the man behind the effective administration of Oracle Home Textile Ltd. His vast and extensive knowledge in the field of textile and his untiring efforts have contributed to the success of the company.
“Mainly used for zero twist towels and different treatment capabilities, the FONG’S machine has considerably helped us to balance the gap that existed in the system previously to achieve higher production targets. We have been running the machine at full capacity for almost a year now and the machine hasn’t troubled us a single moment”, said Mr. Shrivastava.
Oracle started exporting a small percentage of its production to the African countries in the early years of the 21st century but soon the company steadily progressed and moved to the markets in Western Europe. Today, the company is exporting more than 90 per cent of its production to European countries like France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain and soon branched out to other continents stretching from N. America to Australia. It also supplies its products to international brands like K-Mart, Disney, NKD, ESPRIT, etc.
Oracle Home Textile Ltd. clocked a turnover of Rs. 75 crores for the previous year and is expecting it to cross the Rs. 100-crore mark for the current year. The company has plans to double its capacity and is scouting for land to start another project of similar size in the same region. The new project is expected to be a greenfield one with the latest technology. Once the second plant is fully commissioned, the company will target a turnover of Rs. 200 crores by 2016.
Oracle’s range of products is exhaustive and covers a complete collection of different kinds of terry towel products. It is constantly working with design houses for value addition. Apart from profits and market shares, Oracle’s main motto is environmental protection with proper production technology.