Pratibha Syntex: Staying ahead of the curve through innovation and sustainability thrust

While being very proactive about its sustainability campaign, the company has introduced automated technologies in processes to increase efficiency and quality of the products

Shreyaskar Chaudhary, Managing Director

Pratibha Syntex Limited is a vertically integrated, sustainability-oriented manufacturer of knitted textile products located in Pithampur near Indore. Driven by a strong progressive vision, Pratibha Syntex is committed to creating relationships across the value chain, bringing together over 25,000 farmers, 6,500 employees and renowned global apparel brands from over 20 countries. “The company offers a range of sustainable yarn, fabric and garments with blends of organic cotton, BCI, recycled polyester, Tencel™, spun-dyed viscose, linen and wool. Additionally, we are offering cradle to cradle and ROC products,” says Managing Director Shreyaskar Chaudhary.

Going into details regarding the manufacturing infrastructure and capacity, he shares, “The manufacturing infrastructure of spinning includes ring spun, compact, doubled, mélange and air-jet varieties. The annual production capacity of the spinning unit is 20,000 tonnes of yarn. Knitting capacity includes open width and tubular and flatbed machines which have the capacity to manufacture single jersey, fleece, rib, pique and interlock fabrics. The annual capacity of knitting is 10,000 tonnes of fabric. The processing is resource-efficient and environmentally considerate.”

“The processing unit is outfitted with cold bad patch dyeing and low liquor machines. The garmenting unit is developed as per global standards and has the capacity to manufacture 60 million pieces annually.  The infrastructure and manpower are apt at manufacturing innerwear, sleepwear, loungewear, thermals, fashion and active wear,” he adds. When asked about any recent investments or capacity expansion by the company, Chaudhary mentions that Pratibha Syntex has come into agreement with Good Fashion Fund to replace machinery in the spinning, processing and garmenting divisions as well provide new equipment for expansion plans.

This leads to a significant reduction in water, energy and chemical usage. It will also enable Pratibha Syntex to meet the manufacturing demands of its clients whilst furthering its sustainability agenda. Good Fashion Fund is going to invest USD 4.50 million for the refurbishment. Speaking about the company’s innovation focus and the technology advantage offered by the company, he states: “Pratibha Syntex has adopted a three-pronged approach to sustainability including new product development, renovation and technology advances. Pratibha Syntex has recently developed baby product range in its existing range of cradle to cradle (C2C). These products are 100% biodegradable or compostable.”

Emphasis on Automation and Exports

Chaudhary informs that the company has introduced automated technologies in processes to increase efficiency and quality of the products. In spinning, automated processes have been introduced from carding to autoconer to increase productivity and accuracy. In the cutting department, to reduce waste automatic machines have been introduced. Likewise, in the garmenting department too automation has been adopted to increase efficiency and efficacy. While 5% of the company’s business comes from the domestic market, 95% is from exports. Pratibha Syntex caters to more than 20 international leading garment brands and retailers across the globe as well as pan-India.

Edge over Competition

According to Chaudhary, the key advantages that enable the company’s competitive edge include organic, sustainability, traceability, integrity, transparency, flexibility in lead time and raw material. “Pratibha Syntex manufactures organic and sustainable products in the most sustainable way. The company has worked with Infichain to execute pilot projects on traceability. The company has flexibility in manufacturing required shipment quantity within the given lead time. Having backward integration, the company is associated with 25,000 farmers to source the required quantity of raw material. Pratibha Syntex is a one-stop destination for an assortment of yarn and fabric and all kinds of knitted garments.”

“This is because the company is vertically integrated and has transparent supply chain from fibre to fashion,” he adds. “The total turnover for 2020-21 is pegged at Rs 531 crore, while same for the year 2019-2020 was Rs 690 crore and for 2018-2019 it was Rs 750 crore. To ensure growth we have invested substantially in innovation and manufacturing. Owing to the pandemic there was negative growth but we have invested substantially to incorporate state-of-the-art technologies in the processes,” he elaborates. The total number of employees working in the company is 6,500 of which 37% are women.

Sustainability Initiatives

The company has always been known for its sustainability initiatives. Highlighting a few of them, he says, “Sustainability is at the core of Pratibha Syntex’s business strategy. From 2016 to 2021, the company has reduced GHG emissions by 11%, which is equivalent to plantation of 3,75,000 trees. Fresh water consumption has also been reduced. We don’t use any fresh water in the process. Instead, 100% recycled water is getting used. We saved water equivalent of up to 14 lakhs buckets of water,” he mentions, before adding, “The total energy reduction is 30% from 2016 to 2020 which is equivalent to 17,500 families’ one year electricity consumption.”

Meanwhile, chemically processed ETP has been converted to 100% biological process and that has helped reduction of landfill by about 84%. Continuing further, Chaudhary says, “We have recently invested in 2.5 MW rooftop solar panels. The installation has been completed and will be in operation from January 2022. Currently we are using 36% renewable energy. With this installation this will go up to 42%. Our aim is to achieve 50% renewable energy use by 2025. We are also installing a salt recovery plant. This will ensure recovery of 90-95% salt from MEE. This will significantly reduce landfill waste.”

“A biomass briquette boiler is going to be installed to replace coal and pet coke. As such, GHG emission will be reduced to 80%,” he adds. Pratibha Syntex has also invested hugely on upgradation of processes and is stepping towards Industry 4.0 manufacturing. Some examples are:

• Installation of automated elastic stitching machine for UG wear. This machine can perform the job of four people
• Installation of automated stitching of pocket. This can perform the job of three people
• Installation of servo motor-operated sewing machines. This ensures reduction of energy consumption by 30% and also productivity increase by 20%
• The spinning department has auto doffing system from carding to autoconer.

Well-Defined Goals

Listing details regarding the company’s future growth plans and vision for 2025, Chaudhary comments: “Pratibha Syntex has been continuously focussing on the five Ps of sustainability – people, product, planet, process and prosperity. Our code of ethics is also aligned with this. Our goals for 2025 are:

• To become water neutral and save 12 crore litres of water. To save 20,000 families’ annual water consumption with each family comprising four members
• To reduce per capita water consumption to 125 lakhs per day from 165 lakhs per day
• To recover 40-50 KL water from MEE with the help of newer technology
• To have rainwater harvesting in the main plant
• To achieve 50% renewable energy use and save 7,500 families’ annual electricity consumption
• Installation of 5 MW rooftop solar equipment
• Convert biosludge to energy
• To increase TPA contribution
• To achieve zero waste in the landfill with 1,000 MT less burden on landfill
• Achieve 50% reduction in GHG emission, equivalent to plantation of 6 million trees
• Create a green campus including the factory premises and surrounding area
• Create 100% sustainable products.