RSWM Ltd., the flagship of the LNJ Bhilwara Group, is one of the leading players in the Indian textile industry with interests in the manufacture of yarn, fabric and denim. The company’s operations are conducted across eight locations in Rajasthan. One of the largest producers and exporters of polyester viscose blended yarn and 100 per cent cotton mélange yarn in India, the company’s yarn business contributes to 80 per cent of its total turnover. More than 25 per cent of the yarn produced is marketed to brand-enhancing downstream Indian textile players like Raymonds, Siyaram, Welspun, Alok and Arvind.
More than 15 per cent of RSWM’s product line is accounted by ‘green textiles’ and marketed to global brands from the US, the EU and Latin America. The company intends to install a cumulative two lakh spindles in the next three years to achieve its ‘Lakshya 2016’. “This programme for achieving 7,00,000 spindles by 2016 with a targeted turnover of Rs. 4,500 crores, involving a capex of Rs. 1,500 crores, is progressing very well”, says Mr. Ravi Jhunjhunwala, RSWM Chairman.
RSWM operated almost 4,08,530 spindles and produced 1,15,720 MT of yarn across its five locations in Rajasthan in FY 2012-13. “Our company has commissioned India’s most sophisticated unit (51,840 spindles) at our fully-automated Kharigram facility. The superior product quality from the Kharigram unit has enabled the company to earn a premium above prevailing realisations. Our new ‘Ultima’ brand yarn was successful among the leading textile brands in India”, adds Mr. Jhunjunwala.
The company has also set up a spinning facility at its denim unit (in Mordi), a precursor to the scheduled expansion of the weaving capacity at this unit. The Kharigram expansion provided 10,661 tonnes of quality saleable yarn, and the Mordi unit added 6,510 tonnes of yarn and two million metres of fabric. Both the plants cumulatively added revenue of Rs. 284 crores during 2012-13, which was 12 per cent of the total revenue earned. These expansions were completed in the second half of 2012-13 at a total cost of Rs. 355 crores.
In order to facilitate a deeper market penetration, RSWM has opened six new regional offices across India. It has also invested Rs. 32.26 crores on a 20 MW wind power project in Jaisalmer, through lNJ Power Ventures Ltd. to rationalise its operating cost. The sincere efforts made have led to increased sales volumes in all the company products. Yarn sales grew by 20 per cent and fabrics by 16 per cent, while denim showed the highest growth of 54 per cent.”
The RSWM Managing Director, Mr. Arun Churiwal, observes: “Discipline, Dedication and Determination helped RSWM deliver a strong rebound. We altered our marketing strategy from a single-minded export focus to a strategy that balanced our exposure between the global and the Indian markets. As the traditional global textile markets addressed a persistent economic slowdown, RSWM successfully sought and identified new pockets within India. This made it possible for us to walk away from price erosion in the global markets and grow our presence in those Indian pockets that provided us with superior realisations and offtake”.
RSWM opted to develop products around a superior value-proposition. It marketed fibre-dyed yarn as a superior alternative to piece-dyed yarn. It made new products to strengthen its brand positioning in key markets – single yarns in Eastern India and flex-blended yarns in Northern and Western India. The company created jacquard fabrics in the denim segment and launched denims in fluorescent shades for the first time ever in India’s denim market. It developed mélange yarn variants (for the weaving sector also) for garment-related applications. In doing so, the company’s proportion of value-added products increased with its revenue basket climbing higher, lifting overall realisations and profitability.
The company has one of the widest yarn ranges across numerous fibre blends, counts and shades which are classified into grey, dyed and mélange yarn. It also produces a range of specialty products made of unorthodox fibres for specific applications with functional qualities such as natural stretch, flame retardant and industrial use.
Greige yarn, the largest in terms of volume, is produced at the company’s Banswara, Rishabhdev and Kharigram plants. Its dyed yarns are made from multiple fibre varieties at the Kharigram and Ringas units.
RSWM is India’s largest mélange yarn manufacturer – premium yarns from cotton and blends used in knitwear and the weaving sector with 44,016 spindles. Production of the mélange yarn commands the highest value addition in RSWM’s yarn portfolio, grew 25 per cent from 7,351 MT in 2011-12 to 9,195 MT in 2012-13. The company plans to increase production of compact yarn and slub yarn for the shirting and hosiery segments respectively to produce lycra yarn to cater to the denim market for the first time in India.
Mayur fabrics
RSWM also manufactures a range of blended suiting fabrics (Mayur brand) in India, which is marketed by more than 2,000 retailers across the country. A sizeable quantity of its fabric is also exported to its customers in the Middle East, the Mediterranean region, mainland Europe, the Far East and the US.
The company produces 12 million metres of suiting fabrics in its vertically integrated state-of-the-art plant at Mordi (Rajasthan), with an annual fabric processing capacity of 24 million metres. It manufactures fabrics for formal and semi-formal wear covering unique blends of polyester and viscose in different yarn counts, shades and finishes and periodically introduces value-added products in line with customer preferences.
In 2012-13 its production and sales volumes increased by 16 and 19 per cent respectively compared to the previous year. Its in-house team developed the polyester and viscose fibre-based quick wash fabric (with non-stain properties) for the domestic market and a special fabric out of steel fibre for specialised applications in defence. The company caters to Marks & Spencer of the UK and Haggers of the US along with its clients from Europe in the international market.
Denim Boutique
RSWM’s denim division commissioned its operations (installed capacity of 18 million metres per annum) with state-of-the-art facilities and certifications like global organic textile standards (GOTS) and OEKO-TEX 100. A relatively small segment, the denim business has the ability to improvise fabric usage around diverse applications.
The company has a fully-integrated cutting-edge denim manufacturing plant at Mordi. This plant also includes a yarn spinning facility to maintain superior quality and higher degree of reliability and client service.
Over the years, the company has created more than 3,000 denim variants. The product range comprises denim-out-of-denim (recycled denim) and work wear like anti-bacterial hydrophobic, hydrophilic, anti-odour and fire-retardant, poly-spectrum in 65 shades, organic cotton fabric and power stretch, to name a few. It has created jacquard fabrics in the denim segment and launched denims in fluorescent shades for the first time ever in India’s denim market. In 2012-13 the company’s denim sales grew by 16 per cent from 12.6 million metres in 2011-12 to 14.6 million metres.
In the denim segment, where exports have become mandatory for survival, RSWM has added new customers in traditional markets and entered new markets. It has opened a denim boutique store, a first for India, in New Delhi to offer the Indian consumer its repertoire of numerous denim fabric variants and its respective applications. International brands like levis, GAP and Diesel have been added to its client list.
The company initiated a capital outlay plan for supply and upgradation of the effluent treatment plant (ETP) at its Kharigram, Ringas, Denim and TPP plants, as well as at the sewerage treatment plant (STP) at all its locations at an estimated cost of Rs. 15.15 crores, as a part of its eco-friendly drive.
Financial performance.
As a result of its new initiatives and products development undertaken last year, RSWM registered an increase of 23.54 per cent in its gross turnover, from Rs. 2,000.15 crores in 2011-12 to Rs. 2,471.04 crores in 2012-13. The export turnover remained almost static at Rs. 720.19 crores against Rs. 730.35 crores in 2011-12 and its domestic turnover increased to Rs. 1,750.85 crores from Rs. 1,269.80 crores.
RSWM enjoys a pan-India presence with its 10 regional marketing offices in Ahmedabad, Bhilwara, Delhi, Indore, Ichalkaranji, Kolkata, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Mumbai and Tirupur. The company enjoys a significant global presence with approximately 50 per cent of its products exported. It exports a complete range of yarns, fabrics and garments to over 73 countries, including South Africa, Australia, Korea, Belgium, Singapore, Italy, Egypt and those in the Middle East.