The company places special emphasis on research and development and innovations. Recently it has developed a host of functional finished fabrics like antimicrobial, kooltex, anti-viral, smart temp, etc.
Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills (SCM) has been in the textile business for more than 50 years. A public limited company, it is listed on the BSE and NSE stock exchanges. The company is into manufacturing and sale of high-value yarns and denim fabric. The products offered by SCM include yarns such as cotton yarn (including stretch and slub yarn), polyester yarn, polyester viscose yarns, and denim fabric. “We have been supplying yarn to reputed corporate clients like Trident, Welspun, and Arvind Denim, among others. Our clientele in denim fabrics includes some of the most renowned brands globally. We have a strong presence in the global markets,” informs Managing Director Paritosh Agarwal.
“We supply fabrics to 29 different countries and over the years have built up a wide customer and distribution network. We are regarded as one of the most reliable yarn and denim fabric suppliers,” he adds .The key highlights of the company’s manufacturing infrastructure include:
Spinning Mills
• Amanagallu, Telangana – polyester and blended yarn (61,000 spindles)
• Amravati – specialised high-performance cotton yarn (31,000 spindles)
Total: 92,000 spindles
Denim
Ramtek Nagpur – value-added denim fabric (40 million meters per annum).
According to Agarwal, the company has recently invested in spinning, weaving and upgrading of its finishing machines.
New Products and Innovations
Speaking about new products, innovations and technological advantage offered by the company, Agarwal says, “Special emphasis has been given to research and development and innovations. Recently we have developed a host of functional finished fabrics like antimicrobial, kooltex, anti-viral, smart temp, etc. We have used specialised yarns like Dual Fx, T400, Modal, Lyocell, Viscose, Spun Poly, Indigo Dyed Weft, etc. Knit, dobbies with some magnificent over-dyed shades plus in-house peach finish are some of the very interesting fabrics in our product mix.”
Responding to a question on the share of domestic business and exports of the company and its key customers in India and globally, Agarwal states, “In denim fabric 55% of our sales are exports and the remaining 45% in the domestic market. Our active markets in exports are USA, South America, Africa, UK, Spain, Korea, Bangladesh, etc. Globally our key customers are Lee, Wrangler, Wal-Mart, Dickies, Amazon, Zara and Timberland. In domestic our key customers are Lee, Wrangler, Pepe, Spykar, West-Side, Reliance Trends and Killer Jeans.”
Key Strengths
Going into details regarding the advantages the company offers over other competitors, Agarwal comments, “Being a vertical set-up and having our own yarn is the biggest advantage. It gives us cost benefit and flexibility. Fabric innovation and consistency in supplies has always been the biggest plus point for us. Strong long-term relationship with the key customers has enormously benefited us.” The company has a total of 2,000 employees, out of which 500 are women. The company is known for its sustainability initiatives. Highlighting some of the key initiatives, Agarwal informs, “We strongly support and believe in sustainability initiatives. On the facility front, we have ZLD (zero liquid discharge) system. We have shifted from chemical-based ETP to biological-based ETP plant. Our systems have inbuilt energy saving programs, like replacing conventional lights to LED lights, etc.”
“We are installing 3 MW solar plant at our Amanagallu unit for generation of electricity. We are registered with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, which comes under the Ministry of Power that assesses the power-saving initiatives. For the energy-saving initiatives taken by us, MEDA (Maharashtra Energy Development Authority) has been conferring awards to us consistently for the last couple of years. We have taken appropriate actions to reduce carbon footprint. For example, for the boiler we have replaced coal to rice husk (bio coal also called as husk briquettes). We are OEKO – Tex-certified for using non-hazardous chemicals. We are also ISO 9001 Quality Management System and ISO 14001 Environment Management System-certified,” he adds.
“On the fabric front, we are GRS and RCS-certified to supply fabric made from pre and post-consumer cotton. We are GOTS and OCS-certified to supply organic cotton. We are members of BCI. We are making fabric using recycled and bio-degradable poly. For example, we provide light shade fabrics for easy wash-down, thus, reducing water footprint,” he further informs. When queried about how the company is adopting automation and Industry 4.0 in its manufacturing process, Agarwal mentions: “We have a completely integrated ERP system to trace and monitor all the processes. We are currently in the process of upgrading our system. We are also gearing up for adopting digital marketing.”
Growth Prospects
Finally, commenting on the company’s growth plans and vision for 2025 and beyond he says, “India is poised for fantastic economic growth in the next five years. We want to be part of this growth story. We would like to continue as one of the most reliable yarn and denim fabric suppliers. Keeping in mind the growth, we would like to expand our yarn capacity and also upgrade our denim fabric capacity. We would like to take all initiatives which will be in the interest of all our stakeholders.”