Doubling of spinning capacities underway
Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills Ltd. (SCML) is a vertically integrated textile manufacturing company present across the extensive value chain, from manufacturing of yarn to denim fabric to garments. SCML was incorporated in 1962 by the great visionary Mr. L.N. Agarwal, current Chairman and Managing Director, with an initial capacity of 6,000 spindles to manufacture world class cotton and blended yarns. Headquartered in Secunderabad, the company operations are spread across three divisions – yarn division, denim division and garment division.
From an humble inception the company has grown multifold in just five decades, from an installed capacity of 6,000 spindles in 1962 to 60,864 spindles, and is planning to increase capacities by another 50,000 spindles in the next 16 months. Today, Suryalakshmi produces world class cotton, polyester and blended yarns across two facilities at Amanagallu in Andhra Pradesh.
Until 1997, Suryalakshmi was recognized only as a yarn manufacturer. Therefore, the company took the view that in a business which was getting increasingly competitive, the more sustainable company of the future would be the one that extended from yarn to downstream fabric manufacture.
The same year Suryalakshmi established the start-of-the-art denim manufacturing plant at Ramtek (Maharashtra) having a capacity of 10 million metres per annum. In a decade’s time, its ongoing programme of modernization and higher production capacity has resulted in its denim production multiplying from 10 million to 43 million meters per annum.
In a casual chat with The Textile Magazine, Mr. Paritosh K. Agarwal, Managing Director of SCML, said: “At Suryalakshmi, the company expects its topline to cross Rs. 1,000 crores by 2014”.
Suryalakshmi’s brand comprises an ability to deliver world class product quality, timely delivery, effectiveness on the customer’s looms and investment in cutting edge spindles. The company secures its raw material requirements for its textile units through a back-to-back PSF sourcing arrangement from Reliance Industries and VSF from Grasim industry.
Over the years the company has invested in cutting-edge equipments comprising Trutzschler blow room line and cards, Rieter high-speed combers, auto leveller draw frames, speed frames, and ring frames. Autoconers are from Schlafhorst and Murata. Yarn conditioning unit is from ElgiWelker.
For the spinning unit integrated with denim manufacture, the company invested in OE spinning from Schlafhorst ring spinning from Zinser, Lycra spinning from Pinter and compact spinning from RoCoS. On the processing side, Suryalakshmi possesses rope dyeing machines from Morrison, sheet dyeing equipments from Jupiter, and finishing machines from KTM and Morrison.
The denim unit comprises 210 start-of-the-art high-speed Toyota airjet weaving machines with central computer control. The company has also invested heavily on a well-equipped physical fabric testing lab and a spinning lab with the latest testing instruments like HVI, Uster quantum, Hunter lab and online shrinkage analyzer.
The finishing range is from Monforts. Complete harmony is present not only across width of the fabric but right through the different batches. Fabric is enriched by its excellent gradation. All this is made possible through technologically superior machinery, skilled manufacturing team and process control systems.
This complement translated into high-quality yarn. As a result, the company has improved yarn realizations by over 1%. Suryalakshmi’s products are at par with Uster standards considered as a spinning benchmark worldwide. The company’s average spindle age is 5.3 years symmetrically yielding optimum results.
The excellent outcome has helped Suryalakshmi establish its name among the international players. The company enjoys presence in the US, Europe, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, South Africa, Lesotho, Mauritius, Israel, Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru, Venezuela, Taiwan and Turkey.
This establishes the company’s capability in addressing international customer’s need. It emphasizes that the company is aware of international trends, translating into contemporary products. This indirectly reflects the company’s adherence to international processes and practices.
Their product range includes 100% cotton-cotton Lycra, ring slubs, cotton-poly stretch in numerous shades and also a specific section to produce both rope-dyed and sheet-dyed denim. In spinning, their range includes 100% spun polyester yarns, polyester-cotton blends and also polyester-viscose blended yarn.
Suryalakshmi is among the few players in India to supply textile products to internationally reputed brands and stores like Wrangler, Lee, Levi’s, Vans, Target, Wal-Mart, Perry Ellis, Jones, M&S, C&A, ASDA, George, Next, Miss Sixty, Mango, Otto, Carrefour, Mothercare, Li & Fung, Woolworth and Sainsbury, among others.
Suryalakshmi, with its fully integrated plant, produces 100 per cent cotton yarn. Yarn produced is at par with international standards, achieving quality levels of Uster 5%.
Today the company yarn and rope dyed denim are acknowledged as high quality products across international markets. The company is the third largest single-site denim fabric manufacturer in India. The denim manufacturing unit is vertically integrated, making it possible to accelerate product development with a product mix benchmarked with evolving trends. This translated into growing orders from brands like Levi’s, VF, Wal-Mart, George, Kolhs and Jordance, among others.
Part of Suryalakshmi’s recent expansion plans includes commencement of its own 25-MW captive power plant being set up at its denim division at Ramtek near Nagpur. The company also plans for setting up a 50,000 spindles spinning unit in Maharashtra to benefit from the additional TUF subsidy and capital subsidy being offered by the Government of Maharashtra and also to utilize the surplus power from the captive power plant recently commissioned by the company.
As of March 2012, exports contribute to about 20-25 per cent and the rest 75 per cent of revenue comes from the domestic market. One of the leading denim manufacturers in India, Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills reported its quarterly profit & revenue numbers with a 13.41 per cent rise in revenue and a massive 29.74 per cent jump in net profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.
While the company saw its net profit touching Rs. 87 million for the second quarter, which shows a 29.74 per cent rise over the corresponding period last year, its sales increased by nearly 13.41 per cent to Rs. 1.92 billion in the quarter.
Net profit of Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills rose 7.66 per cent to Rs. 7.03 crores in the quarter ended December 2012 as against Rs. 6.53 crores during the previous quarter ended December 2011. Sales rose 15.12 per cent to Rs. 173.79 crores in the quarter ended December 2012 as against Rs. 150.96 crores during the previous quarter ended December 2011.
Suryalakshmi is being positioned as a stable spinning, weaving, garmenting and power resource company, meaning different things to different customers. Also, it is a pioneer in organic denim manufacturing. Its products are certified with Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) for organic cotton and organic exchange. It is also being considered as a one-stop-shop by many reputed domestic and international customers.