Turnover of $2 billion by 2018 targeted
Budhni could well have been one of the small sleepy villages in the hinterlands of Madhya Pradesh. But today it is home to the world’s largest and state-of-the-art terry towel manufacturing plant, courtesy TridentGroup. The river Narmada flows through Budhni and the new manufacturing complex of Trident is just a few hundred metres away from the banks of the river.
A textile plant right next to the river! Not a great idea considering the reputation of textile as a highly polluting industry. So even before I visited the manufacturing plant, I was curious to first take a look at the river to see if it is affected by industrialization all around the place. To my surprise, I found the river was absolutely clean and free from any pollution caused by dumping of waste and effluents.
For all those who thought textile manufacturing is highly polluting and hazardous for the environment, here is a plant which has set fresh benchmarks in the manufacturing process. The key highlight of the Budhni manufacturing complex is the zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plant installed by Trident, which ensures that not a drop of waste water or effluent gets discharged in the open. Trident has invested in one of the most modern ETP & RO plant which ensures that the waste water and effluent from every process is treated and reused in the manufacturing process. This also helps in reducing the overall water requirement for the entire manufacturing process, says Mr. D.K. Mittal, Manufacturing Head of TridentGroup’s Budhni plant.
But what impressed me most was the Trident philosophy and mission to establish a business which is sustainable in the long term not just for itself but to the community and the environment around it. Budhni manufacturing will propel Trident’s ambition of becoming the world’s largest manufacturer of terry towels and home textiles.
Just to give you a brief background of the company. Trident Ltd., part of TridentGroup, started as an agro-based manufacturer in 1990 in Punjab. The group as a whole diversified and expanded manifold, giving way to businesses based on sustainable growth. Under the dynamic leadership of Mr. Rajinder Gupta, its Chairman, the TridentGroup continues to grow, overcoming fresh challenges, expanding boundaries and creating new opportunities for itself.
From its humble beginnings in the 1990s, the group has come a long way and made its mark in the global market. Started as a manufacturer of cotton yarns, Trident identified an opportunity in terry towels in 1998. Thanks to its dedicated focus and sustained investments, the company has today emerged as one of the largest manufacturers of terry towels working with global retail brands across the globe like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, JC Penney, IKEA, Target, Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Sears, Sam’s Club, Burlington, etc.
To further enhance its global leadership in terry towels, TridentGroup has set up the world’s largest and the most modern manufacturing plant at Budhni with a capacity to manufacture 120 tonnes of terry towel fabric per day. It invested Rs. 1,191 crores in 2013-14 on the Budhni facility for what has today become the world’s largest terry towel plant. This investment and capacity is in addition to Trident’s already existing plant in Punjab with a daily capacity of 100 tonnes of terry towel fabric. The combined capacity will position Trident among the world’s largest manufacturers of terry towels.
The Budhni terry towel project, conceived in the last quarter of 2012, and started commercial production in the first quarter of 2014. The plant is currently operating at 30 per cent of the installed capacity and is expected to reach peak levels of production by March 2015, says Mr. Mittal.
Having established leadership in terry towels, what next for Trident? The natural progression for it would be to extend its product offering in home textiles to cater to the requirements of its global customers, making it a one stop shop for home textiles. Accordingly, Trident is making its next big investment for manufacture of bed sheets, which will again be set up in Budhni.
Trident is setting up two spinning units and a sheeting unit at Budhni with an installed capacity of 1.76 lakh spindles and 500 looms at an investment of Rs. 1,667 crores to manufacture around 40,000 TPA of additional cotton yarn of higher count and value-added varieties and 50 million metres of sheeting per annum. Construction of the new plant will begin by the end of September and is expected to start commercial production by September 2015.
Mr. Rajinder Gupta said: “With this expansion, we intend to widen our reach to other prominent countries which form a strong base for our competing nations, viz., China, Turkey and Pakistan. We also intend to improve our product basket by offering additional cotton yarn of higher count and value-added varieties that satisfy customer needs and improve margins, and by offering towels and bed sheets together, thereby harnessing customers who could not be tapped erstwhile due to the non-availability of complete range of home textile products. With increased emphasis on value-added products combined with various cost optimization measures underway, we believe that this expansion shall be a step further towards our goal of registering a strong performance and delivering better returns to our shareholders.”
As part of the above expansion, Trident has also commenced production of its open-end yarn project at Budhni. The new open end plant, which started commercial production recently, will have a capacity of 1,920 rotors and planned production of around 10,000 TPA with an investment of Rs. 60 crores.
Trident’s Budhni manufacturing complex is spread over an area of 800 acres, which already houses the spinning and terry towel unit. The new spinning plant and sheeting plant will also be housed adjacent to the already existing plant. Trident is also setting up a captive power plant with a capacity of 60 mw, which will take care of much of Trident’s power requirement. The Budhni complex will also have a residential colony for its employees and 200 acres of green cover with more than two lakh trees proposed to be planted thereon.
Another important highlight of the Budhni manufacturing complex is the use of solar power. Trident is planning to install roof top solar panels in the new plant which is being set up for the sheeting project. This is the first time that Trident is harnessing solar power for captive use and has appointed a consultant to decide on the best possible solution.
Trident is one company which never believes in compromising on technology. Keeping pace with the global technology, the company has partnered with the best technology suppliers like Karl Mayer, Toyota, Staubli, Benninger, Rieter, Muratec, LMW, Trutzschler, Saurer, Savio, Uster, etc., for its expansion and diversification plans. The company clearly believes in investing in the best available technology and keeps upgrading its existing plant to ensure better productivity, lower energy consumption and automation of process to improve efficiency and productivity.
Trident has also adopted TPM and 5S in its manufacturing process, which has further improved the overall efficiency and productivity. The new plant has already been audited by its global customers to confirm adherence to the norms related to sustainable manufacturing practices.
With all the expansion in place by the end of 2015, the total production capacity of the TridentGroup will thus rise to 700 looms manufacturing 360 million pieces of towel/annum, 500 looms manufacturing 50 million metres of sheeting/annum, six lakh spindles manufacturing 1,50,000 tonnes of cotton & blended yarns/annum and 130 MW of captive power. This will make Trident one of the largest integrated home textile manufacturing facilities in the world. Post commencement of these facilities combined with increased focus on value-added products and end-to-end home textile solutions, the company envisages improvement in realizations and margins.
The primary focus of the TridentGroup, with the addition of these facilities, would be on value-added yarn for the niche segment of high-end international markets, and on offering a complete range of home textile products to global clients. It will also cater to the requirements of the top-notch domestic customers.
Trident achieved a turnover of Rs. 3,884 crores and profit of Rs. 197 crores for 2013-14. With all the investments and capacities in place by the end of 2015, it has set an ambitious target of $2 billion in revenues by 2018.
Innovations
Home textiles is a highly competitive market globally. To thrive in this market, it is important that you have clear product differentiation through continuous innovation. Trident aims to foster the culture of innovation by expanding its R&D activities and taking the textile industry to a new dimension of innovative products. New generation fibres will be the major focus, in which special feature-rich fibres and innovative blends will be the key innovations. Innovative blends like bamboo, silk and Tencel (from eucalyptus) have received very good response from Market. Innovation in towel construction and wet processing are other major areas of focus to manufacture high value products. These enable Trident to create value added offerings like Air Rich towels and also those with a range of features like fade resist, bleach safe, cosmestic friendly, etc.
But, given the highly competitive market, why would global customers look at buying from Trident? The reason is Trident is today the world’s largest terry towel manufacturer, which brings economies of scale. The group enjoys long association with world renowned retailers for supply of terry towels. With the addition of sheeting to its product range, It can now offer a complete solution to its customers. Thanks to the large manufacturing capacities created, the company has the capacity to execute large-size orders. Trident also has the technical know-how and experience of inventory management and handling large replenishment orders, besides having state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities for in-house testing. Finally Trident has a world class highly talented design team.
Trident runs on SAP
Apart from investing in the best manufacturing technologies Trident has also been proactive in adapting to the best information technology and process. It was amongst the first few companies to implement SAP R/3 across all the business verticals in 2004. Subsequently it upgraded to the SAP ECC6 version. The investment in the latest technology would be instrumental in leveraging the latest SAP functionalities for competitive advantages and improved business efficiency.
The objective is to have a fully integrated SAP system with enhanced features, advanced functionality, and increased automation which will help the company to be more productive. The improved efficiencies and processes offered will benefit financial, sales & marketing, human resources and supply chain elements of the business.
Investment in human resources
Trident has always laid great emphasis on talent pool development in consonance with its vision & values. In 2006, it established Takshashila, the Center of Excellence and Leadership Development, to create “self-reliant & empowered youth”.
Situated at Dhaula in Barnala of Punjab, Takshashila symbolizes a platform where growth meets opportunity, and Trident successfully transforms the youth of today into leaders of tomorrow. Takshahsila does not only satisfy the learning needs but creates learning aspirations.
The flagship program of Takshashila is Learn, Earn and Grow wherein the youth across geographies are selected through a rigorous process, trained in behavioral and technical aspects and then absorbed within the TridentGroup. Till date, Takshashila has generated 15 successful batches of graduates and diploma holders, that are today pacing the growth path across different business locations. In fact, recruits made through Takshashila form the backbone of the company.
For the diploma program, focused training is provided to reinforce the technical expertise of the incumbents. The objective is to enhance the technical workforce so that they are well versed with the new technology that has been infused through technological interventions.
Special emphasis is laid on world class practices, management concepts, behavioral training, leadership and team building, communication and 360 degree industrial training for the graduate program.
To imbibe the best management practices in the culture of Trident, training is provided to members on TPM initiatives for enhancing their knowledge, so that they can contribute towards enhancing the productivity, quality and customer satisfaction. TPM interventions are Trident’s forte.
Trident creates employability for differently abled people (DAP) as well. Through a blend of classroom and on-job training, skills development for DAP in textile-related trades is carried out.
Trident also provides state-of-the-art infrastructural facilities and education, and upon successful completion of training, the trainees are provided job opportunities within Trident’s different businesses – home textiles, yarn and paper. This is in a way a CSR initiative to give back to the society which has provided growth opportunities to Trident in different ways.
Trident has come a long way, from being a yarn manufacturer of cotton yarn to becoming the world’s leading terry towel manufacturer. With the investments and capacities planned for the sheeting business, the company will expand its leadership across the home textile segment, thus becoming a one-stop shop for global retailers.
Trident’s success can be attributed to its uncompromising focus on quality, and to achieve this, it has invested in the best of manufacturing technologies and the most efficient processes. By the end of 2015, the Budhni plant will be fully operational, manufacturing yarn, terry towels and sheeting. By that time the company hopes to have more than 10, 000 people employed at Budhni alone. Trident has also planned additional investments at its existing plant in Punjab.
With a target of $2 billion in revenues by 2018, Trident is all set to play a leading role in the global home textile business.