Apparel Online India 16-31 July' 17 | Page 21

MANUFACTURING HUB garmenting was a natural option for companies like us. Further growing domestic market with organized retail is also attracting top companies to come up in garmenting. All chain stores or retail giants are already associated with this hub, so there is as such no challenge for us in garmenting,” states Suresh P. Bagrecha, CMD, Komal Texfab. He further added that there are hardly any top exporters across India who do not take fabrics/printing support from Ahmedabad, so they tend to have a fair idea about the fabric required for export. Komal Texfab Group that started in 1981, entered into garmenting in 2008 and now has two units. The company is strong, both in export and domestic market with regard to garmenting. Currently, it is having an order of Rs. 60 crore from the domestic market. Having a total turnover of Rs. 200 crore in the last fiscal, the company is expecting more than Rs. 250 crore in the current fiscal. Apparel business constitutes 50 per cent of the company’s turnover. Even Swapnil Patel, Director, CA Patel Textiles, shared, “We already have strength in cotton fabric, which is 60 per cent cost of the garment. This strength motivated us to start shirts manufacturing. Other apparel hubs are sourcing fabric from this city and growing well, so why can’t we? Our existing strong retail network is supporting us in marketing which enables us to have more margin with less efforts and less investment in garmenting. Our focus for expansion will be garmenting primarily as we will start tees, trousers, etc. The garment manufacturers to whom we supply fabrics across India are willing to start units here.” He further added that good business environment, proper infrastructure like enough electricity is another motivation for the company to start garmenting. At present, CA Patel Textiles is having an annual business of Rs. 300 crore and is expecting growth of at least 30 per cent. AOI also got a chance to have more information on this rising garmenting business from Bhavin Parikh, CEO, Globe Textiles India Ltd. who briefed: “In the last few years, textile business has strengthened across India. In Ahmedabad, the focus has shifted towards apparel. The capacities have already been enhanced at the fabric level and now we want to cover the entire value chain, so things are in motion. We are also getting lot of support from State as well as Central Government for the same.” He informed that his company has four verticals, namely apparel, printed fabrics, denim fabrics and recently it started home furnishing also which is nearly 5 to 10 per cent of its total business. Its apparel domain started in 2006 and is now 35 to 40 per cent of the entire business of the company. In the last fiscal, it had a turnover of Rs. 190 crore and it is expecting 15 per cent growth this year and 25 to 30 per cent in the next few years. Bhavin Parikh, CEO, Globe Textiles India Ltd. SMOOTH LABOUR HANDLING It is easy to manage labour in Ahmedabad as there are no union issues which makes working smooth. But labourers here have an entrepreneur mindset and after few years of experience and resources, some of them start their own jobwork or similar kind of business at a small level. But companies are managing it effectively, like CA Patel Textiles which is giving incentives to the workers, and that too despite piece rate, is also training operators to increase productivity and keeps motivating them. It even runs programmes in nearby villages to bring labour to the factory apart from offering them living space at discounted rates, transportation, etc. More than 60 per cent of the wor k strength of Globe Textiles have been associated with it for more than a decade. “We put in a lot of efforts to retain the operators and give them the best working environment. We hire freshers too and give them proper training. We prefer to work from the bottom to the top,” stated a proud Bhavin. He even confirmed that the company has very less absenteeism which helps to solve the cost issue. Prashanta Kumar (R), Garment Division head, CA Patel Textiles claims that only his organization is using advanced sleeve placket pressing machine of Ngai Shing in Ahmedabad. The company plans to further invest in Tukatech CAD GARMENTING IN-HOUSE Spread in 38 hectares, Ahmedabad Apparel Park, GIDC, has proved to be a big support for the garmenting units of the city. Apart from strong infrastructure, the labour availability is comparatively easy in this location. Komal Texfab and Globe Textiles India Ltd. also have their units here. The nature of textile business in Ahmedabad is majorly outsourcing as very few players are vertically integrated, but the good thing is that in garmenting, they have most of the processes in-house be it cutting, product development, stitching or finishing. “With regard to fabric, we are cost-effective compared to big mills as they have their overheads compared to our weavers and process houses. Our strong network, vast experience, quite open sourcing, bulk purchasing power help us in managing costs,” www.apparelresources.com | JULY 16-31, 2017 | Apparel Online India 21