TRUE STORIES The VARDHMAN Group: The perfect human machine interface
VARDHMAN Company s core business: Yarn spinner, sewing thread producer, weaver, acrylic fi ber producer, dyer for fi ber, tops and yarn Location: Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), India Annual production/capacity: over 550,000 spindles, 432 looms, dyeing machinery Number of employees: 20,000 Benefits/and use of the XO-Steaming Process: Increasing moisture level, yarn quality improvement for knitting and weaving yarn, stabilization and twist setting of sewing thread, conditioning of cotton lycra yarns
The VARDHMAN Group of India: an undisputed market leader in the yarn production sector The VARDHMAN Group of India has a corporate philosophy that attaches great value to first class production facilities equipped with the latest technology. In the mid-1980s, the VARDHMAN Group commenced its yarn-conditioning activities and from the outset, worked closely with the Swiss XORELLA AG, which developed this technology and is the leader in the related market. Now, the Group is to expand its spindle capacity from 550,000 to about 800,000 and XORELLA conditioning equipment of the latest generation has been ordered for this purpose. India is currently the object of much discussion and textiles are not the only national industry that is booming. Sales are rising and massive sums are being invested in a trend that also applies to the VARDHMAN Group, which is located in Ludhiana in the north of the country. Spinning mill capacity is to be considerably enlarged and the newest XORELLA machines have been ordered. Market position The VARDHMAN Group is an undisputed market leader in India and can point to impressive corporate data. It has the largest spinning capacity in the country and is the biggest producer of cotton, synthetic fi bre and mixed yarns, as well as a
large dyer of fi bres and yarns. The VARDHMAN Group is also one of India s biggest exporters of cotton yarns, the Indian hand-knitting yarn market leader and the second largest producer of sewing threads. Total company sales amount to around USD 500 million and some 20% of all yarns are exported to countries such as the USA, the EU states, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Brazil, etc. VARDHMAN has a 6% share of Indian yarn exports. And how does Mr. S.P. Oswal see the yarn market at present? We are well established in the market and cotton yarns are selling well. At the moment we are operating with 550,000 spindles, which we intend to increase to 800,000 by March 2008. India is a good market for us and there are relatively few yarn imports. The market is sure to grow further, but is set to become somewhat quieter. India en route to the top India is among the leading group of cotton-producing countries, although increasing amounts are also being invested in synthetic fi bre production. However, as Mr. S.P. Oswal makes clear, India has to raise its yields. Today, with around 9 million hectare under cultivation, yield currently amounts to 470 kg/hr, while good yield amounts to some 700 kg/hr. If India succeeds in raising this yield fi gure, and it must succeed, we will become the No. 1 in the cotton fi eld. The preconditions are ideal with a huge domestic market and rising per capita income among the population. In addition, the share of exports in the Indian textile industry only amounts to 35% and here, too, there is tangible potential for expansion. These are just some of the reasons why investment in the Indian textile industry is constantly increasing. Conditioned yarns are vital The VARDHMAN Group commenced its yarn-conditioning activities in the mid-1980s and from the outset, worked closely with the Swiss XORELLA AG, which developed this technology and is the leader in the related market. Mr. S.P. Oswal, Every yarn has to be conditioned as otherwise problems arise. The Indian climate is too hot to allow any retained moisture. However, using XORELLA conditioning machines, we are able to increase the moisture level by 1.5 2.0% and thus attain yarn quality with excellent running characteristics for the subsequent production phases. Yarn conditioning is a must, yarns containing Lycra being otherwise impossible to process.
With the exception of polyester and acrylics, 99% of all yarns are conditioned. As already mentioned, spinning capacity is to be further expanded and six new XORELLA SELECT machines have been ordered for this purpose. Up to now, the VARDHMAN Group worked with round machines, but now cubical systems have been purchased. As Mr. S.P. Oswal explains, Above all, cubical machines offer the advantages of rational working processes. We can run in complete pallets and this saves us a great deal of manual work during the preparations for steaming and unloading for the downstream production stages. The future The VARDHMAN Group has an excellent reputation and perhaps you can tell us how this was achieved? Mr. S.P. Oswal, Here, I must go back in time. We have been in business for 40 years and our customers are aware of our commitment to quality. Conversely, we know the requirements of our clientele and customer proximity plays an outstanding role in our organisation. Every employee dealing directly with customers is conscious of this fact. Moreover, I would say that ten years ago, machinery formed 90% of production. Today, I believe the human factor accounts for 70% and this is why we have a positive image among our customers.
We have to continue on this path and develop even better and new products. I do not expect further strong growth in yarn trading except in the domestic market and therefore, we must attempt to export more clothing. In addition, we must ask ourselves if we should import yarns from China, because today they make up 15 20% of the market. How do you plan to maintain the positive status quo? However, in my opinion, this is only one side of the coin. As I have also stated, our personnel is of equal importance. Today, customers do not merely wish to purchase yarns, but are looking for a complete range of services. If the customer has a problem, we are immediately on hand to solve it. This is our mind-set, which involves a total commitment to customer proximity. It is this that creates our positive market image and is something that no one can take from us. Mr. S.P. Oswal, On the one hand, we are investing in capacity. In 2005, our sales amounted to around USD 500 million and our target for 2012 is 1,000 million or USD 1 billion. I have already mentioned the increase in the number of spindles, but we also wish to raise the number of looms in the weaving mills from 432 to 800. You have seen the new building at the Arisht Spinning Mills in Baddi and we are confi dent of attaining further growth. Our domestic sales alone are rising continually by 9% per year.
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