Trident Group’s Budhni plant sets global standards in textile manufacturing

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.

LMW’s successful partnership with Trident It has been a wonderful experience for LMW to be associated with the TridentGroup for over two decades. From 1991, LMW is partnering with the TridentGroup for all their spinning units with supply of machinery. Under the able leadership of Mr. Rajinder Gupta, Chairman, TridentGroup has achieved various accolades and today is the world’s largest manufacturer of terry towels and one among the top ten yarn manufacturers in India. LMW is proud to have supplied machines for the yarn project of Trident’s Budni plant, the “largest integrated textile facility in India” and “one among the largest integrated facilities in the world”. LMW partnered with Trident and had offered services like project consultancy, exclusive customer support, aftersales service, and components and parts supply. The Project consultancy extends the fullest support to provide guidance on the Machines, Project facilities and Infrastructure. Pre- and post-installations ensure effective execution of the project. LMW’s dedicated customer support centre handles queries on components, parts and aftersales service. Online service with well-equipped infrastructure provide support to queries on order status, service request, etc. The services offered by LMW have helped Trident to realize the highest production and quality, lowest power consumption, and optimal raw material realization and value addition, besides the best return on investment for capital deployed for sustained and healthy growth.

 

A.T.E.’s long-standing relationship since inception A.T.E. has been associated with the TridentGroup since its inception in textiles, and many of its principals have always been its preferred suppliers. Karl Mayer machines are successfully working at its Barnala unit for more than a decade, and these machines are proving the best for its high speed weaving project. In 2006, A.T.E. also supplied TFO machines from Volkmann. A.T.E. has successfully participated in Trident projects in spinning and warp preparation. After the successful working of all equipment at the Barnala unit, Trident selected Karl Mayer for its Budhni project as well for warp preparation, and the same has been successfully running on terry towel production. Trident is one of the professionally managed textile companies following its vision clearly over the years. It is now a world renowned brand, especially in the terry towels segment, and always believes in using quality equipment. A.T.E.’s experience as a supplier to Trident has been very good, may it be for spinning or other segments. Its experience has been that Trident is quite meticulous in both planning and execution due to which all its projects have come up as per schedule although much bigger in size. The single-minded business focus, efficiency in executing projects and emphasis on quality supported by a very professional approach are some of the reasons which have made Trident a successful global player.

 

Saurer provides technology leadership The Saurer Group is extremely proud to be associated with such a significant player in the textile industry that the TridentGroup has become since it was incorporated in 1990. The company continues to grow under the dynamic leadership of its Chairman, Mr. Rajinder Gupta, a first generation entrepreneur. Saurer is honored to be a key supplier to the TridentGroup. “As the CEO of the Saurer Group I would like to take this opportunity, together with my associates to extend our sincere congratulations to Mr. Rajinder Gupta and his team on their milestone of presenting the world’s largest terry towel plant with Avant-Grade technology, Design & Fiber all under one roof. Constant innovation, product excellence and customer satisfaction are factors that make an organization successful and Trident has been able to incorporate them all in their journey to be an eminent conglomerate”, says Mr. Daniel Lippuner. The one year ago re-established Saurer Group looks back on 160 years of experience in providing solutions to the textile industry. The association with Trident has provided Saurer with the opportunity to supply advanced textile manufacturing solutions in order to support the high quality production of Trident. The pursuit of excellence, Innovation and the passion for our products are common values that bind Saurer and TridentGroup. We always cherish our business association with the TridentGroup and take pride in this journey of partnering for success, says Mr. Lippuner.

 

Stäubli & Trident partners in progress Stäubli is honored to be associated with TridentGroup. Trident has been at the forefront of high quality cloth manufacturing in different application areas for a considerable time now. They have embraced latest technology in all their plants through a sophisticated evaluation process. Trident is well poised and prepared to profit from investments to also concur with global market requirements. We are very pleased that we were chosen as one of their main suppliers to their new terry weaving facility at Budhni. Stäubli has delivered active warp control technology. Furthermore, Trident is using Stäubli`s warp tying equipment TOPMATIC in large numbers. Active warp control is decisive if it comes to high-quality weaving, quick turn around times and quick response.

 

Praj’s breakthrough technology in effluent treatment The TridentGroup, the largest manufacturer of terry towels in the world, selected Praj, a leading supplier of zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plant for their prestigious textile project in Budhni. After successful installations at the Tirupur textile hub for Zero Liquid Discharge & Salt recovery, Praj has successfully commissioned one more Zero Liquid Discharge plant for Trident at Budhni. The salts recovered from this plant will be reused in the manufacturing process. This will considerably reduce the consumption of fresh salt and reduce the quantum of solid wastes which would have otherwise gone into land filling. This also ensures full recycling of treated water back in the process without disposing a single drop out of Trident premises. This ZLD plant has helped in strengthening the TridentGroup’s sustainability endeavors.

 

SAVIO’s high-performance TFOs Savio’s association with the TridentGroup dates back in early 1990s, when the first spinning mill of the group was set up in Barnala, Punjab. The technological partnership is consistent both in winding and twisting sector: it has started with the supply of the iconic Espero and Orion winders plus Geminis twisters, for continuing today with the supply of Polar winding family and Sirius TFO twisters. Old and loyal customer like the TridentGroup was among the first to believe in full automation in the spinning process to enhance the quality of the end product, taking into consideration Savio’s most advanced and automated models for either their green field and expansion projects. For the new terry towel project of Trident at Budni (MP), Savio has delivered 42 new generation of TFO model Sirius. Additional sets of Polar/I Direct Link System will be soon installed in Budni plant too. Savio has achieved the maximum automation possible with the new generation of twisters, SIRIUS. This machine is available in two versions: the mechanical one and the electrical one (ElectronicDriveSystem). Sirius EDS model has independent motors and inverters that allow you to adjust all operating parameters through the interface of a PC. This innovation comes from electronic knowledge which Savio already used in other sophisticated products. The main impact of this innovation is to decrease strongly the machine set-up time, thus reducing the number of operators for each machine, while introducing a simple and direct way to change any setting.

 

Toyota, once again a strong partner Toyota has been a strong partner of Trident for its terry towel project in Barnala. In 2012, when Trident decided to set up the terry towel plant in Budhni, the company decided to go with its trusted partner once again. Toyota has supplied more than 560 machines to Trident for both Barnala and Budhni projects. The company has supplied the JAT710 model to Trident and in future it will be supplying the JAT810 model. Trident is one of our most prestigious customers of Toyota and the company has been working very closely with Trident to provide complete solution. Toyota has a dedicated after sales team and the company’s engineers and technician, both from Japan and India, regularly visit Trident to provide after sales services to them. The company maintains inventory of critical spare parts. Toyota also has a dedicated PCB repair centre in Mumbai to look after the PCB repair of customers in India. As Trident enters the sheeting business, Toyota assures that it will be able to provide the best machines for manufacturing sheeting. India is one of the most important markets for Toyota, and it will do its best to continuously supply to Indian customers, so that they can produce best fabrics as per world standards.

 

OHTCs & fire diversion systems from ELGI ELGI’s association with the TridentGroup is since 1993. It entered the textile business and progressed with our supplies to their high-tech manufacturing complex in Budhni and has shared a long-understanding partnership. Our reputation in market was well received by TridentGroup and supported us in all our Products ranges OHTC/ ELGI ARGUS Metal and FIRE Diversion system are installed in all their units. Improvisation of yarn parameters with our yarn conditioning systems. ELGI has been always supporting Trident and provided quality products and service to enhance their product quality and marketability of yarn and performance in the processing. ELGI would like to associated with all their future endeavors to bring in future technologies and provide robust technical support that will help the company achieve its objective and value addition.

 

Uster’s total quality management solutions Uster Technologies has been associated with the TridentGroup since 1990. The company was involved in their expansion plan of various plants including the prestigious Budhni plant. The customer was convinced to use the complete range of the latest generation of Uster’s offline laboratory equipment and online yarn clearing system for total quality management. TridentGroup sets highest priority in customer satisfaction and wants to precisely meet their buyer’s requirements. To achieve their goals advanced polypropylene contamination detection in winding was realized with the Uster Quantum 3 and for the control of fancy and slub yarns the Uster Tester 5 evenness tester was installed. The reason for the success of Trident is to go for the latest and most reliable technology in all fields of operation and making best use of the technology for highest cost efficiency. Further excellent project management, highly motivated teams and a visionary top management stand for Trident’s remarkable performance. The TridentGroup aims to be a global player and has taken all steps in the right direction to achieve this goal.

 

Trident thrust on Mario Crosta technology Trident partnered with Mario Crosta for shearing machines for its Budhni manufacturing complex. Through its sustained programme of investment in technology, manpower and training, Trident has built up a fine reputation for quality and on time delivery around the world. Socially responsible, the company has taken care to ensure that its manufacturing processes embrace environmental protection, create a more sustainable approach to our high-quality production by minimizing energy usage, adopting waste recycling and using organic materials. Mario Crosta has been recognized by Trident as a reliable and trustable technological partner in supplying state-of-the-art finishing machines to aim at significant savings in consumptions and to reinforce Trident’s quality and capabilities across terry towel manufacturing functions. The choice made by Trident is just the latest sign of confidence and respect shown by the various customers around the world to the skills, know-how and high quality of Mario Crosta.

 

BTS & batch winders from Sohler-Neuenhauser Sohler-Neuenhauser, a member of the Neuenhauser Group, is associated with the TridentGroup since 2008-09. Its first installation was at the Budhni complex itself. The company experience of working with Trident is extremely good. The TridentGroup is successful because of its strong management and good business relationship built on trust and mutual understanding. The Neuenhauser Group is a solution provider for automation in spinning units and the provider for all kind of winding in weaving and warp knitting. Its customers are trend-setters and the TridentGroup is definitely one of them. It has to be pointed out that the TridentGroup is one of the trend-setters for combining and balancing automation with human interface, keeping in mind the challenges of the future.

 

AESA air engineering solutions AESA has been associated with Trident since 2007-2008 when the latter’s Budhni project location was conceptualized, where AESA has provided humidification and waste collection solutions for all the four spinning units. AESA has offered a range of solutions for auto control type humidification and waste collection plants to. Trident for cotton/PC spinning with latest prefabricated structure technology. AESA has introduced their prefabricated structure for conventional spinning humidification plants at Trident Budhni. This is mainly due to the futuristic vision of Mr. Rajinder Gupta, who could bring this thought in conventional textiles. This prefabricated chamber for humidification plants has become very popular these days due to the time saving. Overall it has been a great experience of working with Trident, since the group has its vision of doing different. Hence for anybody who is involved with such group is also expected to think future and innovations in their respective products. This ultimately brings new features to the respective products and the industry as a whole.